Have you ever experienced Sleep Paralysis?

[Modified]

I've had it twice. Once it was accompanied by the hallucination of a weird guy wearing welding goggles, pounding on my front door while peeking though the window in it and babbling senselessly. When I fully woke up I found that the babbling was from the TV. The other time there was no hallucination. I do remember that I could move my arm with much effort, just very very slowly. Both times I had fallen asleep on the couch and was sleeping on my back, so maybe the sleeping position does have something to do with it, as others in this thread have suggested.

Remembering those experiences makes me feel very claustrophobic, like being zipped in an overly tight sleeping bag.

 

[steenkh]

I have experienced sleep paralysis several times, mostly when I was young, but it still happens about once a year.

I was puzzled at first, but I was never afraid. For some years I fought to get out of the paralysis, and it usually succeeded. This fight for control is the only aspect that could scare me.

I talked about my experiences with friends, and I got the impression that I was the only one this happened for, so it was quite a revelation when, 30 years later, I learned about sleep paralysis on this forum.

Once, I managed to get control of an arm, and while this arm was apparently moving according to my will, I still could not shake out of the paralysis for the rest of my body. By that time, I was quite experienced with sleep paralysis, and I was more amused by the event than worried.

By now, I do not fight the paralysis. I just think "Oh, I am paralysed again", and slip back into sleep.

 

[Elind]

From what I understand, once. Not pleasant, but no aliens seen.

 

[hipparchia]

Once the really scary thing. I was physically tired and slept in a v. narrow bed. In the middle of the night- horror of horrors- I saw an apparition of my mother-in-law in the room. I had to remind myself I experienced a REM paralysis, although it was like a tiny voice of reason on top of a huge nightmare. It resolved within 20 seconds, but I had never experienced such a total feeling of doom. After it ended, it was amusing in a way.

 

[Enlighten]

I think people might be more likely to get it if they take tylenol PM or other sleep aids.

 

[JollyRoger]

Heres a strange story for you skeptics that I like to think of as JUST a dream

during a sleep paralysis experience I had a dream I was being pulled threw a Gratefully dead Steal your face poster I had on the wall, I thought to my self "I wanna get aggressive but I cant"
then I felt something kinda like a sharp needle being pushed into my hip and it was over. I found myself in bed trying to wake up from the paralysis, eventually when I did I remembered a letter I got in the mail selling some book the add said "if you answer any of these ten questions yes you may have been a victim of Alien Abduction.

Its weird how Power of suggestion can play with the mind

 

[EHLO]

Oooo.... you should get an X-Ray or CT scan ASAP to check for mysterious metal objects embedded in your hip...

One of the most frightening paralysis experiences I had was being smothered by giant Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

 

[Monza]

I had my first episode of sleep paralysis as a child. I remember trying to yell for my mom, but I could not move or speak. It has never been terrifying and I have never felt a "presence".

Sleep paralysis occurs for me on quite a regular basis. So much so that is it expected. My only problem has been when it is accompanied by sleep apnea. I had a UPPP (uvula-palato-pharnyplasty) surgery which helped, but did not eliminate, the apnea.

There are times when I know before going to sleep that my body will fall asleep before my mind does. This is usually if I am going to bed very late, or if I decide to sleep on the couch. It can also be spurred by waking up in the morning before it is time to get up. In fact, it is at these times (in the early morning) that I enjoy the sleep paralysis because I can usually experience lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is in many ways the antithesis of nightmares.

I can understand that someone who has only experienced this once or twice would not be comfortable with it, and could misinterpret the entire experience. It is amazing how powerful the mind can be. I have had some very detailed lucid dreams. Sometimes I try to concentrate on some object and find out how much detail I can actually "see". This may be a painting or words in a book. I will start to marvel that all of this is a concoction of my mind, at which point things start to get blurry.

Another type of lucid dream is when I get out of bed and start to get ready for work. I will convince myself that I am not dreaming anymore, and then start to brush my teeth, take a shower, etc. It is very depressing to actually wake up and feel you have to start all over again.

 

[JollyRoger]

Oooo.... you should get an X-Ray or CT scan ASAP to check for mysterious metal objects embedded in your hip...

One of the most frightening paralysis experiences I had was being smothered by giant Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

IT was just a dream sheesh

 

[sthomson]

The first time I remember this happening to me, I did "feel" an ominous presence around me, and "see" a shadowy figure at the foot of my bed but when I fully woke up I was able to process the experience. I've felt sleep paralysis once or twise since then, but it's always been sort of "ok, I can't open my mouth or eyes right now, but if I just try to stretch a bit, I'll fully wake up in a second or two"

 

[SonOfLaertes]

I've experienced sleep paralysis twice, both times as a teenager ( many moons ago). The first time a giant spider was descending over me, the second time Satan (yes, THE Satan) seemed to beckon me into another realm. What strikes me as odd about my experience is the lack of aliens, old woman, Succubi, or (heaven forbid) Incubi. Why do so many other people seem to experience these common "visitors", to the point where they are given unique names (Incubi, Succubi)? It amazes me that experiences shared in a thread full of skeptics would be so varied, while the experiences in the general population are aparrently more patterned.

 

[Ryokan]

It amazes me that experiences shared in a thread full of skeptics would be so varied, while the experiences in the general population are aparrently more patterned.

It's a bit surprising to me as well. The experiences I've had were the classic 'Old Hag' phenomenon, where a dark and evil thing lies/sits on top of you and you can't move.

 

[arthwollipot]

It's very interesting that the responses to the poll are pretty balanced. I'm sure that says something, but I'm not certain exactly what.

 

[CptColumbo]

I used to get it twice a week when I was a kid. I think it started after I had mono. Now I get it about once a month.

It was very scary back then. Your eyes are wide open and you know you are sending commands to your body, but nothing is happening. You feel as though the world has slowed down. I didn't always get the paranoid delusions, but they did crop up occasionally.

I've gotten so used to them that they don't frighten me anymore.

 

[ChristineR]

It's very interesting that the responses to the poll are pretty balanced. I'm sure that says something, but I'm not certain exactly what.

I noticed this also, and also the comment that you wouldn't expect JREFers to have so much experience with Satan and Old Hags and Aliens.

I think the answer may be that many people have had it but didn't realize that it had a name or that it was ever so serious that some people build their whole life around it. The hardcore alien abduction folks will spend hours explaining why they don't have it. Their experiences must have been very profound and frightening. JREFers may be more prepared to recognize it for what it is and possibly people who are interested in it may be more likely to become JREFers.

 

[arthwollipot]

I noticed this also, and also the comment that you wouldn't expect JREFers to have so much experience with Satan and Old Hags and Aliens.

I think the answer may be that many people have had it but didn't realize that it had a name or that it was ever so serious that some people build their whole life around it. The hardcore alien abduction folks will spend hours explaining why they don't have it. Their experiences must have been very profound and frightening. JREFers may be more prepared to recognize it for what it is and possibly people who are interested in it may be more likely to become JREFers.

I think it's because the people who are most likely to be posting on the forum are those who are actively interested - who go out and find out more information for their own edification or amusement - who use words like "edification" and make sentences 67 words long - who are interested either for interest's sake itself or in order to correct some great wrong - in other words, us.

 

[MoeFaux]

If I'm not freaking out and can get my brain together, I try and turn it into a good lucid dream.

 

[EHLO]

IT was just a dream sheesh

You mean the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls weren't real?


Just kidding - I know you know that your experience was just a dream. I'm still getting the hang of written sarcasm.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

I’ve had it several times, but not often. First time wasn’t until late 20s. I have other sleeping problems, so I had already read a lot about sleep paralysis. If I hadn’t, I think the first time would have been terrifying. Instead, it was mostly just confusing. It felt exactly like some wires crossed in the brain. I was awake and not awake.

My dream state had me lying in my bed, but the room was different and vague unfriendly-feeling figures were standing around talking about me. But I knew this was a dream, and had another state that had me just lying in my bedroom as normal—but I hadn’t opened my eyes so this was just sort of another dream state. The two states sort of mixed. I had realized what was going on, but couldn’t move. It felt difficult to breath, although I think I was breathing just fine. So I thought about meditation and controlling my breathing. I concentrated on my breathing. I at least felt like I was having some influence on my breathing (although I don’t think I did). I felt in control, concentrated solely on my breathing, and forgot about the dream states. I drifted back to sleep. I woke up some time later (I don’t know if it was 6 hours or 2 minutes) feeling very cautious, confused, and embarrassed.

After that, when it happens I concentrate on my breathing. I can then take control of my breathing. Then I breath in and out slowly like I’m meditating. I feel in control. My body relaxes. The sleeping-dream state fades away. I can move and then wake up. I’ve found it always happens near the time I normally wake up. So I can get up and go about the day with no problems. Except that I fell really weird, like I’m not sure if anything I really real. It makes for a bad day. So the last couple of times, I’ve tried to wake up, and then go back to sleep for a little while. That seems to help. It seems to give the brain a chance to reconcile everything and then you can wake up feeling normal.

However, in one case I had an experience like someone else posted, where after going back to sleep I dreamt that I had woken up and gone through the morning routine of eating breakfast, showering, getting dressed, and so on, only to wake up and realize it was a dream and I had to do it all over again for real. It still felt better to go back to sleep and then “wake up for real” rather than force myself awake a go through the day in a state of questioning reality.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

More interesting to my mind is the fact that many of my dreams (starting in my early teens, I think) have taken place in the same "dreamlands". I've often returned to particular places in subsequent dreams. It's like when I'm dreaming I'm experiencing various points in time of another life I have in the dreamlands.

Cool. I do that too. I've had a number of dreamlands. I can think of five specific off the top of my head. I've just thought of them as recurrent dreams. But only the setting and the characters recur—not the story. It is like another life. There are people, places, and even cats that are nearly as much a part of my life as actual people, places, and even cats. It’s like a personal soap opera in your mind. Or like continuing a video game where you have some knowledge of the environment. You might jump in any where.

I tend to get these types of dreams in bursts. I’ll have 5 over a 15 day period, and then not have another one for a couple of months. Then I get another burst.

I love my dreamscapes. I love the dreams. There are some that I don’t go to anymore. There are some that have been destroyed in my dreams and are gone. There are people and places that I would love to go back and visit. There is work to be done in some dreamscapes that I desperately want to do, but I can’t get back there. Just writing this, I feel bad that I can’t go do some things I my dreamscape that I feel like I really want to do—check up on some people, places, and even cats.