Sleep Paralysis: A Quest for the Truth. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

jwoody · 08-06-2003, 12:49 AM

Sleep paralysis. What's that all about?

I seem to be having episodes sleep paralysis more and more often, so I did a little research and found that I am not alone. While the following may seem a bit far-fetched, anyone who has experienced this will tell you that it's a very real phenomenon.

My personal experiences mainly fall into the 'Common Sleep Paralaysis' category, however I have recently (last night) experienced 'Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis' and, to be honest, it scared the shit out of me.

The following has been accumulated from various souces:

There are two types of sleep paralysis: common (typical) and hallucinatory (hypnagogic) sleep paralysis.

Common Sleep Paralysis: According to research almost every adult will at have an episode of Common Sleep Paralysis (CSP) in their lifetime. In the 1950's and 60's it was discovered that occasionally sleepers gain consciousness finding their bodies temporarily "frozen".

This temporary paralysation affects the major motor functions and macro muscle groups of the body. This state lasts between 15 seconds to a minute, though subjects report that it lasts much longer.

These episodes of paralysis baffled medical professionals for centuries. It was not until R.E.M. and its co-relation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery of sleep paralysis started to unfold. Researchers discovered that hormones were released during the R.E.M./dream state that paralysed the body and prevented it from physically acting out the dream. During most regular sleep cycles the hormones begin to wear off before the dream is completed and the person will wake with a fully functioning body. In rare occasions the hormones are still actively suppressing the major motor functions of the body and upon waking the individual is aware that their body temporarily paralysed.

Hallucinatory sleep paralysis: A more terrifying kind of sleep paralysis is the hallucinatory sleep paralysis or hypnagogic sleep paralysis, also known as Hag phenomena.
There are three major differences between Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis (HSP) and CSP.

Characteristics of sleep paralysis:

3. CSP is common and universal; HSP is rare and seems to be geographically episodic.

4. CSP is of relatively short duration; HSP can last as long as seven or eight minutes.

3. CSP may induce a sense of anxiety; HSP is accompanied by a nightmarish hallucination.

There is evidence that HSP seems to affect an area (such as a town) much like an epidemic.

The most striking difference between HSP and CSP are the horrifying hallucinations that accompany the paralysis. The source of the hallucination has often been attributed to the hypnagogic state (the state between wakefulness and sleep). An individual usually awakens either because they hear something or feel something. The thing to remember is that this occurs outside of the dream sequence/plot. The individual is awake yet paralysed like in CSP. Moments after the person awakes they are startled by a terrifying visual hallucination. This hallucination will generally take on a stereotypical form. It is usually a vision of a malevolent creature that straddles the victim. The creature will then either compress the chest or attempt to strangulate the victim.

The visual hallucination has been variously interpreted throughout time and in different cultures as being: indigestion, guilt (Ancient Rome, Egypt), witchcraft (Mexico), demons (Medieval Europe), djinn (Arabia), vampires (Europe), Hag (Ireland, Scotland), spectral foxes (Japan), cats (China), ancestral ghosts (South-East Asia), etc. Despite the various interpretations, the descriptions of the hallucinations are remarkably similar. There are various folk remedies to avoid HSP. But the most common is to not sleep on your back.

Almost all attacks have been reported by people sleeping face up.

irseg · 08-06-2003, 01:11 AM

I've had a few episodes of sleep paralysis. The first time I had no clue what was going on. I tried to move a few times, then thought "fuck!! on the count of 3 I'm gonna try my best to move or else I'll die here!!!!...1...2...3" and by then it had worn off, so I flew about 6" in the air and fell out of bed.

The other few times it happened I just thought "oh, this crap again. ok, I'll give it a few seconds....there, I can move. problem solved."

HSP seems somewhat different, though. I have never had any hallucinations, even though I had been in the middle of a dream a few times when I woke up and was paralyzed.

MSD · 08-06-2003, 07:33 AM

When I'm falling alseep, I sometimes experience CSP. I'll suddenly be unable to move unless I focus all of my energy on moving one limb and waking up. As I start to drift off to sleep, I hear a buzzing or static-like hissing sound, and sometimes even the sound of a crowded room full of people talking. As my eyes close, I suddenly have the sensation of being yanked out of my bed and moving forward at a very high speed; this lasts for a few seconds, then I feel like I'm slammed back into my body, sometimes hard enough that I bounce. I assume that the bounce is caused by invoulntary muscle contractions as I wake up.

As for hallucinations, A few weeks ago, I was feeling the same as I usually do when I have sleep paralysis, but as I started to drift off to sleep, my throat would contract and I would have trouble breathing. It continued for about 45 minutes, and each time I would wake myself up fully, and after a while, I just gave up on falling asleep normally and got up.

BentNotTwisted · 08-06-2003, 02:04 PM

Very strange. I would like to hear more about how HSP manages to affect a local group of people. Since it has been happening since ancient times it can't be a government conspiracy or some unknown chemical in the environment. Very freaky.

bryan2766 · 08-06-2003, 04:23 PM

It could have something to do with their altitude and amount of oxygen in the air

Dilbert1234567 · 08-06-2003, 10:41 PM

You want a fix for that?

Try to cough, coughing is partially an involuntary action and you can start it with out moving, this should wake your body up and break you out of the paralysis

well it works for me

maybe it will work for you

Mephisto2 · 08-07-2003, 04:27 AM

This is very interesting.

I have experienced CSP many many times. It is very frightening when it first occurs. In my experience, it was also accompanied by a sort of "falling" sensation, or a feeling of impending doom. Quite disturbing.

I used to "know" what nights it would most likely occur, as I would be exhausted or find myself dropping in and out of sleep suddenly (sort of like when you nod off for a second). I found that the best way to come out of it was to cough, or moan or groan... It got so bad that I even used to warn my GF to "wake me up" if she heard me groaning. It kind of freaked her out a bit too.

Alternatively, I would concentrate on moving my little finger with my entire being. This took an enormous amount of effort (I could almost imagine beads of sweat appearing on my brow), but after a 30 seconds to a minute I would get some movement. Once that happened, I regained control of my body rapidly.

As mentioned above, these episodes were usually (but not exclusively) associated with times when my body was very tired. During my partying days, when I used to go out clubbing, do far too much E or coke, they got worse.

I rarely experience CSP now.

Once in my life I experienced HSP. I awoke, paralyzed in a hotel room, lying on my side looking out toward the window. I was 12 floors up, in a strange city (Ottawa to be exact, but it was my first time there).

Outside my window a little boy was floating... gently scratching the glass. If you've ever seen the film Salem's Lot, you can visualize the experience. It was probably the most frightening thing I have ever experienced.

As anyone who reads my posts here knows, I believe in NO supernatural or paranormal events or incidents. So this scientific explanation is extremely interesting.

Great post!

Mr Mephisto

jwoody · 08-07-2003, 04:46 AM

I didn't explain my dream innitially, so here it is:

I woke at 4:38am totally aware of my surroundings and staring at the clock. I could hear voices and movement downstairs and as I live alone this freaked me out a bit. I tried to get up but I couldn't move at all, at first. After what seemed like a couple of minutes I managed to get up and stagger towards the light switch (it was just as though I was very, very drunk and completely drained of energy). I got to the light switch and...it didn't work. I tried the bedroom door and it wouldn't open. All the time these voices were getting louder and I could hear people breaking my house up. This continued for a minute or so, then my door burst open knocking me to the floor.

At this point I woke up, covered in sweat. I looked over to the clock. The time was 4:41.

Had my eyes been open the whole time?

Did I really get up and try the light switch, or open the door?

What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Fuck knows.

jimk · 08-07-2003, 04:57 AM

"it was not until r.e.m. and its co-relation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery......................"

rock stars. is there anything they DON'T know? -homer

seriously, though, sometimes i sleep on my arm the wrong way and when i wake up it has no feeling & will not respond to my desire to move it. this seems to be blood flow linked, as if i roll off of the arm, or move it with the other arm, i can feel sensation & mobility slowly flow back into it. takes maybe 20 seconds to regain full use.

does this have anything to do with what you're talking about?

Mephisto2 · 08-07-2003, 08:01 AM

Sleep paralysis is something different entirely.

You are completely aware, but unable to move. It's freaky, very very unpleasant and quite scary.

Not something you want to experience if you can avoid it.

The fact that it also happens when you're half asleep, half awake means it's "worse", if you know what I mean. You can literally be coming out of a dream or be mentally disorientated.

Once I stopped doing drugs though, the episodes almost vanished.

Coincidental, eh?

Mr Mephisto

mollocate · 08-07-2003, 09:00 AM

i used to get this when i was a kid, it really scared me. I always seemed to get it when the cover would be just over my face. i ouldn't move and often felt i was suffocating. one time i experienced it my mum was actually in my room and i could hear her pottering about. i was trying with all my might to say something to her, to try and move the cover off my face but couldn't. i always felt it lasted a panicked eternity and that i would suffocate. i have had it as an adult but i no longer feel AS panicked by it.

rev_skarekroe · 08-07-2003, 09:16 AM

I had that happen to me. With a great deal of effort I got up and wandered groggily out of the room. Then I realized something wasn't right. I was still in bed. So, once again, I used all my force of will to pry my limbs out of bed. I went out to the garage, got a Coke, and went back inside to caffienate myself. That's when I discovered that, once again, I was lying paralysed on my bed. After a few panicky moments where I thought I was in a coma, I managed to get up and get moving, for real this time. Unless, of course, I'm still there...
sk

Itchquake · 08-07-2003, 11:15 PM

The last time i had sleep paralysis i was taking a nap and was trying to get my roommate to help me wake up, but i could hardly talk, i couldn't move, or open my eyes. I could hear my roommate and everything around me. The best i could do was moan her name, but that only freaked her out so she just left me alone and tried to ignore me. I was able to get up and move in about 5-10 min. It seems to only hapen when i'm napping.

daoist · 08-07-2003, 11:18 PM

happened to me once, i was asleep in the basement of my house. couldn't move, and it felt like someone was leaning over me, just out of sight. scared the hell out of me. I tried screaming, but at first it came out really quiet, then got loud as I sat bolt upright in bed. "aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAH"

Miserlou · 08-08-2003, 08:26 PM

Shit!! I'm glad you brought this up! For the longest time I wondered what happened to me that day I fell asleep in the car not too long ago. A buddy was driving and I just dosed off in the passenger seat. The part were CSP happens mostly to people sleeping face up all makes sense now. I was in a car seat and my head was laying over the headrest face-up.

What happened was that I fell asleep, I can't remember if I had a dream or not, and woke up staring at the cieling and top part of the windshield. I could hear the radio but I couldn't move my body. I completly freaked out. First I attemped to sit up- didnt work, then move my head-didnt work. I devoted what felt like all my strength to trying to move my head off the headrest, but no progress was made. Since I couldn't see my body I felt like I was strapped down to the seat (some elaborate prank pulled by my buddy?) or decapitated (How the hell am I supposed to know what happens after death?)

But I just closed my eyes and woke up after a few seconds (It felt like a 5 minute struggle) as if waking from a dream. I was a little freaked out that day.......

Bumm · 08-09-2003, 01:35 AM

i get this a lot.....and it scares the crap out of me.....i'll never get used to it......but when i drink a whole glass of water before i go to bed seems to help me from getting sleep paralysis..i don't know why...could be my blatter..who knows.........thanks for the info

SiN · 08-09-2003, 04:57 AM

i've had it...both kinds...

quite love the experience actually, even tho it's def. freaky/scary.

one thing that happens often to me when i have the non-hallucinatory kind is i get these electrical buzzing sounds in my head...just kinda like a shot of electricity thru a wire in my brain.

and also quite often a spinning feeling...either with an axis thru me from head to toe and i spin on that..or an axis thru my middle and i spin around that...

it's been a few months since i've had one..i miss em.

MORPHeusBreakz · 08-09-2003, 10:21 AM

I, too, experience this quite often. Unfortunately, 90% of my occurances are of the hallucinatory type. It used to happen to be about 5 times a week, but it has since slowed down to about 2-3 times a month. With me, I experience the same things many of you mentioned, such as the loud buzzine sound (it's so fuggin' loud, that it feels as though my eardrums will burst). Also, I always have my eyes open rather than closed so it makes it worse.

Anyway, I have seen some of the scraiest shit in my life while experience SP. I can't tell you how many times I have seen spirits and/or demonish like figures. I have even had them attack me on rare instances. I would fo into it further, but I'm not sure how many people would blieve it to be true, some of it's so bad.

I have done a small amount of research on this, and the basics of it are that somehow it opens you up to things you would not normally be open to receive (obviously). They don't know the exact cause of it, but there are supposedly meds that can help. I believe I saw somewhere that there's a prticular drug that completely eliminates it in like 40% of patients (although I cn't remember the name of it). Also, one researcher gave these stats...

80% of people who got SP got it only while laying on their back
30% on their sides
30% on their stomach

Obviously, that's not 100%. It's simply a percentage based upon position of sleep, meaning that some people fell into more than one category. Anyway, hit me up on AIM if you want to talk.

And I would also like to welcome myself to the forums here

Chris

AIM: MORPHeusBreakz

SiN · 08-09-2003, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MORPHeusBreakz
.... With me, I experience the same things many of you mentioned, such as the loud buzzine sound (it's so fuggin' loud, that it feels as though my eardrums will burst). Also, I always have my eyes open rather than closed so it makes it worse.

yep. exactly.

well...when i experience the hallucinatory ones, my eyes are at least a bit closed...complete hallucination..

when i just have the paralysis (which is *always* accompanied by the sense of a 'presence'...my eyes are glued open.

Quote:

Originally posted by MORPHeusBreakz

Anyway, I have seen some of the scraiest shit in my life while experience SP. I can't tell you how many times I have seen spirits and/or demonish like figures. I have even had them attack me on rare instances. I would fo into it further, but I'm not sure how many people would blieve it to be true, some of it's so bad.

hmm...i see less, but sense more. definitely feel like a 'force' is holding me down..even an occasional 'mind-fuck'.. (oh, and some very odd/intense sexual hallucinations too at times..)

Quote:

Originally posted by MORPHeusBreakz
I have done a small amount of research on this, and the basics of it are that somehow it opens you up to things you would not normally be open to receive (obviously)....

80% of people who got SP got it only while laying on their back

always on my back...and yeah. receptive. hellyeah.

Quote:

Originally posted by MORPHeusBreakz

And I would also like to welcome myself to the forums here

welcome

macmanmike6100 · 08-09-2003, 04:11 PM

wow, i didn't know that this was a well-documented phenomenon. Glad to know that it is, though. I always sleep on my back and "wake up" paralyzed maybe four or five times a year. It's frightening as hell, usually because I'm still dreaming and have to fight with my brain to convince myself that it's "just a dream."

Haven't experienced the nightmare as described (creature straddling me) but have been scared shitless because I've dreamt of other reasons I need to get out of bed and yet cannot (no, urination has not been one of them).

Drider_it · 08-10-2003, 07:43 PM

Let me give you my run down.. ive had this happen all my life until i married my wife..

I would wake up at different times.. as soon as i came "aware" it was like a mild eletric shock went through me.. best way i can describe it..

but here it differs.. I had this feeling of utter horror.. I mean if i could have wet the bed i would have and this was all the way up to age of 23....

I would just lay in the bed with my eyes closed trying to pretend i was asleep.. .. you can kiss my ass every last scientist that tells me this is not right..

I know something was in the room with me.. I would try to breath and it was hard to do....

one morning i woke up to this and i swear to the almighty.. that i kicked it into my subconscious(spelling) and walked to my parents room and fell on to thier bed stiff.. my dad said my legs were sticking straight out and that i was on my back.. he thought i was dead ..

and this would last for over 5 min.. weird.. still creeps me out..

MORPHeusBreakz · 08-10-2003, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Drider_it
you can kiss my ass every last scientist that tells me this is not right..

AMEN BRUTHA

nothing more i despise than someone telling you that you're full of shit when it's something they have never experienced.

hey....i've never been to botswana...does that mean there's no such place?

fuzzix · 08-11-2003, 04:14 AM

Sleep paralysis can be incredibly frightening, it happens to me quite often if I disrupt my normal sleep patterns (ie: by taking a nap during the day). I rarely get visual hullucinations, but I always get auditory ones. Because your mind is awake when this happens, the best thing you can do is relax, if you can relax, you'll go back to sleep or may even enter a lucid dream if you're lucky. See it as a gateway to your dreams, after all if your body wasn't paralysed then it would try to 'act out' your dreams - resulting in all sorts of trouble. If you can learn to conquer it, sleep paralysis could be viewed as a weird sort of gift, I'm convinced it is the key to initiating lucid dreams with greater ease.

GoldenOuroboros · 08-11-2003, 04:46 AM

I've got some similar experiences in the thread I have put up.. I'm sure this stuff is all related.. especially the HSP. I've experienced the CSP before, I think I may have actually put myself into a similar state.. I don't know for sure.

QuasiMojo · 08-11-2003, 05:36 AM

Ah, Sleep Paralysis~
Let me tell ya boy...it is a strange, frightening thing this.
And it is very difficult to describe to someone who has never had it happen to them.

I experienced this in my 20's mostly and a few times in my 30's
it was generally when I was going through periods of great stress in my life.

The first couple of times the paralysis was accompanied by vivid, and I mean VIVID hallucinations. On the verge of sleep it would seem that my brain would plug into something and I would feel like a throbbing,electrical sensation in my head.

The term "Eyes Wide Shut" comes to mind. I was awake but I knew my eyes were closed. Not being able to move....(oooof, I get shivers just thinking about it) Like I said, The first couple of times I would see alllll this CRAZY SHIT....just all kinds of stuff that I will not detail here. I fought very hard to wake up and as soon as I shook it off of me, it would settle in again and begin to sap me. The images were not malignant or frightening in themselves. What WAS frightening was the fact that this was happening to me. And sometimes it would happen all night. leaving me so drained and spaced the next day. I do remember thinking very lucidly that if I didn't get myself out of it...I would Die There.

But like SiN, I began to learn to ride them out to try to enjoy this...psychonautical experience I was having. But the last couple of times have been void of the images and scenarios that would unfold(I don't know why) and the experience was just the awful cycle of buzzing in my brain...not being able to wake.....shaking it off...and repeating. and the terrible next day of walking around like the living dead. It became more of a real pain in the ass than a frightening occurance.
Jwoody I wish you, and everyone else who truly knows what you are talking about Good Luck with this.

Dilbert1234567- I like your advice, That makes sense...if this ever happens to me again I will try it.

warmingup2prose · 08-25-2003, 08:24 PM

sleep paralysis is something i've only experienced a few times, mostly CSP prior--which i didn't pay attention to, and rarely ever HSP...until very recently. i've moved to a new place, and have had HSP episodes at least five times in the past month...perhaps more, but i tend to try to forget about them. i get the auditory buzzing, and once i "saw" a white smoke in the room, but my eyes were not open...i'm not sure it was even my room.

anyhow, i wanted to tell you all about a concept album on sleep paralysis, dredg's "el cielo". it's an amazing record...probably my favorite ever. (and i guess it's not completely about sleep paralysis--it's based on dali's painting, "dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranant, one second before awaking.") on their website people are encouraged to share their experiences of sleep paralysis. (www.dredg.com) here are some lyrics...but the experience and feeling really comes through better with the sounds.

SCISSOR LOCK
I think I’m awake, rolling on my blanket,
I am sinking

Into the bed, light around me,
Beautiful washes of pulsating color,
Buzzing white noise, it sounds like 100 bees…

I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed.
I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed

Lucid, you control it, you’re body’s asleep,
Your mind is awake…

I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed.
I, too, once thought the radio played,
Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed.

from IT ONLY TOOK A DAY

Restore your needed shelter,
Our flawless endeavor to be alone, to be alone.

Sitting sideways, something deep,
Wading water, pants at my knees,

Sitting sideways, something deep,
Fading with growth…
Lie awake, lie awake, lie awake.

GakFace · 08-25-2003, 10:09 PM

I think i've had CSP.. but i'm more or less curious about the sound... that after about 10-20 seconds, the sound dies, and i get up... heh

As for HSP... I still have no fucking clue. There is so much about it. Sure from Mr. Mephisto's POV I had lots of HSP.

But its so weird, I mean Sure I was on my back, and sure I saw a demonic being, and i couldn't tell if I was awake. But there are just other things that go beyond this. First of all, it happened daily for over a month... I lost track past a month's time, but I do know it was over a month of hell( yet HSP is supposed to be RARE). No other way to describe it. It never once came close enought to touch me, jump on me, strangle me.. rather it just mocked me, and told me how I couldn't do a damn thing and was helpless. Oh and it would laugh at me. The whole thing also occured in my room, how I was sleeping and all (that would follow HSP, as I'd be awake, head on pillow.. able to see suspended body). The episode was exactly the same every night. the "theme" if you will never changed. So yeah if you don't believe in the supernatural, you might just say it was just a pretty rare experience. But if you do believe in the supernatural, then let me go on. See I also had dreams of demons in my DREAMS... not HSP, or any of that, but actual dreams. I noticed that these too happened when I'd be on my back. But one dream in particular,, Kick ass dream. I was on a beach partying with a good friend and lots of hot women..

, but i did roll over onto my back somewhere during the night. Well someway through the dream, The two main chicks me and my friend were dancing with turned into demons. They chased me all through out my dream until I realized I was safe if I merely prayed to God, when I did I woke up. I have posted about my "HSP" dreams as well.. Those ENDED when I professed my faith to the demon, in words so incredibly well, that I don't think I could ever say it like that again. A few more facts. A good friend of mine can see spirits on a day to day basis. He also has studied Demonology extensively. First off, the deamon I saw in my "HSP" dreams I described to him the best I could..... He recognized it to be one he sees lurking around my house. Mind you, I told him of the deamon not the dream.... (as saying the dream first could lead to a biased answer). Also I explained to him what the two deamons looked like that chased me in my dreams. He remembered those deamons, one of them to be an extremely powerful deamon that works right under Satan himself. I had a second set of "HSP" dreams too. See the first set was when I was so stressed out, I didn't know who I even way anymore. But the second set was when I was helping a friend closer to God, and out of grasp from the devil. If you believe in God, you can understand why I think the second time it was easily Satan attacking me, as I was so close to "Stealing" a soul from him. This second set... the HSP was short lived, but when they died.. the dreams turning into deamons chasing me appeared... and THEY in turn died off when I freed my friend from the devil's grasp. A lot to take in, yes... but I find it hard to believe that all of these things are mere coincedences. It just doesn't seem all too logical (and yes Mr. Mephisto, to you everything I just said seem all too illogical

)

So... Yeah.

tinytim · 08-25-2003, 11:49 PM

This used to happen to me in high school when I worked fulltime and went to school, and slept three or four hours a night. I would try and knock out on the couch for an hour before after school and would wake to a weird dream state type deal where I couldn't move, never heard about it before now. Dunno, freaked me out and only happened when I would take naps.

jimk · 08-26-2003, 04:45 AM

i remember being small (5-8 yrs old) and feeling like i was either floating out of my body, or that my body was HUGE - like really inflated or something. no pain - just kind of frightening. back then it happened a lot, and i'll still get it once every few years...

h2ogo69 · 08-29-2003, 07:16 PM

Quote:

HSP is accompanied by a nightmarish hallucination.

iv heard 2 really hardcore stories about this.

one comes from a friend who one night was sleeping, and woke up paralyzed, with a thirst that as he claims felt as he had been in the dry desert heat for days. and he awoke only to find an arabic nomad/ gypsy looking guy standing over him, the strange man then opend a cantine and poured water inyo my friends mouth... and disappeared, the weird part is his thirst was magically gone.

the second...ironically enough comes from my friends older brother who awoke in the middle of the night and saw a brown figure which he refuses to describe to me ( all he can say is that he was in-human)staring at him and holding him down on the bed wiht one hand... but what makes it so creepy is that he began to scream whihc woke his dad up, and his dad walked in and actually saw the creature and it vanished rihgt after

Cynthetiq · 08-29-2003, 08:09 PM

i just experienced CSP for the first time the other week. I just haven't had time to search thru paranoia to find more about it.

it was definitely different.

MacGnG · 08-29-2003, 08:28 PM

when you are in bed, before you are ready to sleep but still sleepy, lie still and dont move your hand. then try no to move it, and then just move it really suddenly. you can actually confuse yourself to not move your hand when you really want to but when u are actually trying not to move it, it does.

i have noticed it but only when messin with my head, havent noticed it sleeping.

Xell101 · 08-29-2003, 09:16 PM

I've been known to shoot straight up in bed looking for the clutch on my wheel chair or the little clam that swam under your pillow.

I Brow · 09-02-2003, 10:13 PM

This has happened to me a two or three times recently also. I had no idea what it was until i read this thread. I was taking a nap with my girlfriend when i woke up and found that i couldn't move at all. I wanted to tell me girlfriend to wake me up, she was half asleep beside me, but i couldn't make any sounds. So i tried to scream as loudly as possible but i could only hear it in my head. And the longer i screamed, the faster it felt like it was flying through a roller coaster. It's some scary shit.

Semi-Normal · 09-02-2003, 11:31 PM

Thanks for the post - I'd seen references to sleep paralysis a couple of times and wondered what the hell it was, as I've never experienced it. Probably because I never sleep on my back. (I can't for some reason.)

hundred-peons · 09-04-2003, 06:15 PM

Having experienced this first hand, I must say this is one of the most terrifying and helpless feelings a young person can ever go through.

Now at age 24, I have these episodes rarely, I'm a 6'3" 200lb male, i have a hard time sleeping on my side or stomach. Almost always do I sleep on my back.

In high school I would have these episodes every single saturday and sunday. Alarm clock being turned off on these days. It's almost as though your natural ability to wake yourself is fubared.

The first feeling I would have is that you feel yourself completely aware that you are lying in bed and are no longer asleep, your eyes are still closed, and that you are unable to open them. You then realize you can hear everything, TV, people in other rooms, stereo etc, and that these things are real, they are not distorted dreams, they are real voices and what not. You make attempts to call out to another person and are completely mute, you may think they did not hear you, but in reality you are mute during this whole thing. Not only are you mute at this point, but you begin to think you are NOT breathing, that you are suffocating.

Then it strikes you to MOVE, to MOVE now. This is where you get terrified as you cannot move under your own willpower. It really feels like your willpower is taken from you. Not a physical paralysis so much as someone or something has robbed you of your own willpower.

The scary part is that the more your struggle, the worse it gets, yet if you refuse to struggle you're met with a feeling of doom as though you will die if you do not fight it. That leaves you in a state of panic as you are furiously struggling to wake.

Two things couple this experience, one you can reproduce easily by closing your eyes as hard as you can, it gives you a pop in your ears, and a sound of pressure. This is the "crackle" and hum people hear.

The other... is the terrible feeling of a "being" sitting on your chest, or holding you down. A presence outside of yourself being part of this whole experience. This is what ultimately freaks me out as I have never met face to face with any spirit or demon or what have you.

I am convinced that it is over when this thing or being is gone. I'm met with a feeling of conquest, or victory as though I bested whatever it is that was doing this to me.

Fearless_Hyena · 11-03-2003, 03:48 PM

I never had any idea this was so common! hundred-peons you described my experience almost EXACTLY, but I've never had any visual or auditory hallucinations nor have I felt like it was really some outside force/being/presence/whatever influencing me. But at the time it definitely scares the shit out of me!!! And I do have this overwhelming, terrifying thought that I'm in some serious danger, but the feeling is not lucid, detailed, or specific, and I usually fall back to sleep despite this feeling. Although sometimes I'm able to jump up and turn on the light and then I'm freaked out for quite a while. Happens maybe once every few months, it hasn't happened to me in about 6 months tho. Well thanks, at least I know what this is now, and maybe I won't be freaked out as much next time. I'm not sure but It seems to happen more when I'm under a lot of stress.

Drider_it · 11-03-2003, 08:49 PM

actaually in have never seen what was there....

its like this..

alseep.. awake.. as i wake up .. and i mean im fully awake in an instant.. there is a lack of sound.. a "void" around me. then it would start.. the eletric wave current flowing through me. still no sound.. a prescence was there.. i could feel it out side my field of vision.. it was there..

after a while i would simply pass out from fright or it would end. most the times i would just pretend i was alseep till i could move and get the fuck outta the room...

aarchaon · 12-28-2003, 06:46 AM

A lot of these instances that people have mentioned could be classified as out of body experiences/astral travel/lucid dreaming. There are threads on these subjects:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=25686

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=22817

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=35906

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...threadid=29316

Something like this happened to me only a few days ago. I was having a dream, then I found myself floating on my bed with only one arm resting on the bed, then the next thing I know I was floating upside down with my head resting on the bed. I then woke up and promptly started to fall asleep again. I had some really clear visions, then there was a really intense, rapid buzzing in my ears and my hands were really tingly. It felt like someone had jolted me with electricity. Thats when I sat bolt upright, totally spun out.

papermachesatan · 12-28-2003, 03:25 PM

When I was ~10 years old, I woke up to the sensation that a woman with an axe was choking me. Scared the shit out of me. Took me 5 minutes to gain the courage to flip on my light on my nightsand. Took me 30 minutes to gain the courage to get up and grab some comic books + read them. Took me like an hour to get the courage to go walk into my parents bedroom and goto sleep.

08-06-2003, 12:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
jwoody Shackle Me Not Location: Newcastle - England.	. Sleep paralysis. What's that all about? I seem to be having episodes sleep paralysis more and more often, so I did a little research and found that I am not alone. While the following may seem a bit far-fetched, anyone who has experienced this will tell you that it's a very real phenomenon. My personal experiences mainly fall into the 'Common Sleep Paralaysis' category, however I have recently (last night) experienced 'Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis' and, to be honest, it scared the shit out of me. The following has been accumulated from various souces: There are two types of sleep paralysis: common (typical) and hallucinatory (hypnagogic) sleep paralysis. Common Sleep Paralysis: According to research almost every adult will at have an episode of Common Sleep Paralysis (CSP) in their lifetime. In the 1950's and 60's it was discovered that occasionally sleepers gain consciousness finding their bodies temporarily "frozen". This temporary paralysation affects the major motor functions and macro muscle groups of the body. This state lasts between 15 seconds to a minute, though subjects report that it lasts much longer. These episodes of paralysis baffled medical professionals for centuries. It was not until R.E.M. and its co-relation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery of sleep paralysis started to unfold. Researchers discovered that hormones were released during the R.E.M./dream state that paralysed the body and prevented it from physically acting out the dream. During most regular sleep cycles the hormones begin to wear off before the dream is completed and the person will wake with a fully functioning body. In rare occasions the hormones are still actively suppressing the major motor functions of the body and upon waking the individual is aware that their body temporarily paralysed. Hallucinatory sleep paralysis: A more terrifying kind of sleep paralysis is the hallucinatory sleep paralysis or hypnagogic sleep paralysis, also known as Hag phenomena. There are three major differences between Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis (HSP) and CSP. Characteristics of sleep paralysis: 3. CSP is common and universal; HSP is rare and seems to be geographically episodic. 4. CSP is of relatively short duration; HSP can last as long as seven or eight minutes. 3. CSP may induce a sense of anxiety; HSP is accompanied by a nightmarish hallucination. There is evidence that HSP seems to affect an area (such as a town) much like an epidemic. The most striking difference between HSP and CSP are the horrifying hallucinations that accompany the paralysis. The source of the hallucination has often been attributed to the hypnagogic state (the state between wakefulness and sleep). An individual usually awakens either because they hear something or feel something. The thing to remember is that this occurs outside of the dream sequence/plot. The individual is awake yet paralysed like in CSP. Moments after the person awakes they are startled by a terrifying visual hallucination. This hallucination will generally take on a stereotypical form. It is usually a vision of a malevolent creature that straddles the victim. The creature will then either compress the chest or attempt to strangulate the victim. The visual hallucination has been variously interpreted throughout time and in different cultures as being: indigestion, guilt (Ancient Rome, Egypt), witchcraft (Mexico), demons (Medieval Europe), djinn (Arabia), vampires (Europe), Hag (Ireland, Scotland), spectral foxes (Japan), cats (China), ancestral ghosts (South-East Asia), etc. Despite the various interpretations, the descriptions of the hallucinations are remarkably similar. There are various folk remedies to avoid HSP. But the most common is to not sleep on your back. Almost all attacks have been reported by people sleeping face up. Last edited by jwoody; 09-30-2004 at 12:57 AM.. Reason: Dead picture link removed.

08-06-2003, 02:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
BentNotTwisted Optimistic Skeptic Location: Midway between a Beehive and Centennial	Very strange. I would like to hear more about how HSP manages to affect a local group of people. Since it has been happening since ancient times it can't be a government conspiracy or some unknown chemical in the environment. Very freaky. __________________ IS THAT IT ???!!! Do you even know what 'it' is? When the last man dies for just words that he said... We Shall Be Free

08-06-2003, 10:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
Dilbert1234567 Devils Cabana Boy Location: Central Coast CA	You want a fix for that? Try to cough, coughing is partially an involuntary action and you can start it with out moving, this should wake your body up and break you out of the paralysis well it works for me maybe it will work for you __________________ Donate Blood! "Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

08-07-2003, 04:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
jwoody Shackle Me Not Location: Newcastle - England.	I didn't explain my dream innitially, so here it is: I woke at 4:38am totally aware of my surroundings and staring at the clock. I could hear voices and movement downstairs and as I live alone this freaked me out a bit. I tried to get up but I couldn't move at all, at first. After what seemed like a couple of minutes I managed to get up and stagger towards the light switch (it was just as though I was very, very drunk and completely drained of energy). I got to the light switch and...it didn't work. I tried the bedroom door and it wouldn't open. All the time these voices were getting louder and I could hear people breaking my house up. This continued for a minute or so, then my door burst open knocking me to the floor. At this point I woke up, covered in sweat. I looked over to the clock. The time was 4:41. Had my eyes been open the whole time? Did I really get up and try the light switch, or open the door? What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Fuck knows. __________________ .

08-07-2003, 04:57 AM	#9 (permalink)
jimk Addict Location: Chicago	"it was not until r.e.m. and its co-relation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery......................" rock stars. is there anything they DON'T know? -homer seriously, though, sometimes i sleep on my arm the wrong way and when i wake up it has no feeling & will not respond to my desire to move it. this seems to be blood flow linked, as if i roll off of the arm, or move it with the other arm, i can feel sensation & mobility slowly flow back into it. takes maybe 20 seconds to regain full use. does this have anything to do with what you're talking about? __________________ raw power is a guaranteed o.d. raw power is a laughin' at you & me -iggy

08-06-2003, 01:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
irseg Junkie Location: Florida	I've had a few episodes of sleep paralysis. The first time I had no clue what was going on. I tried to move a few times, then thought "fuck!! on the count of 3 I'm gonna try my best to move or else I'll die here!!!!...1...2...3" and by then it had worn off, so I flew about 6" in the air and fell out of bed. The other few times it happened I just thought "oh, this crap again. ok, I'll give it a few seconds....there, I can move. problem solved." HSP seems somewhat different, though. I have never had any hallucinations, even though I had been in the middle of a dream a few times when I woke up and was paralyzed.

08-06-2003, 07:33 AM	#3 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	When I'm falling alseep, I sometimes experience CSP. I'll suddenly be unable to move unless I focus all of my energy on moving one limb and waking up. As I start to drift off to sleep, I hear a buzzing or static-like hissing sound, and sometimes even the sound of a crowded room full of people talking. As my eyes close, I suddenly have the sensation of being yanked out of my bed and moving forward at a very high speed; this lasts for a few seconds, then I feel like I'm slammed back into my body, sometimes hard enough that I bounce. I assume that the bounce is caused by invoulntary muscle contractions as I wake up. As for hallucinations, A few weeks ago, I was feeling the same as I usually do when I have sleep paralysis, but as I started to drift off to sleep, my throat would contract and I would have trouble breathing. It continued for about 45 minutes, and each time I would wake myself up fully, and after a while, I just gave up on falling asleep normally and got up.

08-06-2003, 04:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
bryan2766 Crazy Location: East Tenn	It could have something to do with their altitude and amount of oxygen in the air

08-07-2003, 04:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mephisto2 Junkie	This is very interesting. I have experienced CSP many many times. It is very frightening when it first occurs. In my experience, it was also accompanied by a sort of "falling" sensation, or a feeling of impending doom. Quite disturbing. I used to "know" what nights it would most likely occur, as I would be exhausted or find myself dropping in and out of sleep suddenly (sort of like when you nod off for a second). I found that the best way to come out of it was to cough, or moan or groan... It got so bad that I even used to warn my GF to "wake me up" if she heard me groaning. It kind of freaked her out a bit too. Alternatively, I would concentrate on moving my little finger with my entire being. This took an enormous amount of effort (I could almost imagine beads of sweat appearing on my brow), but after a 30 seconds to a minute I would get some movement. Once that happened, I regained control of my body rapidly. As mentioned above, these episodes were usually (but not exclusively) associated with times when my body was very tired. During my partying days, when I used to go out clubbing, do far too much E or coke, they got worse. I rarely experience CSP now. Once in my life I experienced HSP. I awoke, paralyzed in a hotel room, lying on my side looking out toward the window. I was 12 floors up, in a strange city (Ottawa to be exact, but it was my first time there). Outside my window a little boy was floating... gently scratching the glass. If you've ever seen the film Salem's Lot, you can visualize the experience. It was probably the most frightening thing I have ever experienced. As anyone who reads my posts here knows, I believe in NO supernatural or paranormal events or incidents. So this scientific explanation is extremely interesting. Great post! Mr Mephisto

08-07-2003, 08:01 AM	#10 (permalink)
Mephisto2 Junkie	Sleep paralysis is something different entirely. You are completely aware, but unable to move. It's freaky, very very unpleasant and quite scary. Not something you want to experience if you can avoid it. The fact that it also happens when you're half asleep, half awake means it's "worse", if you know what I mean. You can literally be coming out of a dream or be mentally disorientated. Once I stopped doing drugs though, the episodes almost vanished. Coincidental, eh? Mr Mephisto

08-07-2003, 09:00 AM	#11 (permalink)
mollocate Upright	i used to get this when i was a kid, it really scared me. I always seemed to get it when the cover would be just over my face. i ouldn't move and often felt i was suffocating. one time i experienced it my mum was actually in my room and i could hear her pottering about. i was trying with all my might to say something to her, to try and move the cover off my face but couldn't. i always felt it lasted a panicked eternity and that i would suffocate. i have had it as an adult but i no longer feel AS panicked by it.

08-07-2003, 09:16 AM	#12 (permalink)
rev_skarekroe Insane Location: Parts Unknown	I had that happen to me. With a great deal of effort I got up and wandered groggily out of the room. Then I realized something wasn't right. I was still in bed. So, once again, I used all my force of will to pry my limbs out of bed. I went out to the garage, got a Coke, and went back inside to caffienate myself. That's when I discovered that, once again, I was lying paralysed on my bed. After a few panicky moments where I thought I was in a coma, I managed to get up and get moving, for real this time. Unless, of course, I'm still there... sk __________________ "If I could have one wish, as in the fairy tales, I would unmake my past, and rise like Lazarus and stand in sunlight and banish all the dark." D. Tibet

08-07-2003, 11:15 PM	#13 (permalink)
Itchquake Upright Location: Iowa	The last time i had sleep paralysis i was taking a nap and was trying to get my roommate to help me wake up, but i could hardly talk, i couldn't move, or open my eyes. I could hear my roommate and everything around me. The best i could do was moan her name, but that only freaked her out so she just left me alone and tried to ignore me. I was able to get up and move in about 5-10 min. It seems to only hapen when i'm napping. __________________ RENT THIS SPACE!!! now only $5

08-07-2003, 11:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
daoist Crazy	happened to me once, i was asleep in the basement of my house. couldn't move, and it felt like someone was leaning over me, just out of sight. scared the hell out of me. I tried screaming, but at first it came out really quiet, then got loud as I sat bolt upright in bed. "aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAH" __________________ I:IV:XV

08-08-2003, 08:26 PM	#15 (permalink)
Miserlou Insane	Shit!! I'm glad you brought this up! For the longest time I wondered what happened to me that day I fell asleep in the car not too long ago. A buddy was driving and I just dosed off in the passenger seat. The part were CSP happens mostly to people sleeping face up all makes sense now. I was in a car seat and my head was laying over the headrest face-up. What happened was that I fell asleep, I can't remember if I had a dream or not, and woke up staring at the cieling and top part of the windshield. I could hear the radio but I couldn't move my body. I completly freaked out. First I attemped to sit up- didnt work, then move my head-didnt work. I devoted what felt like all my strength to trying to move my head off the headrest, but no progress was made. Since I couldn't see my body I felt like I was strapped down to the seat (some elaborate prank pulled by my buddy?) or decapitated (How the hell am I supposed to know what happens after death?) But I just closed my eyes and woke up after a few seconds (It felt like a 5 minute struggle) as if waking from a dream. I was a little freaked out that day....... __________________ "Oh, these pies arn't homeade. They're from a factory............a bomb factory.................they're bombs."

08-09-2003, 01:35 AM	#16 (permalink)
Bumm Tilted	i get this a lot.....and it scares the crap out of me.....i'll never get used to it......but when i drink a whole glass of water before i go to bed seems to help me from getting sleep paralysis..i don't know why...could be my blatter..who knows.........thanks for the info

08-09-2003, 04:57 AM	#17 (permalink)
SiN strangelove Location: ...more here than there...	i've had it...both kinds... quite love the experience actually, even tho it's def. freaky/scary. one thing that happens often to me when i have the non-hallucinatory kind is i get these electrical buzzing sounds in my head...just kinda like a shot of electricity thru a wire in my brain. and also quite often a spinning feeling...either with an axis thru me from head to toe and i spin on that..or an axis thru my middle and i spin around that... it's been a few months since i've had one..i miss em. __________________ - + - ° GiRLie GeeK ° - + - ° 01110010011011110110111101110100001000000110110101100101 Therell be days/When Ill stray/I may appear to be/Constantly out of reach/I give in to sin/Because I like to practise what I preach

08-09-2003, 10:21 AM	#18 (permalink)
MORPHeusBreakz Upright Location: Florida	I, too, experience this quite often. Unfortunately, 90% of my occurances are of the hallucinatory type. It used to happen to be about 5 times a week, but it has since slowed down to about 2-3 times a month. With me, I experience the same things many of you mentioned, such as the loud buzzine sound (it's so fuggin' loud, that it feels as though my eardrums will burst). Also, I always have my eyes open rather than closed so it makes it worse. Anyway, I have seen some of the scraiest shit in my life while experience SP. I can't tell you how many times I have seen spirits and/or demonish like figures. I have even had them attack me on rare instances. I would fo into it further, but I'm not sure how many people would blieve it to be true, some of it's so bad. I have done a small amount of research on this, and the basics of it are that somehow it opens you up to things you would not normally be open to receive (obviously). They don't know the exact cause of it, but there are supposedly meds that can help. I believe I saw somewhere that there's a prticular drug that completely eliminates it in like 40% of patients (although I cn't remember the name of it). Also, one researcher gave these stats... 80% of people who got SP got it only while laying on their back 30% on their sides 30% on their stomach Obviously, that's not 100%. It's simply a percentage based upon position of sleep, meaning that some people fell into more than one category. Anyway, hit me up on AIM if you want to talk. And I would also like to welcome myself to the forums here Chris AIM: MORPHeusBreakz

08-09-2003, 04:11 PM	#20 (permalink)
macmanmike6100 High Honorary Junkie Location: Tri-state.	wow, i didn't know that this was a well-documented phenomenon. Glad to know that it is, though. I always sleep on my back and "wake up" paralyzed maybe four or five times a year. It's frightening as hell, usually because I'm still dreaming and have to fight with my brain to convince myself that it's "just a dream." Haven't experienced the nightmare as described (creature straddling me) but have been scared shitless because I've dreamt of other reasons I need to get out of bed and yet cannot (no, urination has not been one of them).

08-10-2003, 07:43 PM	#21 (permalink)
Drider_it Junkie Location: Louisiana	Let me give you my run down.. ive had this happen all my life until i married my wife.. I would wake up at different times.. as soon as i came "aware" it was like a mild eletric shock went through me.. best way i can describe it.. but here it differs.. I had this feeling of utter horror.. I mean if i could have wet the bed i would have and this was all the way up to age of 23.... I would just lay in the bed with my eyes closed trying to pretend i was asleep.. .. you can kiss my ass every last scientist that tells me this is not right.. I know something was in the room with me.. I would try to breath and it was hard to do.... one morning i woke up to this and i swear to the almighty.. that i kicked it into my subconscious(spelling) and walked to my parents room and fell on to thier bed stiff.. my dad said my legs were sticking straight out and that i was on my back.. he thought i was dead .. and this would last for over 5 min.. weird.. still creeps me out.. __________________ It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.

08-11-2003, 04:14 AM	#23 (permalink)
fuzzix Psycho Location: Australia	Sleep paralysis can be incredibly frightening, it happens to me quite often if I disrupt my normal sleep patterns (ie: by taking a nap during the day). I rarely get visual hullucinations, but I always get auditory ones. Because your mind is awake when this happens, the best thing you can do is relax, if you can relax, you'll go back to sleep or may even enter a lucid dream if you're lucky. See it as a gateway to your dreams, after all if your body wasn't paralysed then it would try to 'act out' your dreams - resulting in all sorts of trouble. If you can learn to conquer it, sleep paralysis could be viewed as a weird sort of gift, I'm convinced it is the key to initiating lucid dreams with greater ease. __________________ I'm most definately not 'lovin' it'.

08-11-2003, 04:46 AM	#24 (permalink)
GoldenOuroboros The Cheshire Grin... Location: An Aussie Outback	I've got some similar experiences in the thread I have put up.. I'm sure this stuff is all related.. especially the HSP. I've experienced the CSP before, I think I may have actually put myself into a similar state.. I don't know for sure. __________________ Can you see me grin grin grrriiiiinnnning?!

08-11-2003, 05:36 AM	#25 (permalink)
QuasiMojo King Knave Location: Lancaster	Ah, Sleep Paralysis~ Let me tell ya boy...it is a strange, frightening thing this. And it is very difficult to describe to someone who has never had it happen to them. I experienced this in my 20's mostly and a few times in my 30's it was generally when I was going through periods of great stress in my life. The first couple of times the paralysis was accompanied by vivid, and I mean VIVID hallucinations. On the verge of sleep it would seem that my brain would plug into something and I would feel like a throbbing,electrical sensation in my head. The term "Eyes Wide Shut" comes to mind. I was awake but I knew my eyes were closed. Not being able to move....(oooof, I get shivers just thinking about it) Like I said, The first couple of times I would see alllll this CRAZY SHIT....just all kinds of stuff that I will not detail here. I fought very hard to wake up and as soon as I shook it off of me, it would settle in again and begin to sap me. The images were not malignant or frightening in themselves. What WAS frightening was the fact that this was happening to me. And sometimes it would happen all night. leaving me so drained and spaced the next day. I do remember thinking very lucidly that if I didn't get myself out of it...I would Die There. But like SiN, I began to learn to ride them out to try to enjoy this...psychonautical experience I was having. But the last couple of times have been void of the images and scenarios that would unfold(I don't know why) and the experience was just the awful cycle of buzzing in my brain...not being able to wake.....shaking it off...and repeating. and the terrible next day of walking around like the living dead. It became more of a real pain in the ass than a frightening occurance. Jwoody I wish you, and everyone else who truly knows what you are talking about Good Luck with this. Dilbert1234567- I like your advice, That makes sense...if this ever happens to me again I will try it. __________________ AzAbOv ZoBeLoE

08-25-2003, 08:24 PM	#26 (permalink)
warmingup2prose Upright	sleep paralysis is something i've only experienced a few times, mostly CSP prior--which i didn't pay attention to, and rarely ever HSP...until very recently. i've moved to a new place, and have had HSP episodes at least five times in the past month...perhaps more, but i tend to try to forget about them. i get the auditory buzzing, and once i "saw" a white smoke in the room, but my eyes were not open...i'm not sure it was even my room. anyhow, i wanted to tell you all about a concept album on sleep paralysis, dredg's "el cielo". it's an amazing record...probably my favorite ever. (and i guess it's not completely about sleep paralysis--it's based on dali's painting, "dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranant, one second before awaking.") on their website people are encouraged to share their experiences of sleep paralysis. (www.dredg.com) here are some lyrics...but the experience and feeling really comes through better with the sounds. SCISSOR LOCK I think I’m awake, rolling on my blanket, I am sinking Into the bed, light around me, Beautiful washes of pulsating color, Buzzing white noise, it sounds like 100 bees… I, too, once thought the radio played, Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed. I, too, once thought the radio played, Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed Lucid, you control it, you’re body’s asleep, Your mind is awake… I, too, once thought the radio played, Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed. I, too, once thought the radio played, Let’s act like children while we sleep paralysed. from IT ONLY TOOK A DAY Restore your needed shelter, Our flawless endeavor to be alone, to be alone. Sitting sideways, something deep, Wading water, pants at my knees, Sitting sideways, something deep, Fading with growth… Lie awake, lie awake, lie awake.

08-25-2003, 10:09 PM	#27 (permalink)
GakFace Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!! Location: IN, USA	I think i've had CSP.. but i'm more or less curious about the sound... that after about 10-20 seconds, the sound dies, and i get up... heh As for HSP... I still have no fucking clue. There is so much about it. Sure from Mr. Mephisto's POV I had lots of HSP. But its so weird, I mean Sure I was on my back, and sure I saw a demonic being, and i couldn't tell if I was awake. But there are just other things that go beyond this. First of all, it happened daily for over a month... I lost track past a month's time, but I do know it was over a month of hell( yet HSP is supposed to be RARE). No other way to describe it. It never once came close enought to touch me, jump on me, strangle me.. rather it just mocked me, and told me how I couldn't do a damn thing and was helpless. Oh and it would laugh at me. The whole thing also occured in my room, how I was sleeping and all (that would follow HSP, as I'd be awake, head on pillow.. able to see suspended body). The episode was exactly the same every night. the "theme" if you will never changed. So yeah if you don't believe in the supernatural, you might just say it was just a pretty rare experience. But if you do believe in the supernatural, then let me go on. See I also had dreams of demons in my DREAMS... not HSP, or any of that, but actual dreams. I noticed that these too happened when I'd be on my back. But one dream in particular,, Kick ass dream. I was on a beach partying with a good friend and lots of hot women.. , but i did roll over onto my back somewhere during the night. Well someway through the dream, The two main chicks me and my friend were dancing with turned into demons. They chased me all through out my dream until I realized I was safe if I merely prayed to God, when I did I woke up. I have posted about my "HSP" dreams as well.. Those ENDED when I professed my faith to the demon, in words so incredibly well, that I don't think I could ever say it like that again. A few more facts. A good friend of mine can see spirits on a day to day basis. He also has studied Demonology extensively. First off, the deamon I saw in my "HSP" dreams I described to him the best I could..... He recognized it to be one he sees lurking around my house. Mind you, I told him of the deamon not the dream.... (as saying the dream first could lead to a biased answer). Also I explained to him what the two deamons looked like that chased me in my dreams. He remembered those deamons, one of them to be an extremely powerful deamon that works right under Satan himself. I had a second set of "HSP" dreams too. See the first set was when I was so stressed out, I didn't know who I even way anymore. But the second set was when I was helping a friend closer to God, and out of grasp from the devil. If you believe in God, you can understand why I think the second time it was easily Satan attacking me, as I was so close to "Stealing" a soul from him. This second set... the HSP was short lived, but when they died.. the dreams turning into deamons chasing me appeared... and THEY in turn died off when I freed my friend from the devil's grasp. A lot to take in, yes... but I find it hard to believe that all of these things are mere coincedences. It just doesn't seem all too logical (and yes Mr. Mephisto, to you everything I just said seem all too illogical ) So... Yeah. __________________ RoboBlaster: Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.

08-25-2003, 11:49 PM	#28 (permalink)
tinytim Tilted	This used to happen to me in high school when I worked fulltime and went to school, and slept three or four hours a night. I would try and knock out on the couch for an hour before after school and would wake to a weird dream state type deal where I couldn't move, never heard about it before now. Dunno, freaked me out and only happened when I would take naps.

08-26-2003, 04:45 AM	#29 (permalink)
jimk Addict Location: Chicago	i remember being small (5-8 yrs old) and feeling like i was either floating out of my body, or that my body was HUGE - like really inflated or something. no pain - just kind of frightening. back then it happened a lot, and i'll still get it once every few years... __________________ raw power is a guaranteed o.d. raw power is a laughin' at you & me -iggy

08-29-2003, 08:09 PM	#31 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	i just experienced CSP for the first time the other week. I just haven't had time to search thru paranoia to find more about it. it was definitely different. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

08-29-2003, 08:28 PM	#32 (permalink)
MacGnG Know Where!	when you are in bed, before you are ready to sleep but still sleepy, lie still and dont move your hand. then try no to move it, and then just move it really suddenly. you can actually confuse yourself to not move your hand when you really want to but when u are actually trying not to move it, it does. i have noticed it but only when messin with my head, havent noticed it sleeping.

08-29-2003, 09:16 PM	#33 (permalink)
Xell101 Junkie	I've been known to shoot straight up in bed looking for the clutch on my wheel chair or the little clam that swam under your pillow.

09-02-2003, 10:13 PM	#34 (permalink)
I Brow Upright	This has happened to me a two or three times recently also. I had no idea what it was until i read this thread. I was taking a nap with my girlfriend when i woke up and found that i couldn't move at all. I wanted to tell me girlfriend to wake me up, she was half asleep beside me, but i couldn't make any sounds. So i tried to scream as loudly as possible but i could only hear it in my head. And the longer i screamed, the faster it felt like it was flying through a roller coaster. It's some scary shit.

09-02-2003, 11:31 PM	#35 (permalink)
Semi-Normal Insane Location: Christchurch, New Zealand	Thanks for the post - I'd seen references to sleep paralysis a couple of times and wondered what the hell it was, as I've never experienced it. Probably because I never sleep on my back. (I can't for some reason.) __________________ I'm not lazy, I'm "motivationally challenged."

09-04-2003, 06:15 PM	#36 (permalink)
hundred-peons Upright	Having experienced this first hand, I must say this is one of the most terrifying and helpless feelings a young person can ever go through. Now at age 24, I have these episodes rarely, I'm a 6'3" 200lb male, i have a hard time sleeping on my side or stomach. Almost always do I sleep on my back. In high school I would have these episodes every single saturday and sunday. Alarm clock being turned off on these days. It's almost as though your natural ability to wake yourself is fubared. The first feeling I would have is that you feel yourself completely aware that you are lying in bed and are no longer asleep, your eyes are still closed, and that you are unable to open them. You then realize you can hear everything, TV, people in other rooms, stereo etc, and that these things are real, they are not distorted dreams, they are real voices and what not. You make attempts to call out to another person and are completely mute, you may think they did not hear you, but in reality you are mute during this whole thing. Not only are you mute at this point, but you begin to think you are NOT breathing, that you are suffocating. Then it strikes you to MOVE, to MOVE now. This is where you get terrified as you cannot move under your own willpower. It really feels like your willpower is taken from you. Not a physical paralysis so much as someone or something has robbed you of your own willpower. The scary part is that the more your struggle, the worse it gets, yet if you refuse to struggle you're met with a feeling of doom as though you will die if you do not fight it. That leaves you in a state of panic as you are furiously struggling to wake. Two things couple this experience, one you can reproduce easily by closing your eyes as hard as you can, it gives you a pop in your ears, and a sound of pressure. This is the "crackle" and hum people hear. The other... is the terrible feeling of a "being" sitting on your chest, or holding you down. A presence outside of yourself being part of this whole experience. This is what ultimately freaks me out as I have never met face to face with any spirit or demon or what have you. I am convinced that it is over when this thing or being is gone. I'm met with a feeling of conquest, or victory as though I bested whatever it is that was doing this to me.

11-03-2003, 03:48 PM	#37 (permalink)
Fearless_Hyena Hello, good evening, and bollocks. Location: near DC	I never had any idea this was so common! hundred-peons you described my experience almost EXACTLY, but I've never had any visual or auditory hallucinations nor have I felt like it was really some outside force/being/presence/whatever influencing me. But at the time it definitely scares the shit out of me!!! And I do have this overwhelming, terrifying thought that I'm in some serious danger, but the feeling is not lucid, detailed, or specific, and I usually fall back to sleep despite this feeling. Although sometimes I'm able to jump up and turn on the light and then I'm freaked out for quite a while. Happens maybe once every few months, it hasn't happened to me in about 6 months tho. Well thanks, at least I know what this is now, and maybe I won't be freaked out as much next time. I'm not sure but It seems to happen more when I'm under a lot of stress.

11-03-2003, 08:49 PM	#38 (permalink)
Drider_it Junkie Location: Louisiana	actaually in have never seen what was there.... its like this.. alseep.. awake.. as i wake up .. and i mean im fully awake in an instant.. there is a lack of sound.. a "void" around me. then it would start.. the eletric wave current flowing through me. still no sound.. a prescence was there.. i could feel it out side my field of vision.. it was there.. after a while i would simply pass out from fright or it would end. most the times i would just pretend i was alseep till i could move and get the fuck outta the room... __________________ It means only one thing, and everything: Cut. Once committed to fight, Cut. Everything else is secondary. Cut. That is your duty, your purpose, your hunger. There is no rule more important, no commitment that overrides that one. Cut. The lines are a portrayal of the dance. Cut from the void, not from bewilderment. Cut the enemy as quickly and directly as possible. Cut with certainty. Cut decisively, resoultely. Cut into his strength. Flow through the gaps in his guard. Cut him. Cut him down utterly. Don't allow him a breath. Crush him. Cut him without mercy to the depth of his spirit. It is the balance to life: death. It is the dance with death. It is the law a war wizard lives by, or he dies.