Sleeping Paralysis

[monoman]

Ryokan, are you taking any new sleep aids? Drinking anything different before going to bed? Going to bed at the same time?
If it does happen again, try not to worry about it. Just trust yourself that you will snap out of it in a couple of minutes. No one's ever been stuck forever!
Also, it's not unusual for it to happen 2 nights in a row. You were talking about it yesterday. I had an episode right after watching a documentary on sleep paralysis. Cheers brain!

 

[Darat]

...snip...

I sure hope this isn't going to become a common occurence in my life, I'm not sure I could handle it...

Yes you can, knowledge is POWER! Seriously I want a long time not knowing what it was learning that it was something known helped me. (See my PM as well.)

 

[Soapy Sam]

I've experienced it a few times. I remember reading a description of the same experience by one of the Bronte sisters. It's actually very common, but people tend to forget it or dismiss it as a dream.
The last thread (in the old forum) on the subject made it clear many people here are familiar with the experience.

Personally, I'm convinced it explains a very high percentage of all ghost experiences.

ETA- Look hard at any recent changes in sleep pattern. Shift work? Late nights? New bed? Lack of exercise? Too much /little booze? New diet?
Less likely, but I'll ask anyway- did you get a new stereo / headphones / TV recently?
(Private & likely silly theory).

My experiences have all been associated with disrupted sleep patterns. I agree with the others- it's one of the nastiest experiences this side of torture, but it must be far, far worse for someone who believes in spooks. Consider yourself fortunate in your scepticism.

 

[Ryokan]

Ryokan, are you taking any new sleep aids? Drinking anything different before going to bed? Going to bed at the same time?

No sleeping aids, or any other medication. Not been drinking anything different.

As to going to bed at the same time as usual, I'm an insomniac and have been for years, so I have a very irregular sleeping pattern. But the first night I went to bed pretty early. The second one I didn't get to bed until 3am, because of insomnia.

I read that sleep deprevation can cause it, and I had slept very little that week. I sleep even less now, and with the lights on, something I couldn't bear before but is a neccesity right now.

If it does happen again, try not to worry about it. Just trust yourself that you will snap out of it in a couple of minutes. No one's ever been stuck forever!

Easier said than done! On the second experience, I didn't have time to think rationally at all. I woke up, something was lying on top of me, I was paralyzed.

I believe the experiences were both only 30 seconds long, although it felt much much longer.

Also, it's not unusual for it to happen 2 nights in a row. You were talking about it yesterday. I had an episode right after watching a documentary on sleep paralysis. Cheers brain!

It wasn't two nights in a row, it was friday and monday.

And yes, I have theorized that talking about it on the forum was what brought on the second experience.

If it ever happens again, I'm going to see a doctor.

 

[Ryokan]

ETA- Look hard at any recent changes in sleep pattern. Shift work? Late nights? New bed? Lack of exercise? Too much /little booze? New diet?
Less likely, but I'll ask anyway- did you get a new stereo / headphones / TV recently?
(Private & likely silly theory).

My experiences have all been associated with disrupted sleep patterns. I agree with the others- it's one of the nastiest experiences this side of torture, but it must be far, far worse for someone who believes in spooks. Consider yourself fortunate in your scepticism.

Shift work, no. I have a pretty standard 9 to 4 job. Late nights, sort of. Insomnia. New bed, no. Lack of exercise, absolutely. I started exercising just a few weeks ago, because of my bad shape. I rarely drink. New diet, yes. I've started (a little) healthier diet in combination with my exercising. Mostly it's getting at least three meals (including breakfast) a day, instead of one large one in the middle of the day, and cutting down on fatty foods and snacks.

I don't own a tv, stereo or headphone at all.

 

[UrsulaV]

Yeah, I can understand if you're too panicked to think of all the mental tricks--while I'm lucky enough to avoid the terror most of the time, a majority of sufferers seem to have overwhelming panic associated with it. It's not just a "Oh, god, I can't move, I'm freaked out!" but that panic is actually part of the experience, rather than a result. So it's not just you, it's just that being scared is part of the episode, along with being paralzyed and short of breath.

Ah...the only other advice I can offer is that it apparently is more likely to happen when you're sleeping on your back. If you can sleep on your side or your stomach, it may help cut down on the recurrances. (It's also a lot more likely during naps, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.)

Unfortunately, there isn't a cure, or a surefire preventative, to my knowledge, but it never hurts to check with your doctor and make sure it isn't something more serious.

 

[Chaosium]

I've had it since I was a kid. While certainly disconcerting, it's an entirely physical condition. Thankfully, it is controllable through experience and understanding. I can usually avoid it with a proper sleep schedule.

 

[Fengirl]

I mentioned that "stress" has triggered episodes of sleep paralysis for me, but more specifically, I think that my episodes have tended to coincide with feelings of being "stuck" or "trapped" in certain situations in my life. Bad relationships, dead-end jobs, etc. Once those situations have been resolved, the sleep paralysis episodes have gone away.

I have often wondered to what extent the sleep paralysis might be a reflection of my feelings of powerlessness, or inability to effect change in my life. In other words, sometimes I think that it has been a kind of metaphor for my emotional state...powerless, frozen, paralysed...whatever.

Just an observation, anyway. Does that fit for anyone else?

 

[Pragmatist]

Anyone want to speculate what visited me that night?

It was Mara. Now, if you'd just confonted him you'd be the new Buddha...

 

[Soapy Sam]

I recall first time it happened , I had a conviction that something terribly evil had just left the room and I had been unaware it was even there. Deeply strange and scary . I've had it twice since, though there have been other incidents which had some of the aspects of it. Last time as with the very first, I had taken an afternoon nap after nightshift work- not yet actually in bed. That time I was able to view the experience in a rather bored, dispassionate way, observing how things felt and just waiting to get back to normal.
I suggest you try to take that attitude if it recurs, Ryokan. Believe me, it helps if you feel you are still in control of the essential "you" . It's probably no worse than actually being buried alive under a real collapsed building.
Which is a snip, really.

 

[Complexity]

It happened to me once. That was more than enough.

 

[Darat]

I mentioned that "stress" has triggered episodes of sleep paralysis for me, but more specifically, I think that my episodes have tended to coincide with feelings of being "stuck" or "trapped" in certain situations in my life. Bad relationships, dead-end jobs, etc. Once those situations have been resolved, the sleep paralysis episodes have gone away.

I have often wondered to what extent the sleep paralysis might be a reflection of my feelings of powerlessness, or inability to effect change in my life. In other words, sometimes I think that it has been a kind of metaphor for my emotional state...powerless, frozen, paralysed...whatever.

Just an observation, anyway. Does that fit for anyone else?

Don't think so I think (translation baseless speculation) the feeling is exactly what it is - a paralysis. For some reason the parts of the brain that produce "you" have become a bit more activated then normal during sleep. This then does its normal job e.g. interprets sensations - realises you are paralysed and uses one of the functions that normally gets the body out of trouble e.g. fight or flight response.

Or of course it might be nothing like that at all.

 

[PatKelley]

Don't think so I think (translation baseless speculation) the feeling is exactly what it is - a paralysis. For some reason the parts of the brain that produce "you" have become a bit more activated then normal during sleep. This then does its normal job e.g. interprets sensations - realises you are paralysed and uses one of the functions that normally gets the body out of trouble e.g. fight or flight response.

Or of course it might be nothing like that at all.

There's actually a mechanism to keep you from thrashing around in your sleep. In somnambulance and talking in one's sleep, the opposite to sleep paralysis has occurred: the mechanism has failed, but you are asleep, rather than the mechanism still being in force but you are no longer asleep. If this mechanism did not exist, you would thrash around all night: it's self-protective. Somnambulance and sleep paralysis are flip sides of the same coin.

Try here where it's shown that lesions on a specific area of the brain prevent atonia in REM sleep...assumedly, a slightly different lesion could engender the opposite response of atonia (essentially paralysis) without REM or sleep in general.

It's apparently located in the medial medulla, in the sections called the "nucleus magnocellularis" and the "nucleus gigantocellularis."

 

[Floating Egg]

One of the positive things about it for me is that I don't think anything in life can match the kind of fear that I experience during an episode of sleep paralysis. I've noticed over the years, that while I continue to experience the extreme sensation of fear, that I'm now consciously aware of it. It's like I tell myself during the sleep paralysis that "this is fear, and it will go away." It makes it a somewhat exciting experience as a result because I feel like I'm observing it rather than being completely overcome.

Normally when I experience sleep paralysis I have the sensation of a malevolent presence of some kind, and I swear that that something is slowly lowering its weight on to my bed, just out of sight. I've also had the impression of someone slowly breathing near my ear, and on occasion being dragged toward the foot of my bed by my ankles.

There have been a handful of situations where I've had what might be termed a night terror. A few years ago, I woke up and ran downstairs to my rec room. I immediately procured a poker from the fireplace and stood ready, waiting for battle. The only part I actually remember is standing in the rec room with the poker and feeling very confused.

 

[Almo]

When it happened to me, I thought it was pretty neat. I tried not to think about it too hard so I wouldn't wake up completely. Hehehe.

 

[LibraryLady]

The first time it happened to me, it scared me. I spent quite a while, although probably not as long as I think, trying desperately to move my fingers or turn my head. I was convinced I had had a stroke. Finally I went back to sleep and woke up again normally. I called my doctor who, after he finished laughing, assured me that this was just sleep paralysis, no big deal. I've had it a couple of times since, but never the creepy crawly part of it. It can be very frightening, but knowing what it is helps me to stop struggling and just go back to sleep.

 

[RayG]

Not sure if these are cases of sleep paralysis or not, but they sure are humorous when you think about it later. Twice I've 'woken up' with no feeling in one arm.

The first time my arm was resting peacefully on my chest, but since I couldn't feel my arm, I assumed it was a snake. I lay there for a moment trying to determine how to remove snake from chest, and decided I would quickly grab it and throw it away from me. Needless to say, the snake hurled itself back upon my chest and I practically had a heart attack.

The second time, I realized I had both arms, but for some reason I was convinced my left arm was broken, which seemed to be confirmed when I grabbed it and it seemed to bend back and forth at a point about midway between my elbow and wrist. On this occasion I actually leapt from bed, yelling about my arm being broken, which caused my wife great amusement.

In fact, over the years, my behaviour on waking has been a great source of amusement for my entire family. I'm convinced my wife wakes me on purpose just to see the reaction. I have literally leapt to my feet and run around trying to follow orders that no one has given.

So far it's only been confusing and amusing.

RayG

 

[PatKelley]

I should have added: the onset of atonia in the awake individual is associated with types of narcolepsy. It also can involve hypnagogic hallucinations. I've observed it firsthand, and the person collapses like a ton of bricks, not the delicate spiralling faint of the movies.

 

[Kaydens]

Count me as another who has experienced the physical symptoms of sleep paralysis. Thankfully I've yet to have the accompanying halucinations but it's still a little freaky when you wake up and your duvet feels like a steel band across your chest.

It seems to happen in bursts for me. I'll get a week or so where I have 3-4 episodes and then I'll be fine for many months. No idea what causes it but I guess I get off pretty lightly compared to some of you guys.

Sympathies and all that.

 

[gerdbonk]

Floating Head of Jesus. That was my terror. Along with the paralysis and shortness of breath, there was a Floating Head of Jesus over my closet door, hovering in the moonlight. Classic look of suffering, crown of thorns and all.

I did not come from a strict religious upbringing. I stopped attending Sunday school when I was 8. I had a sense of my agnosticism even at that age. At the time of this sleep event, I was probably 19 or 20.

I felt the Floating Head of Jesus was contolling my paralysis and had either just spoken, was currently speaking or was about to speak something about the fate of my immortal soul. In one second I was battling to hang on to all I understood about the world in the face of this impossible, divine intrusion. I mean, damn, here I was awake (apparently), terrified, my body frozen by some supernatural Floating Head of Jesus—didn’t that prove something?

Then the Floating Head of Jesus folded outward and split into… Three Floating Heads of Jesus. And I thought, “Ah, the Holy Trinity.” And then I thought, “Hmmm, what a pathetically literal iconization of the Holy Trinity. That’s something my non-Catholic brain would burp up in a dream.”

And then, as if on cue, the Three Floating Heads of Jesus melted into the moonlight, my limbs relaxed, my breathing calmed and I awoke fully to try to decipher what had happened. I had no knowledge of sleep paralysis, but I had an inkling that I’d just suffered through a “waking dream” of some sort. I was still shaken, and I lay awake for some time mulling dream states, religious symbology, sense perception, hallucination, etc., before getting back to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, not only was the Floating Head of Jesus just a memory, but I felt an increased confidence in my ability to see through weird, “unexplainable” phenomena (never had a direct opportunity before this) to find reasonable causes.

I’ve had a couple episodes in the 20 years since, but they were only physical, and my understanding of what was happening quelled my fear very quickly.