Sleep Paralysis. I Get It. You Get It. We All Get It. Let's Talk About It.

Originally posted by 547000
I don't get it anymore since I started praying not to get it.
But once when it happened I saw a horrible humanoid figure giving me an evil grin, and everytime I would fall asleep and wake up, I would still see it. This happened for a whole night.

I still get it... probably because I've never prayed not to get it.

But now that I think about it, I do pray every night, so perhaps that is why I've never had a frightening or negative bout of sleep paralysis.

Off course it happens to me also.
When it happens i.e usually when I am on the border of sleep and
wakefulness,these strange imagery and sounds start and I get
scared and wake up.

I'm curious how many people who have had sleep paralysis are lucid dreamers?
There seems to be a link.

I only experienced sleep paralysis once (as a teen) and it was when I was attempting to learn how to lucid dream. I woke up conscious (yet physically asleep) and felt as if I was floating in complete darkness outside of my body (or within my mind). Like a empty/blank lucid dream. I sensed my body was asleep and could not move it. In this darkness I felt an infinite number of demonic like entities coming toward me, in what I interpreted as an attempt to take possession of my body. I struggled and woke up. I slept with my light on for months after wards, something I never did before that. The experience was so horrific that I lost interest in lucid dreaming for a very long time. It has never occurred again thankfully.

I still do not know whether this was a lucid like dream or some kind of actual event.
Either way, it felt real.
I feel bad for those who have to endure repeat occurrences of sleep paralysis on a regular basis..

The demons and all kind of entities that come up when in paralysis or astral are just different forms of your ego. You should split with your ego and then you will experience only nice entities. The screaming, roaring and scary shadows are the projection of your ego to the mind. I hope I wrote this clearly.
Peace

How would you even know you have sleep paralysis?

I used to get it pretty bad. Like waking up just outside or half way in your own body. Seeing but being unable to act or speak. To be perfectly honest Iam not sure my eyes were actually open or not, but I could see.

Hmmm never considered if I was seeing thru my eyes before.

Now mostly I can move it just feels like a side to side shaking. Like Iam trying to settle back in to my body.

I suppose it could be low levels of oxygen in my blood? Or maybe I really am going somewhere else.

anyone else that has this, do you get strange reacuring dreams?

I have to think about if I want to let it happen more often. Its kinda weird because I feel like I wont be able to come back if I let it go to far.

Also getting night sweats pretty often.

Thanks for the thread and intrested in everyones input.

It happened to me around 3 months ago. I was falling asleep and my limbs became completely rigid. My head snapped back and my mouth was stuck open, and my eyes were open. Pretty violent experience to be honest.My neck hurt for a good week after. I couldn't move for (guessing) 10-15 seconds. Never happened before or since.

I did some research after, and found that it could be "petit mal syndrome."

Link

Nice thread.

Yeah, I used to "suffer" from Sleep Paralysis quite a lot in the past. Mainly from a younger age than what I'm at now (18). At first though, admittedly, It was quite a frightening experience as I pretty much had no idea what was going on at all. All I knew was that I, for whatever reason, suddenly started to lose the ability to move without warning and as anyone who hasn't experienced SP can imagine, this is quite an uneasy sensation to experience..

Eventually, and after this occurring most nights for a few weeks and months, sometimes multiple times in the same night, I started to research what it could possibly be as at first I just assumed it was some sort of genuine "paranormal phenomenon" which was causing it. Thankfully though after looking into it a bit more I realized it was far from it.

Sleep Paralysis, fortunately, is something very common and I was glad I was able to find that out due to my own personal research into the topic. I even attempted to write a quick thread out explaining what I found out as I assumed it could potentially be helpful to some others who are wrongly believing they're going through something paranormal when in fact, It's something very normal indeed also. Here's that thread for anyone interested: Sleep Paralysis – A Paranormal Phenomenon?

Anyway, I'm quite fortunate really, I only experienced the "minimal type of SP" as opposed to the much more frightening type, something I'm grateful for really. What I mean by that is, and as far as I'm aware, there's only 2 types of SP that people can experience. The first and more minimal of the 2 is called "Common Sleep Paralysis" (CSP), and this causes paralysis for only a very short while, no more than seconds in most cases. As the name suggests.. It's quite common too! So common in fact, every single person should experience it at some point in there lifetime (So, OP, we're certainly not alone in experiencing SP). Some won't even realize it though as It's so minimal.

The other type of SP however is the one I'd personally not want to experience at all, It's this which also seemingly causes the many tales of abduction stories, or "ghostly visitors" in the night etc. (not all of those stories though ofc. - but certainly ones like "Old Hag Syndrome" for example) Anyway, this type of SP is called "Hallucinatory (AKA. hypnagogic) sleep paralysis" (HSP) - Why is it one I'd not like to experience some might wonder, well as the title again suggests, It causes hallucinations to occur. Frightening ones at that. And not just this unfortunately, It's a terrifying experience which can last for a great deal longer than CSP, minutes in fact. In some instances double figure minutes. It's also commonly accompanied by figures, the feeling of being watched, evil presences etc.

So, SP is a phenomenon I used to experience a great deal, but now? Not so much, why is that? Well, the answer is simple. SP can be stopped from occurring, but simple steps need to be followed firstly. The most simple of them all is to avoid sleeping on your back. It may seem so obvious but I know from first hand experience, this really is a great "cure" for SP.

Others include avoiding stress, getting a good nights sleep and so on but for those out there who simply don't want to experience this at all, I can vouch personally for the very simple cure of sleeping on ones side as opposed to your back. We also need to remember that, for those sufferers of HSP, that what's being experienced is but as the name suggests... a hallucination and nothing more. Admittedly it is a frightening experience, but It's not something which can cause any physical harm, only mental.. if we let it. And we can stop it if we so wish.

The choice, quite fortunately, is ours..

For anyone else interested, here's a nice link explaining a little bit more about the 2 types of SP that occur: The 2 Types of SP

Here's another link on what it is a bit more and of course, "cures" to stop it from occurring: Sleep Paralysis: What it is and How to Avoid it

I get it often, it can be horrific but Iv`e learnt to go with the flow and if you allow it to take over you can lucid dream.
I now enjoy the experience and have had some incredible lucid dreams through it. I urge anyone who gets SP to let it do it`s thing, the pain and discomfort (pain of head being crushed) do subside after you relax into it.

Originally posted by ObvTruth
How would you even know you have sleep paralysis?

It's when the only thing you feel you can control is your breathing.

I have'nt had sleeep paralysis for about 4 years. Just lately though i can sense that i will get it agian soon.
Just last night i had the white light/energy explosion in my head, but not sp. It sometimes doesn't seem to have the strength. Like when a battery is low.
Gosh!!! the things i have seen and heard during sp is definetly not for the feint hearted.
I don't beleive that everyones gets it. Out of all my familiy and friends i'm the only one who gets it.
I have seen aliens .... nothing more or less. Nothing too scary, but enough to question my own sanity at one stage.
All i kept thinking was why me? Why do they keep tinkering around with my brain? There's nothing in it worth having!!!
One time i completely ignored it (well, i tried) and the more i refused to engage the worst things got. I won't go into detail unless anyone really want's to know, but put it this way i was in SHOCK for months afterwards! I didn't see the end of the world or grizzly pictures like that ... oh, no??? I watched while i was transformed in the matter of seconds into some kind of mechanical person, while something was going on in my brain. The back and front of my head was missng and my brain actually ached for months after that. There is more too it, but i don't want to scare anyone.
I am finally getting some help after nearly 30 years, but sadly they can only call it night terrors or narcolepsy at this point.
Apparently i get three of the four symptoms of narcolepsy. I'm not sure why falling asleep at the drop of a hat is a trigger. I have only done that at work or at meetings, when i have been so tired from the night before. I mean sleep deprevation has to be the worst. That was in the early days, when i really did not have a clue what was going on and i admit i was too scared to go back to bed. I thought i was going mad!

reply to post by 547000


But how would you know this while sleeping? I dont remember like 97% of my dreams. Its like this....Everything goes dark then i wake up and its 10 hours later. Thats how my sleep is.

Originally posted by ObvTruth
How would you even know you have sleep paralysis?

Ok, no one's tried to explain this so I thought I'd have a quick go...

Anyway, I think you may have slightly misunderstood the nature of Sleep Paralysis here. Sure, It's called "Sleep Paralysis", but you don't have it when you're actually in a deep sleep state, you have it just prior to being in this state, thus why people experience SP when they're in bed about to go to sleep, or in the morning when they've woken up.

These being 2 areas I, myself, have experienced.

So, we know we're experiencing SP because they occur when we're in a conscious state, not in the sleep state. This being so, some can still "wake up into SP" at times. When this occurs I believe It's officially called the hypnopompic state. Hallucinating at this time, which I believe is much more common, assuming the person in question is experiencing HSP, ss called hypnagogic hallucinations.

Not sure if that helps, but I hope so.

To add to what I just said, here's a great explanation on SP:

What Is Sleep Paralysis?

Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. Sleep paralysis may accompany other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an overpowering need to sleep caused by a problem with the brain's ability to regulate sleep.

When Does Sleep Paralysis Usually Occur?

Sleep paralysis usually occurs at one of two times. If it occurs while you are falling asleep, it's called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. If it happens as you are waking up, it's called hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis.

What Happens With Hypnagogic Sleep Paralysis?

As you fall asleep, your body slowly relaxes. Usually you become less aware, so you do not notice the change. However, if you remain or become aware while falling asleep, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

What Happens With Hypnopompic Sleep Paralysis?

During sleep, your body alternates between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. One cycle of REM and NREM sleep lasts about 90 minutes. NREM sleep occurs first and takes up to 75% of your overall sleep time. During NREM sleep, your body relaxes and restores itself. At the end of NREM, your sleep shifts to REM. Your eyes move quickly and dreams occur, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are "turned off" during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

See the rest here...

I've had this happen numerous times throughout my life.

It can be quite frightening. The two most notable that stick clear in my mind, was once when i felt myself sinking into the bed and had these small elf like things pushing me down. The other was when i had what i only can describe as a "Demon" coming out of my headboard and trying to pull me in.

I finally figured out that it would only happen when i slept on my back....Since i've been sleeping on my side or front, i no longer experience it.

Originally posted by ObvTruth
reply to post by 547000

 

But how would you know this while sleeping? I dont remember like 97% of my dreams. Its like this....Everything goes dark then i wake up and its 10 hours later. Thats how my sleep is.

You wake up, but you are unable to control your body.

reply to post by Rising Against


Oh ok that sheds alot of light on this.

Sucks it sucks that i dont pay attention to things like that.

Ah yes the Entities and the Shadow people. This is what interests me. When I experience my SP episode there was a dark entity-shadow humanoid type thing that was present. No defining facial features, though I could tell when it was looking at me. I told it to get the %&% out of here and not come back. Haven't had any other episodes since. Thank God!

I was talking to a good friend of mine about SP, and he told me that if it ever happens again to just focus on moving one finger. Said you need to focus all your energy to move that one finger, but once you do, you will suddenly snap out of the SP. Haven't been able to try this for myself. Worth a try I guess for those that experience SP quit often.

I used to get it quite often, I only get it every now and then these days, weirdly enough I used to get it at least once a week in a flat I used to live in.

I've seen and heard some weird stuff while having sp.

I also get the floating around sensation sometimes, and I also wake up with a "shock" just as I'm falling asleep every now and then.

With me I think it's stress and lack of sleep that causes it.

Had this many times, started around puberty and was the worse around 16-20. I'm in my late 30's now and I get it rarely, maybe once a year. So I guess it's something you grow out of slowly which is fortunate because it's bloody scary. When combined with nightmarish false awakenings and lucid dreaming it's the most terrifying experience imaginable. After one episode I almost had a mental breakdown as I had no idea if I was really awake or not, it was the scariest experience of my life.