ipollux

I've experienced sleep paralysis several times in my life, but last night it happened twice in one night. I always panic. Those few seconds have to be the most terrifying seconds of my life. The first time it happened, I seriously thought I was in a coma.

Anybody have any personal stories about sleep paralysis they'd like to share?

For those of you who have never had it or don't know what I'm talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

ring

25 years ago I had sleep apnea, and occasionally experienced
the frozen panic you speak of.

When I found myself unable to wake fully enough to move,
I eventually was able to at least control my breathing to
stave off full blown panic.

This took years of practice.
Sleepwalking was also common back then.

I haven't had but one or two occurences since age thirty.

They are not pleasant, but if I remember to breathe,
it passes.

Charlatan

There is a thread somewhere here that delves into Sleep Paralysis... I've experienced it a number of times and each time was incredibly vivid and creepy.

It has also been called the "old hag" .

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Punk.of.Ages

Oh man, I hate this.

Seriously one of the scariest things I've been through.

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little_tippler

Never happened to me but I'd definitely be terrified. Sorry you have to go through that...

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ngdawg

I used to experience it quite a bit when my kids were infants. They would cry, waking up only my brain. Then the spouse would try to tell me they were crying and I was thinking "I know, but I can't move or talk". The first time it happened, I was really frightened, thinking maybe I had a stroke or something. I think the worst part is being fully aware but unable to speak or open your eyes, so you can't say you're aware of what's going on.

Nowadays it manifests itself in the form of a frequent nightmare; I'm totally aware of what's occuring within the nightmare and realizing it is one but have to wait it out.

shesus

That is disturbing. I'm not sure that what I experienced was sleep paralysis or just a side-effect of a night terror. But I think anytime we don't have control of ourselves it causes anxiety.

All you can do is cope and it seems like some good suggestions were given here.

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ipollux

I am going to just try and remain calm should it happen again, which it probably will. I appreciate the input.

*Nikki*

I used to have this happen all the time when I was a teenager....then for some reason it just stopped. Odd.

thespian86

I have a lot of sleep related problems, but I've only experienced this once. I was quite young too so I was convinced that I was dead and I was a ghost hahaha.

It was a very frightening feeling but I find waking up mid-sentence during a lucid dream, while your girlfriend is sitting in the corner, scared to death and saying "what is wrong with you" much worse. That happened several times hahaha.

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MSD

I used to have it at least two or three times a week. I'd be falling asleep, then wake up and hear what sounded like static or low mumbling in a crowded room. My eyes would close and my breathing would get shallow, with resisting it being very difficult, and a few seconds later I would have a serious adrenaline rush, feel like I was flying at a very high speed for a few seconds, and jolt wide awake feeling like hot needles were poking me all over. The adrenaline rush would pass and I would either fall asleep or it would happen again.

I sometimes had it happen ten or more times in a row. It got to the point that it was an enjoyable rush rather than something scary. I have nothing scientific whatsoever to back this up, but I suspect that the adrenaline rush and loss of control were a psychosomatic condition to stimulate dopamine production and compensate for low levels.

ipollux

Interesting theory. I guess if one did get used to it, it could be somewhat of an enjoyable rush. It's just now happened to me so many times that I'm not freaking out quite as bad as before.

And speaking of weird rushes, I used to know a guy who would stay up for days because he enjoyed the hallucinogenic effects of being so tired.

vanblah

This used to happen to me a lot when I was in my 20s. Usually if I slept during the day as well as sleeping on my back. It got to the point that I actually looked forward to it.

ipollux

Even worse is that no one in family has ever had it happen to them or even heard of it, so they all thought I was crazy and/or on some sort hardcore narcotics (I wish) when I first told them it happened to me. It's weird how this is something almost nobody ever talks about.

dlish

ive had this happen several times. the last time was about 2-3 months ago when i was in Yemen.

i was in the midst of falling asleep (my eyes were closed but i was still awake) when in an instant i felt like something jumped on top of me and was almost suffocating me murmurring gibberish and static in my ear.

it was really weird but freaky. i tried to wake up or open my eyes but i couldnt. it was almost like a succubus if youve ever heard of it. after what seemed like an eternity it 'jumped off', but i had bad dreams for the rest of the night.

ive had them several times but each time im aware of my surroundings and i try and force myself to wake up. it feels like you are pinned down and dont have any control of your body

but there is a thread on this about a year ago.

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stevie667

I suffer from this from time to time, scary as fuck like everyone says, for me it only happens with nightmares, which is even worse when that continues on after you wake up.

The only way i can break out of it is by concentrating on moving myself (usually twisting to the left) which breaks the grip and i wake up fully.

Then i go have some caffeine and watch tv.

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macmanmike6100

it's happened to me for a long time, primarily because I can enter semi-sleep very quickly. i actually have a good time catching myself in the midst of it (either entering or leaving sleep) and trying to move knowing that I cant, and consciously building on that instinctive sense of panic to see how far I can go before I can call it quits. strange but fun; I perceive it as a way of playing with "brain waves".

Cernunnos

I've never suffered from sleep terrors or sleep paralysis, but a friend of mine would awaken without the ability to move any part of his body except the eyes, and he swore that shadowy figures would emerge from the walls and ceiling, hovering over him, flitting in and out of existence. He felt a malevolent intent from them, despite no apparent attempts at inflicting harm.

I don't know whether or not he exaggerated, but in either case, the thought is a chilling one.

NeoRete

I can remember at a young age waking up feeling like my bedsheets were weighed down with hundreds of pounds, and then to slowly regaining motor control after a terrifying few minutes. It was even more frustrating because my parents thought I was dreaming it. Luckily I grew out of it, it never reoccurred after I reached my teens, and I had never thought about it until I saw this thread.

I have never have been a normal sleeper, I still apparently carry on coherent conversations with anyone awake in the room if I'm in a deep sleep. On trips in college I freaked out several friends who were talking to me and thought I was still awake, until I finally did wake up.

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clavus

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but there are those who say that sleep paralysis is the onset of an out-of-body experience. If one learns not to panic and to go with it, a really cool metaphysical experience may commence...or so they say.

Dunno, myself.

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tiger777

I laugh when I hear how you guys are scared simply because I try to get to Sleep Paralysis, because it is a gateway to lucid dreaming. Sleep Paralysis is when your body becomes paralyzed by your brain so you don't act out in your sleep, and if you remain calm and focus you can then jump into a dream and you were be aware you're dreaming so you can do whatever you want, one man's trash is another man's treasure I guess.

SSJTWIZTA

lies.

the 6th or 7th time this happened to me i was completely calm. i thought "oh well, i know ill snap out of it in a few minuets." (by the way, when yours laying there with your eyes open, fully able to hear and see but not able to move or speak, a few minuets seems like ages) I stayed completely calm, the one time i wasnt trying to yell for someone to kick me or something, and nothing happened but total mental torture.

horrible, horrible experience!

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abaya

This happened to my mother when I was about 11 years old, and we were staying in some spooky old B&B around Mt. Shasta in CA... and she's a FIRM believer in ghosts and spirits (being Thai), so I have never been able to convince her that it was a physiological event and not a paranormal one. To this day, she prays to the spirits of the house where she is staying as a guest (if it's an old one) to let her sleep in peace... Thai people tend to believe that spirits are everywhere, and most of them are not benevolent.

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ngdawg

I think what you're doing is a type of self-hypnosis; I've done this and it gives the same effect as sleep paralysis whereas you can not move and are in a state of semi-consciousness, but it is not true sleep paralysis. The feeling of peace comes with self-hypnosis, not the other.

I have never had pleasantries with sleep paralysis. If you have, kudos to you.
The most frequent episodes involve a horrific nightmare where I am uncontrollably floating and can't get down. Since I'm partially awake and paralyzed, it behooves me to think my way out of it or force myself to be fully awake-those few minutes are frighteningly tortuous.

The only thing I'm pretty sure of with these episodes is that they occur when something in my waking hours was felt to be totally out of my control to the point of stressing me. So I'm both exhausted and in mental despair, hence the half-awake nightmares.

Sticky

I remembered seeing a thread on this in Paranoia.
Here it is:
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/tilted-...paralysis.html

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clavus

"Lies" may be a bit strong. I took a class in altered states of consciousness (what a class!) and the prof was an authority on this sort of thing. He'd done the LSD tests back in the day, and in later life devoted himself to studying hypnosis & dream states.

Like I said, I don't know much first hand. I've only had a couple of experiences like y'all describe, and the second one felt like I was pulling out of my body. But I got too scared before I went very far and "woke" up out of it.

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ipollux

Well, since it's been happening to me so frequently as of late, I'm going to try to remain calm next time and see "what dreams may come." Maybe I will listen to satanic music before going to bed, and see if I can channel the devil through an outer-body experience.

MSD

I know that impulses to do dangerous things for the thrill of it are linked to low dopamine levels because the excitement will stimulate dopamine production. That's what I'm basing it on. As for staying up to hallucinate, my experience is that that it's delerium rather than "fun" hallucinations like psychedelics produce. I wouldn't call any delerient fun (take a lot of Benadryl to sleep then fight against falling asleep and you'll know what I mean.)
At least I'm not the only one. It's like a thrill ride in your head.
This sounds like a classic night terror. I've had it happen twice and it's horrific, especially since one of them happened when I woke up while sleepwalking (which I don't believe I've done since then.)
The difference between sleep paralysis and night terrors is that paralysis usually occurs in alpha sleep and is only disorienting while night terrors are brought on by a nightmare that stimulates an adrenaline rush in response to fear during delta sleep. It takes a lot more brainpower to come out of alpha sleep, and the nightmare continues until you're fully awake.

The most common visions during a night terror are shadow people, demons (mostly among devoutly religious people) and glowing red eyes. Emotionally, a sense of dread is universal, and physiological effects almost invariably include a perception of pressure on the chest and difficulty breathing because of paralysis preventing voluntary muscle movements and a discrepancy between the breathing rate in deep sleep and the need for oxygen to allow for the maximal flight-or-fight reflex to be maximized. It's a full-body dissonance between physically being asleep and mentally preparing to defend your life.

The visions and paranoia are a lot like what meth addicts see and feel.
I used to think it had to do with OOBEs back when I believed in things. Now I'm sure it's entirely physiological. I think perception of it depends a lot on the individual's beliefs.

tiger777

No that's not what i'm doing, it's true sleep paralysis. Read up on lucid dreaming, you can be aware when sleep paralysis sets in, if you relax your mind and body greatly but your mind a little less because otherwise you'll fall asleep. Everyone has sleep paralysis every single night, we're just not aware because our mind is asleep almost always before it sets in.

SSJTWIZTA

ive done plenty of lsd, mescaline and shrooms myself, but thats sort of beside the point :P

your right, lies might have been a bit strong. next time this happens to me (god forbid!) ill try to relax completely, enjoy it, and see what happens.

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First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me.
-Pastor Martin Niemoller