Question and my experiences during sleep paralysis

I have always had "sp" for as long as I can remember. I always have the feeling of someone holding me down, or someone in the room and I can't move at all. I have this feeling about three times a week. So far all the drugs that have been given do not help. I don't know what really causes this feeling, but I for one would like to know for sure. The doc's all say it's my brain not functioning right. This I highly doubt. But then again, maybe I'm just born this way. Any real answer would greatly be appreciated.

reply to post by emberscott


It is sleep paralysis. I lay there for a minute and my vision starts going black, I start hearing static and voices in my head and then it starts.

I have only had SP twice in my life, the last time was about 4 years ago when I was staying at my parents house in the UK. I was sitting on the bed writing a letter to my girlfriend who was then in Australia. The next thing I can remember was lying on the bed in a totally different position to where I was sitting before.

The only way I can describe my feeling at the time was the feeling of total paralysis and unable to move any part of my body apart from my eyes which were flickering. In my mind I was trying to move, but seemed as though I was magnetized to the bed, I couldn't even move a finger on either hand. It seemed to last for quite a long period of time before I was able to move again, I have no idea how long this went on for. I was unable to focus on anything, I just had the feeling of urgency to try and move which seemed to make movement harder the more I struggled with my thoughts about trying to move. The room seemed to be a great deal more illuminated than it did normally, the bedroom had only a bedside lamp, but the light within the room was a much stronger glow than what it would normally be from the lamp.

This one particular episode has haunted me ever since, I love to go to sleep to dream, but I am so scared of this happening to me again in the future. I can honestly say that it was a very traumatic experience and not one I want to repeat ever again. But saying that though, in a strange way if it did ever happen again, I would like to think that I would be more relaxed and in more control than my last experience and try to understand what was going on and try and take in what was going on around me.

But the thought of it makes me bloody shudder, I have hairs standing up on the back of my neck just writing about it.

reply to post by Dr Cosma


Isn't it interesting that most members here remember seeing short being and that most indigenous tribes believe SP has to do with spirits sitting on top of the victim.

Many perceptions associated with sleep paralysis (visceral buzzing, loud sounds, excited mental state,[19] presences, and the paralysis itself) also constitute a common phase in the early progression of episodes referred to as out of body experiences.[20] Mental focus varies between the two conditions; paralysis sufferers tend to fixate on reestablishing operation of the body, whereas subjects of out-of-body episodes are more occupied by perceived non-equivalence with the body.

Look at the folklore and around the world section.

en.wikipedia.org...

Three years ago, I had my first "Sleep Paralysis" episode, or at least that I can remember. While I constantly have lucid dreams ever since I was a child, I have no recollection of "SP" until three years ago when I was forced to take malaria pills prior to deploying to Afghanistan. The first couple versions of Lariam caused some GI's to go psycho, but we were told that the version we got was safe. Anyways, after a few days of taking the Lariam pills, I had my first "SP" episode which is why at first I linked it to the pills. However, it has been over three years now and I still have these episodes from time to time.

What really caught my attention to this thread was the description from some of you that are eerily similar to my experiences. In every episode I wake up in a sudden state of awareness to my surroundings. There is always a rustling of noise in the room, which a couple times I first thought was my dog pacing in the room or my cat going hyper and jumping and moving about. Sometimes I notice a low humming or vibration sound as well. There's always a feeling of some other presence in the room. This is when I start to freak out and decide to get up, but can't. I believe my eye's are opened because I can see stuff around the room but due to darkness in the room, it's difficult to make out what's moving around. I try with all my might to just scream or move my body but find it very difficult. Finally, after much struggling my fingers start to move, then my fists clench and I break through and sit up with a scream. Once I scared the hell out of my wife when I sat up screaming and it woke her up.

Most of my episodes happen around 3am, but not always. I also tend to see things from the corner of my eye when I'm awake. I'm not a paranoid person, but seem to attract the paranormal ever since I was young. My sister has told me many times that she thinks our mother, my oldest daughter and I are "Sensitives", which is weird since my oldest resembles me the most (my wife calls her my little female clone) and we both resemble my mother. All three of us have had experiences with ghosts or spirits and have become family stories we share with others.

So what does this mean? Is it the pills that caused my episodes to start (even though I'm told that all side affects should be out of my system by now), or is it connected to the many paranormal events that happen to me since I was young?

P.S. Also, since I was young, I have had experiences where I awoke (around 3am usually) to a noise. Once it was a strange mechanical bird like sounds from out my bedroom window, another time I was sleeping over a friends house and awoke to a sound of small stones constantly hitting the window. Another time I was at my in-laws house spending the night and a high pitched scream kept screeching from out side the window. I have about 5 other of these type of episodes and used to think I was being visited. When ever this happens, everyone else in the house are in a deep sleep and will not wake up even if I tried shaking them a bit. Has anyone else had similar experiences and ideas to what they think is going on?

reply to post by blackmetalmist




Creepy but funny none the less.

reply to post by Serizawa


Misunderstanding. I know what happens to me is not SP.

reply to post by emberscott


Care to enlighten us?

Well wouldn't you know it. Happened to me last night and bam I see this thread...

I've been having SP (Or what ever it is) on & off for years, I have no idea what brings it on, all I know is that it is one the most terrifying experiences I have ever had.

It's been a while since I've seen him though. Who? I have no idea, all I can say is he looks like a man (or shadow of one) in a black coat wearing a hat with a kind of pointy nose and smile, always with a smile, not a happy good feeling smile but one that makes me shiver when I think about it, almost like a creepy grin, next to me just watching me, no movement, no words, just that smile.

Last night though he wasn't there, it was another, whom you ask? Once again I wish I knew, this time it was a small white puppet looking thing, if you have ever seen the puppet from the Sony PS3 game Little Big Planet it is very similar in appearance, big head and white.

I hate it & I'm over it. Wish there was more info.

Aye, had a few of these, been free for a while though which is good. I cant help noticing the descriptions of small figures, hooded figures in the accounts so far. Hiding, sneaky, cowards. I get angry and to be honest this gives me the strength to do the finger/toe freedom move or fight.
What really stands out is how 'awake' i always feel when SP occurs.

The sewn up mouth is the edge for me, trying to scream but all that comes out is the mewling sound, the noise can't escape and makes the head vibrate and that's when the panic can set in, i've been driven to tears at this point before, i find focusing on the finger/toe escape move is the key, it keeps panic at bay, a proactive approach in a pretty ****** up situation.

Just a quick account of SP, a funny although disturbing and weird experience. It occured during daylight, the paralysis kicked in and i had my face pressed against a wall, i had the feeling of something/s in the room and...in my head played the freaky part from the end of Strawberry Fields by the Beatles. Strange one that.

Most terrifying was in a haunted house, not fun, couldn't fight just had to wait it out.

S&F Seri

I have had around 1/2 dozen attacks of SP since i was a kid. Mine seems to be different tho.
Not once have i had any "visitations" or anything wierd happen. Just plain up paralysis, and not being able to scream for the life of me. Kind of frustrating when your partner is lying asleep next to you and you can't move or scream to wake her.

Not to say that wasn't scary enough the 1st few times. I havn't had an attack for ages now, maybe 2 or so years, but i have learnt that when it comes on to just relax and fall back to sleep. Tho i wouldn't mind experiencing an OBE when an attack occurs..

I used to get it all the time. The worst one for me was when I 'woke up' in the middle of the night, lying on my side completely paralysed, it felt like someone else was in the room watching me, then I just heard this really high pitched almost mechanical noise, suddenly I was able to move, turned round ready to punch whatever this was that was in the room but there was nothing there.

I'm not one to believe in ghosts or the supernatural though. Sleep paralysis has a simple explanation: your brain 'paralyses' your muscles when you sleep to prevent movement in your sleep (this can sometimes fail and results in sleep walking). The hallucinations are caused because your brain is halfway between being asleep and being awake, your brain is still secreting the chemical that causes you to dream.

reply to post by Serizawa


Lol ! That video looked like the guy was umm doing stuff to himself under the covers lol.

One consistency i have noticed amongst "sufferers" of sleep paralysis (including myself at one time) is fear. If not of something nebulous, then of the sleep paralysis itself.

i feel the root of it, or at least what has fixed it for me and some i know, is becoming more aware of ones body when they are awake. Perhaps it seems irrelevant, but ill explain my own reasoning and just say it has worked for "fixing" sleep paralysis in those i know. i dont think i saw anything like this posted, but i apologize if it was. This usually starts with becoming simultaneously aware of the thought processes/mind and the lungs breathing as two equal parts of the perspective. One doesnt try to understand the thought processes through the lungs, and one doesnt try to understand the lungs through the thought processes.

Most i know are under the illusion of movement, akin to thinking about ones arm moving instead of moving ones arm. We "think" about the movement, and then none is made. Most of it happens only in the mind, which is also the source for sleep paralysis. Even when an arm is moved, it is not understood by the arm moving, it is approached by how we think about the arm moving. At least in those i have known and myself, sleep paralysis was indicative of "spiritual" (terrible word choice, but hopefully the point still gets across) paralysis. It was partially seen as a clear demonstration of the difference between the observer and the action, and why they can be viewed as individual, but not separate, parts of the same system (our body, in this case).

As they say, its all in your head/mind. But if one does not know how to approach systems within their own body through ways other than just thought processes, there is.. no where else to go. Dreams will sweep one away like a river, etc, and it has more impact on "waking life," as it were, than might be seen at first glance. As our thoughts will still sweep us away like a raging torrent.

I've had probably 7 or 8 episodes in my life. They usually go something like this:
Wake up, but eyes still closed.
Feel someone/something getting in or out of bed or sense that someone is in the room (the times that I 'sense' something, it's more of a feeling that a thief has broken in as compared to aliens/spirits,etc)
I'm unable to move. This is when the fear sets in.

That last couple of times though, I've been able to tell myself: "Your just dreaming, go back to sleep" and I immediately feel a sense of relief and fall right back to sleep.

On a side note, I've notice I can actively cause an episode to happen. I have to be just tired enough to not be wide awake, but not fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.
I get comfortable, close my eyes and focus on relaxing all my muscles just a little bit more with every exhale. I know I'll experience an episode if I start to hear voices and/or music as I'm falling asleep. The voices aren't anything prophetic, it's usually just jibberish. Although one time I did hear the voice say to re-evaluate my retirement plan. So the next morning I boosted my 401k contribution amount.

Here's a little recap of last nights events, The same thing happened and I could sense an episode coming about. Every time I stayed still for longer then 5 minutes my vision would go blurry and gradually darken. The voices would start getting louder and louder so instinctively I open my eyes again, I tried this at least 10 times and it kept happening. So I decided to carry out a little experiment (Hey me a baby if you want :lol but I switched the lights on and guess what? I sleep like a little baby, literally.

This was around 3:20 - 3:40, Never had an episode at daytime.

I have has sp for as long as i can remember. I too get the buzzing, the white last of light in my head and the electrical static in my head too. I get fed up with being told it's all in my mind. I have seen aliens and an operation performed on my head whilst i was very much awake. I get a bit emotional just thinking about it. It is so freaky and no matter how many people ar ein the room, if it wants you, it will take you. That's my experience anyway and i can tell you i have been in shock for months! How come we all get similar experiences and we're not evenrelated? No one in my family other than me gets it! I find that rather odd? So much i could say, but it would take too long and i don't want to feel on edge. It hasn't happened in a while, but it has left me alone before and then came back. It doesn't even scare me anymore, but it never does the same thing twice and i think it is the anticipation, that makes me feel so on edge and a little anxious.

Last night I couldn't sleep very well and I feel like I was get SP again, But it was very mild and I was able to move. I felt as If i released a burst of static electricity from my hands (very cool) and saw the sparks. Once again I'm left puzzled, I just can't explain it.

i have had it 3 times always between 3-3:30 am and hear loud sounds cant move or scream..am very awake and aware and once saw a "shadowperson "move toward me and i tried to raise hand to push it away and felt it push back..after a few minutes it all slowly dissipates...i sense a presence of evil each time...it aint a dream or in my head either

I've had my share of SP in my life. Mostly happens when I'm extremely stressed and tired. I personally think it's all in one's head when they hear voices and have visuals since you are partially awake but you have no control of your body. This might cause a panic and send a message to your brain. And when your brain is in a panic mode, paranoia can cause fear. This may result in voices and visuals, then again, what do I know...