Sleep paralysis, Anyone else gotten it before? Options

[xoxo_proud]

This occurs after waking up or shortly before falling asleep. the person cannot move any body part, cannot speak, and only has minimal control over blinking and breathing. Images or speaking that appear during the paralysis. The person may think that someone is standing beside them or they may hear strange sounds. These may be dreamlike, possibly causing the person to think that they are still dreaming. Often it is reported as feeling a weight on one's chest, as if being underneath a person or heavy object.

From Google

I had a really bad episode a couple of years ago. I heard this gunshot in my ear and I couldn't talk or move at all for almost a minute. It scared me to death. And then a while back I would wake up every night and I couldn't move any part of my body. Sometimes I'd wake up several times in one night and I'd be paralysed. I lost alot of sleep over that but I haven't gotten it in a while.

[Reidar]

Many times. They don't scare me. If you have to use a cheap gimmick like paralysis to subdue me, then you must be a huge wuss. Come out and fight like a man.

I used to have lucid dreams nearly every night where I can see my room but I can't move, and I'd see glowing symbols and letters on the wall above my closet while a deep voice chanted something. But I haven't had one for awhile.

[Melissa]

lol, we learned about this in my mind, brian, & behavior class. what's scarier is that most people who have narcolepsy(spell check is telling me that i spelt that wrong but i can't be bothered to look up the spelling) go through the paralysis while actually being conscious. i learned that the "sleep paralysis" comes with REM sleep, though, so i don't understand how it can happen shortly after falling asleep.

blah. this reminds me that i should go study for finals.

[karmakiller]

I don't think I've ever heard of this. But if the person is asleep when it happens... wouldn't it be possible that they don't even know that they have these episodes?

[Reidar]

You should be able to recall it because it happens during a dream, unless you're dreaming about falling asleep.

[falsetigerlimbs]

Yeah, I have this quite a lot. But when I get it, I am more than just "paralyzed." I either feel like my soul is being sucked out of my body, or that my body is rising up and hovering over my bed. I also hear weird alien noises that I can't even describe, and my body feels like it is vibrating. The first time it happened I was in hysterics for an hour because I thought aliens had tried to abduct me.

It's really weird because most of the time, it happens when I am awake, so I am totally aware of what is happening. It doesn't wake me up; I am already laying in bed half-awake, but I guess just not completely conscious. It normally happens during a nap, when my brain doesn't completely shut down.

But I can now also cause myself to have it.... like I can think to myself, "I want to have sleep paralysis" and it normally happens. I just imagine myself feeling the sensations as I fall asleep. And once I feel that floating sensation, I can also choose to fall into a dream state and imagine that I am actually floating up and away from my bed. I can turn it into a lucid dream, you could say (some people also say this is an out of body experience, but I'm not sure I believe that).

I actually like when it happens now. I was terrified at first, but now I can guide it into a positive experience, so it's pretty cool :)

[queen]

i used to get this a lot, around 3-4 years ago. basically, i wake up not able to move a muscle. i couldn't even talk or scream. i used to be afraid of it, but not anymore 'cause i have a personal technique to get me to "snap out" of it.

also, there are two types of sleep paralysis: one that comes with hallucinations and one that doesn't. i have the latter. i've only had one hallucination in all the times i was paralyzed, and thankfully it wasn't a scary one.

i find it interesting that experts are now looking into sleep paralysis more as an answer to all those alien abduction cases.

[S-Majere]

Yes, I've had this before too. It's beyond frightening, especially as 'the witch' was sitting on my chest for the entire episode, holding me down. Wagh.

Another attack I had was when two men were fighting in my room, one was trying to protect me and one was throwing lightning at my body - and it hurt!

Usually I have to switch on all my lights when I can move again and sit and shake for a good hour until I calm down. I'll be honest, I thought I was going bonzo the first time this happened to me.

I did a lot of research into it, but found nothing really conclusive save for it occurs between waking from REM sleep and consciousness and that lying on your back can trigger it.

[deactivated]

yeah, it happened to me once. it lasted for about 5 seconds. i told my dad the next morning, and he said that my "soul was hungry". i was like, "wth k bye dad"

[tokyo-rose]

No, this has never happened to me. I didn't even know it was possible. At least now I won't be scared if this ever happens.

[lordnetch]

i hate when i get those and i cant breath

[espressive]

I had it like 2x/week for a month and I swear I thought a demon was out to get me. I'd be in bed and I'd wake up to find that I can't move and I can't speak. Then I would feel somebody towering over me, and I could feel the person's breath on my neck and I'd want to scream, but I couldn't. It was the most horrible feeling ever! I was afraid to fall asleep lol

Sleep paralysis is often caused by an irregular sleep-wake schedule, which makes total sense in my case. So for any of you guys looking to get rid of it, set a regular sleeping pattern. Also, now that you know it is sleep paralysis, there are ways that you can combat it if you "slip" into that state again. Try to move your fingers little by little to slowly wake yourself up. It sounds impossible, but trust me, it works. When you are sleeping, your brain immobilizes you (which is why sleepers think they can't move) so that you don't act out your dreams; sleep paralysis occurs when you are waking up from your dream, but your brain hasn't "caught up" yet. By consciously trying to move your fingers, you wake up the other half of your brain that is still asleep.

OR maybe you don't want to come out of sleep paralysis... it can be really scary, but some people have learned to channel it. In the sleep paralysis state, sleepers are able to almost "control" their dream in a sense by just thinking about it. So I guess you could make your sexual fantasies come true :-p

[Tomates]

hmm, i dont think ive ever had it, but i have had times when it would be something somewhat like that only i couldnt really support myself on my legs and i would try to get up and just fall and not be able to move my legs. I dont get them anymore, or atleast not nearly as much. i use to get them a lot in elementary school though

[karmakiller]

i hate when i get those and i cant breath

Massive [unneccessary] bump, eh.

[Simba]

ain't this what people that been through "alien abductions" go through

[batman]

lol, we learned about this in my mind, brian, & behavior class. what's scarier is that most people who have narcolepsy(spell check is telling me that i spelt that wrong but i can't be bothered to look up the spelling) go through the paralysis while actually being conscious. i learned that the "sleep paralysis" comes with REM sleep, though, so i don't understand how it can happen shortly after falling asleep.

blah. this reminds me that i should go study for finals.

i really, really should have studied ><

[espressive]

ain't this what people that been through "alien abductions" go through

yeah they're called that. or it's also called 'the old hag'.

[Rachel]

This happened to my boyfriend last year and it was sooo f*cking scary for both of us. He was really sick that day and we didn't know what was wrong with him and he passed out in my bed. I was watching TV and he started talking in his sleep, so I went over to try and wake him up because it sounded like a bad dream and he wouldn't wake up. I was starting to freak out and then he woke up a few minutes later REALLY freaked out and said it was like he had died or something. IDK, enough was enough for me and we went to the hospital and he ended up having the shingles or something ridiculous.

[*KINGdinguhling*]

hypnosis is the cure my friend