'Something' holding me down in bed

Hi all,
This morning something weird happened to me. It was around 7 o clock, the usual time for me to wake up when I go to work or school. Now something weird was going on when I waked up.. I was laying on my back, but my positioning in bed didn't feel very comfortable cause my head was resting on the end of my pillow, so I tried to come forward for a bit so I could place my head further to the back end on the pillow.

When I tried to do this I couldn't come upwards as if someone was sitting ontop of me right on my torso/upper legs and pressing my arms down on the bed.. At that exact moment I just thought something like 'hmm weird' and tried again and the same thing happened. Now this was starting to freak me out; I was using all my force to get up but I couldn't, at one moment I managed to lift my arms from the bed but immediately they got pushed back down by a very powerful 'force'. (I don't know how else to discribe this, it didn't really feel like a handgrip or something.) Now I'm pretty strong, but this was too much for me..

In my head I started freaking out more and more asking myself what the hell is going on, so I tried to scream for help, thinking there was seriously something going wrong with me and hoping that my father or my mother could hear me and would come looking. Now it really got insane; as I was trying to scream my lungs out no sound would come out, only very low volume raspy whispers which you couldn't make out word out of.. A couple of seconds later after the last struggle (trying to call for help) it suddenly stopped and I could move freely again. This thing lasted about a minute or 2, maybe 3, and I was fully awake by the way.

Now I'm writing and thinking about this I realise that something similar had happened a few weeks ago, but not as strong/agressive as this. That time I woke up in the middle of the night laying on my side. I wanted to roll over to my right so I could lay on my back, but something stopped me from being able to that, I could also feel some 'scratching' on my right shoulder. Didn't really hurt though and the thing was over in a few seconds so I didn't think to much of it, maybe a dream or something. (untill now) Also gets a bit vaguer to remember since it was some time ago, but Im sure that this was all that happened.

So.. Anyone else who has experienced something like this or may have a clue about what happened this morning? Would like to hear about it.

Peace out.

Yeh you can feel and imagine all sorts of things when you're asleep and half asleep and in between asleep and awake.
It can feel real.
Dreams you actually remember take place during a phase of sleep when your more awake than asleep.
This is why people who are sedated or who take things to sleep don't dream often because they are actually completely unconscious.
Like people who are drunk.
Did you drink any alcohol on the weekend?

reply to post by Castiel


Maybe Sleep Paralysis? It wouldn't really explain the scratches on your shoulder. It would explain your not being able to move and also the weight you felt on you. I linked you to some info on wikipedia. Hope it helps.

This sounds precisely like a sleep paralysis episode. In fact, mine are generally a direct copy of your experience. The first time it happened to me, I had no idea what was going on and it was utterly terrifying. I was lying on my stomach in that relaxed, near-sleep state and found myself unable to move. The oddest sensation of pressure began, like someone pressing their fingers into my back. I couldn't move and when I tried to scream, it took immense effort to make even the slightest sound (which eventually came out as a rhaspy cry). I hadn't heard of sleep paralysis and honestly believed something or someone was attacking me. It was horrifying. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to move my limbs again.

I have an episode of sleep paralysis a few times each month, but I've gotten to where I can sense its impending arrival and get up or move around to forestall it.

You describe feeling that "someone was sitting ontop of me right on my torso/upper legs and pressing my arms down on the bed". It's interesting to note that the medieval depictions of sleep paralysis were of a witch or demon sitting atop a sleeper's chest or back. It was believed at that time to be caused by any variety of dark entities who visited during the night and pinned a victim to their bed, hence the feeling of pressure and inability to move, along with the ever-present sense of panic and terror.

You say you felt a scratching sensation. Were any marks visible on your skin afterwards to indicate that you had actually been scratched, or do you mean that you felt an odd scratch-like sensation on your shoulder during the incident? Sleep paralysis sensations I've experienced can be very difficult to describe, and unlike anything we would normally experience--is that the sort of thing you're talking about? On the other hand, if scratches manifested on your skin during the episode, I do believe my little diagnosis doesn't hold true.


[edit on 2/2/09 by paperplanes]

reply to post by Castiel


As crazy as it sounds it's happened to me before when I was about 5. It scared the crap out of me, I couldn't move anything except my eyes, then slowly I regained control of my facial muscles, head, and slowly the rest of my body. My mom came to see what was wrong earlier on because it was odd for me to be asleep so long and I had school that day. I started to like being paralyzed though, it allowed me to stay home from school for a day and later play with my action figures.

For a long time I never talked about it but always kept the memory. My friends currently have several theories and it ranges from their backgrounds, one thought it was some type of vampire demonic astral being, another thought it could be me arriving from an astral plane rapidly, but my longest time friend told me he experiences the same thing every now and then to this day and the trick to regaining your body is to concentrate on each one individually and think it into action.

I for one having experienced this cannot say this is imaginary. It's like your body is in a very deep state of sleep. Oh and another thing is that some of my body parts tingled intensely followed by pins and needles sensation when I tried to get them moving again.

i think you may have some ...periphereal (?) nerve damage, and depending on how you sleep, you may pinch it off completely. it would have to be a major section. it wouldn't be motor nerves since they are automatic (breathing, etc). have any injuries to your neck or spine at any point? i'm not terribly convinced by the sleep paralysis explanation. heard it one time too many, for just about any type of scenario and some scenarios may not be related. ( i know for a fact that 1 such incident wasn't related to sleep paralysis).

I HAVE WOKEN THIS MORNING FEELING SCARED. I WAS LYING ON MY STOMACH WITH MY LEGS PARTED AND MY ARMS UNDER MY BODY. I WAS HAVING A DREAM THEN IT WAS INTERRUPTED......I FELT I WAS PINNED DOWN AND COULDN'T MOVE, I COULD HEAR A MUFFLED SOUND LIKE A HELICOPTERS PROPELLERS MOVING IN SLOW MOTION. I FELT AWARE, I WAS TRYING TO MOVE BUT COULDN'T, I HAD THIS OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT I WAS GOING TO BE RAPED, I TRIED TO TALK BUT COULD ONLY MANAGE A STIFLED NO! I WAS THINKING THAT IT APPEARS THAT I AM ASLEEP AND THAT PEOPLE DIE WHILST IN THEIR SLEEP. I THOUGHT I COULD HAVE AN HEART ATTACK BUT WAS AWARE THAT MY HEART WAS BEATING AT A MORMAL RATE AND I WAS BREATHING NORMALLY. I TRIED TO STRUGGLE AGAIN....ALL OF A SUDDEN I COULD MOVE THE SOUND INSTANTLY WENT AND I COULD HEAR THE CLEAR SOUND OF THE CENTRAL HEATING (THE BOILER IS IN OUR ROOM). I DAREN'T CLOSE MY EYES AGAIN, I JUST LAY THERE TRYING TO WORK IT OUT I CONCLUDED THAT THE SOUND I COULD HEAR COULD HAVE BEEN THE SOUND OF BLOOD RUSHING IN MY EARS.