My Experiences with Sleep Paralysis

I was not sure where to post this, but if someone feels it should be placed somewhere else, please do so. I want to start off by saying that this is something that I have experienced for some time now, but thankfully it is not something that happens with regularity. Looking back I would say that my first experiences with it were in my childhood, although I do not remember specifics, except waking up in the middle of the night, being terrified and trying to scream but not being able to. Looking back, I assume that this was my earliest experiences, but I cannot say for sure and do not remember any specifics. For this post I want to list the 3 most recent experiences that I had.

The first was around 2011, I was living alone in an apartment while finishing up my college. I had laid down on the couch and was lying on my back, directly in front of me was my front door, the only door into the apartment. I woke up, but could not move, talk or anything. I could only look around and that is when I saw the door knob. It appeared to be moving, as if someone was jiggling it, trying to come in. I become panicked. I'm trying to get up, but I cannot. I am a grown man, I am by no means a bad man or a large man, but I am 6 feet tall, 220 lbs. I can take care of myself, and if I cannot I have a Springfield tucked away in my drawer that can help, but not now. Even if I wanted to, I could not. I felt as defenseless as a child. I continued to try to move, if I could just get to the door I could see who or what was coming in. I could defend myself. I could not though. After what felt like forever, but in reality was most likely nothing but mere seconds, I broke free. I jumped to my feet and rushed to the door, swinging it open I was surprised to find nothing. It was a beautiful afternoon and no one was trying to come into my apartment.

The next experience was at my parents' home, around 2013 I had came home for Christmas and was in my room asleep. I was lying on my stomach and my face was facing towards a wall. I awoke in the middle of the night, but again I could not move. I started to panic when all of a sudden I felt a presence. It was not pleasant presence either. I felt as if someone or something grabbed my leg. I was being thrown around my bed uncontrollably. It was as if whatever was thrashing me about was having no difficulty in doing so, like I was a pillow that was just being swung around. After coming-to in a pitch black room I fumbled for my remote, finding it and turning the TV on, but nothing was there. I must have hallucinated the entire thing, I had not been moved from my spot, my covers were not in a mess, it was as if nothing was wrong. I was able to go back to sleep (with the tv on of course) and awoke the next morning. I entered my closet to find that one of the shelves had fallen, along with some clothes that were hanging on it. My mother asked me about what had happened and if I had heard a loud thud during the night. I told her about the things in the closet and we shrugged it off, her and my father had assumed I had fallen out of the bed, but must not have been too concerned about it as the thud had awoken them and they went back to sleep. I have assumed that this thud could have possibly woke me up, but my body was still lagging behind.

The last experience I wanted to share happened a few weeks ago. I again am living in an apartment by myself. I was awoken in the middle of the night, and again I could not move, or talk. I started to panic, but was able to regain myself. "You've been here before, you know what this is. You can fight it, you can get out of this, it's just sleep paralysis." This is where this one took an unexpected turn. I focused all of my energy on trying to move one finger, if I could just move one finger the others would catch up and I could get out of this. Then I did, it moved, I started regaining control and stood up, ready to get something to drink, I had beat it. I had not beat it though, within the blink of an eye I was back on my bed unable to move. I again focused all of my energy, and was able to crawl myself out of it and stand up, but again as soon as I had stood up, I was back on my bed, face down. This went on for two or three more times, until I finally snapped out of it. I stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a drink a water, fearing that every step I would just end up back in the bed, but I was finally out of it.

This is not something I normally talk about with others, but I had saw a new movie advertised that explores sleep paralysis and wanted to share that with others, as well as my personal experiences. If anyone would like to share their experiences or offer some insight into mine I am all ears. The documentary is called, The Nightmare, and I provided a link to a Vice story about it below.

www.vice.com...

a reply to: misguided

A non materialist, would say that you had just come back from an OOBE, and got freaked out when your consciousness hadn't quite picked up the reins. This is quite common, and would cause a nasty panic attack especially if you were not aware. The trick is "don't panic" feeling and movement soon follow. You probably couldn't remember the OOBE because your consciousness , had just returned from something that is irrelevant to your normal waking world . Don't worry your not going insane.

A materialist would say, that the mechanism that stops your body from running , if your dream is that you are running. Hadn't quite switched back on after sleep,, so all your autonomic nervous system was working like normal. But that part , which animates the body by conscious thought hadn't quite caught up with the timing yet.

I've had a few disturbing sleep paralysis incidents.
I'll spare lengthy descriptions.
I've also had unpleasant lucid dreaming experiences where I know I am dreaming, but it is very difficult to walk.

Same here, I've had very intense and scary sleep paralysis and RBD experiences and I still do...

take a look at this... it might help diagnose your ''disorder''.

sleepfoundation.org...

sleepdisorders.about.com...

a reply to: misguided

I am trying to understand this
so correct me pls

one thing said is that you are concious (fully awake) but body paralyses.
second experience you describe sounds like out of body experience.
third thing (with the entity) is what doctors are familiar with: people describe these entities but it is just product of imagination*

**//hence the folk stories of some creatures like sacubas
I would say maybe even the people who claim they have been visited or obducted by aliens comes from that//

my personal theory on paralysis like that
is that you have entered parallel universe ( or different dimension) and then came back..
(when we talk the scenario everything looks real yet in reality the remote control is not there yet in ur paralysis it was there )

maybe it is redicilous but my theory is that
we are all made of atomic particles with different frequencies
so what we are as mass and matter with all physical properties is just little vibrating particles
if something like magnetical or electrical force shifts the whole mass changes
like what we perceive as reality is nothing more than our limited ability to perceive it with ours human senses

eg I don't really get this or if it is true
but don't the scientist say that what we see as red is actually green given our eyes have reverse perception on colour spectrum

You sure no one has slipped anything in your drinks?

originally posted by: Legman
You sure no one has slipped anything in your drinks?

Easy to make a sly comment about something you've likely never experienced...

I've had sleep paralysis 10-15 times in my life. I remember each of them. It's not something that you ever get fully accustomed to and can be very unnerving. This is why I never sleep prone or supine; Always on my side.

When I get sleep paralysis, it's always following a reoccuring dream. I'm going to leave out some specifics, but I fully recognize where this takes place at, and the people in it. I'm walking down a hall, there are several rooms on each side with people talking and pleasantly conversing. Long story short, time starts slowing down, people move slower, a change in the atmosphere takes place. It's like it is something malevolent. Everything shifts to black, and I feel this rushing wind and sound, then I wake up on my back staring at the ceiling unable to move or talk.

It's not something I like to experience, although this did lead to a few OOBE once I became "used" to it. But even those were somehow off a bit. It never did feel quite right.

a reply to: EternalSolace

Wasn't particularly sly. You guys are describing what I've had happen to friends. But it was something put in their drinks. Get mad all you want but a lot of times the simplest answer can be the correct one.

Cheers

a reply to: Legman

that is why we have a medical department for it

because it doesn't exist

a reply to: Legman

It might be described to you by friends that have had something put into their drinks. However, sleep paralysis is a proven medical condition. While it can simply be explained away as a medical condition, I do believe there's some underlying meaning to it.

Don't forget that Occam's Razor is hueristic in nature.

I've been having SP for so long, I got used to it already.

It's never pleasant, though, and I feel for you, OP.

Your last experience sounds like a case of sleep paralysis plus false awakening.

In case you don't know what that means (if you do, please ignore me), it's when you wake up in a dream. You're basically dreaming that you woke up.

It's not completely uncommon for people to almost wake up and feel the effects of sleep paralysis before actually waking up. It's happened to me a few times now and it's frustrating, not unlike when you dream you can't run.

My theory, and I could be wrong:

You were on the verge of waking up, so you felt sleep paralysis (which happens every night, we just don't feel it cause we're sleeping). You had a false awakening while that was happening.

In my experience, false awakenings can happen a few times at once (when I have one, it's never just once, it's between three to five times in one "awakening").

Just my two cents.

a reply to: MimiSia

Two of those experiences it felt like I moved, or I thought I moved. Yet I did not. The one where I felt I was being thrown around the bed, I had no control over my body, but the last one where I felt as if I was standing up, I thought I had control, but I assume I was hallucinating. There has been other experiences, thankful I have never saw any figures at the foot of my bed or anything of the sort. The more it has happened, the easier it has been to get out of it, and tell myself that it is nothing.

a reply to: Legman

I assure you no one slipped anything into my drink. On a few occasions anyways, the one during the day taking a nap on my couch, and the other at home for Christmas, no one had touched anything I was drinking.

a reply to: LukeDAP

That's interesting! The last time was definitely different than any others. It felt like sleep paralysis, the fear, the difficulty breathing, the feeling that something is there, but I broke through it multiple times only to realize I was still stuck motionless on bed. I'm a pretty straight forward person, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a skeptic when it comes to most things and look for logical answers. And I believe it to be based in scientific fact, but something about that one felt different. Your answer makes sense though, and it was probably something along those lines. Thank you.

a reply to: misguided

are u by any chance overloaded?

I say stress is just rubbish

now I have uncontrollable panic attacks
thinking u are about to die is no fun

a reply to: MimiSia
Honestly, right now I'm pretty good, not stressed, but at those times it's possible. The first time I was in college, the second I listed I was working and finishing my masters, and the last I could have had a lot going on with work but I can't say for sure. I have read that sleep hygiene plays a big roll and for me my schedule is often erratic. Thanks for the concern, but to honest it has become more a pain in the rear than anything else. When I am able to realize what is going on I'm able to snap out of it easier.

a reply to: misguided

not concerned as such

I get the same thing u are talking about
just trying to understand myself

finishing my masters too
but when I started uni I was suddenly doing 70 hours a day
work+ school and had no car.. so I was 56kg and I didn't admit it to myself I am loosing the plot

now I am cool..
yet for some reason I get these panic attacks (or what ever it is) when I sleep mostly

a reply to: MimiSia

Not sure if it's any consolation, but once I finished school my stress level has dropped a lot. I still get stressed but it's one less thing to worry about, and my sleep schedule is starting to get normal. Hope that helps some.

a reply to: misguided
It sounds to me that demons are messing with you at night. Happens to me often. Sometimes I even share nightmares in real time with my friends. I would recommend that you consider believing that Jesus died for your sins, if you dont already. Then get involved in regular bible study as it will give you the tools to resist these entities. The violent attacks are only the initial stage. It can get much worse.

a reply to: BELIEVERpriest

I am a Christian, but I have never really considered this to be anything spiritual. That's my take on it, and it could be wrong, I'm sure there's been a few times when I was lying there motionless I was saying some prayers, but it's never felt "unwelcoming" for a lack of better words, it's just felt as if I wasn't alone.