Anyone suffer from sleep paralysis?

[esmeralda89]

So my biggest fear came true last night

. I have heard people talk about suffering from sleep paralysis and how you cant do anything to get out of the state while your in that state. I do not like when I dont have controll, so the fear of having sleep paralysis scared the crap out of me. I went to bed last night and remember waking up and not being able to move a muscle, I just laid there with my eyes open and panicked. My first thought was "im dead, I must have died and now my soul is leaving my body" so I panicked. I seriously thought I had died and attempted to cry but I couldent I felt like I was a rock. So I took a deep breath and tried to move a finger. Nothing worked and to make matters worse I thought about the tales of sleep paralysis how some people think its a deamon, the old hag, alien abduction blahblah blah that lays on top of you and dosent allow you to move. So I looked because I seriously felt like something was on top of me.... AND I see a woman an a child, not clear but like fog or something. Somehow I managed to move and woke up but it was so hard, and i cried and refused to go back to sleep but eventually I did and I prayed and asked God for help b/c I didint know what to do. So I ended up having dreams that I was awake and my family was there with me taking care of me.

I never, never, never want to go through this again. To be honest I think my mind played a trick on me when I saw the woman because I did alot of these things that this scientific explenation and guide say not to do.

Cope with Sleep Paralysis - wikiHow

Does anyone have a similar story and how do you cope

 

[hello_my_apple]

i'm with you i suffer from it as well. i didnt know what they were for a LONG time and i really thought a demon was trying to possess my body. it used to happen multiple times a night for a period of time that i was soooo close to asking my pastor to cleanse my apartment lol. one time me and my fiance opened up our front door and rebuked the devil/ kicked the devil out of the house THAT'S how crazy the episodes were getting. then one day i actually type in on google " i wake up but i cant move my body" and i was soooo suprised at how much information was out there and how many other people suffer from this as well i felt a little better. i was reading blogs on what do to when youre in the paralytic state the biggest thing to do is relax, from my experience when i try to fight it it only last longer so just relax and try to remember what it is. because it happens to me multiple times a night i take medication for it but i doubt yours is that servere. so you are not alone and dont worry about it. it will pass once you relax.

 

[shontay07108]

I had one instance in my teens and had no idea what the hell it was about. It bothered me for some time and it was very scary. I, too, woke up with eyes wide open and on my back but I could not move. Not a muscle. It took what seemed like forever before I could move. Thankfully, it never happened again.

 

[retrofox]

Though I've only had this happen once, I know how you feel. I "woke up" finding myself unable to move and a shadowy figure standing right next to my bed looking down at me! I just remember thinking "wake up, it's just a dream" over and over in my head til I finally did. This happened over 5 years ago, but I still remember this dream vividly. The only reason I didn't freak out was because my dance teacher suffered from this same thing repeatedly, so I knew ahead of time what was going on. I guess my only advice is to stay calm and realize what's happening, then try and wake up! Now that you know what's going on, maybe the next time it happens it won't be so scary

! Good Luck!

 

[my_adored]

That has happened to me a number of times. Not the thinking I am dead part, but I woke up and could not move a single muscle no matter how hard I tried and it felt like I was completely paralyzed. I normally just wait a few minutes and it goes away. I heard somewhere that it means that a part of your brain has not been activated into awake mode yet or something... (bad description). But I learned that the most important thing when it happens is not to panic. I panicked the first couple of times it happened and it just made it worse. Lay there for a few more moments and just try every few seconds to move something. It may take a couple minutes. Just don't panic!!

I'm not religious, so I can't help you on that front. Sorry. But there is nothing wrong with you spiritually. It can be caused by stress or a really extreme dream (or night terror). And people OFTEN hallucinate when they enter sleep paralysis. From what I have learned, its a common problem.

 

[laulovesbilly]

I've had this happen to me twice (not in over 4 years thank god) and I never want to go through that again. Prior to it happening I used to always sleep on my back, but now I never do. I heard that it's most likely to happen when you are in that position. Maybe you're really stressed? Maybe your REM is out of wack too? Sleep paralysis is generally a good thing, it keeps us from acting out what's occurring in our dreams, but waking up before it wares off is just tooo scary.

 

[teaberry]

this happens to me ALL THE TIME. the first few years it was happening i didnt really know what was going on, i kept trying to flex my fingers or move SOMETHING to wake myself up.. anyway, i googled it a few years ago and am amazed that this is a common occurence, especially after people look at me like im cuckoo when i ask them if they've ever had this or not.

This happens to me when i oversleep or take a long nap, and when i sleep flat on my back during these times. I can see my entire room but can't move or make any kind of sound, even though in my mind i sometimes am screaming.. usually the only thing that will wake me up is relaxing and going back to sleep.. or some kind of sound like an alarm going off.

it can be pretty darned scary, but nowadays bcos i know whats happening, i dont freak out as much. i almost try to do different methods to see which will wake me up, but the only thing that does is going back to sleep!

 

[obscuria]

I've had this happen a few times. It's terrifying when it first happens because I had no idea what the hell was going on. I don't really have any advice on it. On the rare occassions that it does happen, I just try to stay calm, and go back to sleep.

 

[my_adored]

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaberry i almost try to do different methods to see which will wake me up, but the only thing that does is going back to sleep!

EXACTLY! Just try to lull yourself back to sleep. Its the only thing that works. (For me anyway..)

 

[xFlossy]

OMG!! Yes!! Just a few months back, I was having a nanna nap and my husband was laying next to me watching tv. I was laying there and I was totally aware of what was going on around me and I could hear the tv. In the end I managed to yelp out a help just loud enough for my husband to wake me up after quite a few unsuccessful times. I told him what had happened and he was amazed that I could I remember what was said on tv and what they were talking about.

Another time when I was a kid, I had the same thing happen to everyone else, I was laying on my back and this weirdo pins and needles feeling came over me and I couldn't move an inch. I remember opening my eyes and seeing a white figures at the end of my bed. Now I realize they were hallucinations. At the time, I was convinced they were ghosts ( i was 13 after all).

It's happened another couple of times, but I can't quite remember what happened.

 

[Funtabulous]

This happens to me sometimes. It used to occur very frequently, usually when I'd take a nap during the day or after sleep deprivation (especially when laying on my back).

I can snap out of it if I focus on my right big toe and wiggle it, which spreads the ability to move through to my foot, leg, then the rest of my body. I've kicked my boyfriend a lot doing this!

But it really works!

 

[Juxtapose]

I am well versed in dealing with sleep issues, and I thought I'd share my experience. I was diagnosed with the sleep disorder, narcolepsy, 6 years ago. Sleep paralysis is actually one of the common symptoms of narcolepsy. This is not one of my common symptoms, but I have experienced something quite close to that, which are hypnagogic hallucinations. The hallucinations are basically very vivid, realistic dreams and like sleep paralysis, the hallucinations happen when drifting off to sleep or awakening. In the situations I've been in, it's like I've been paralyzed, because even though I can outside of myself "know" it's happening, there's nothing I can do to shake myself out of it, if that makes sense. It's a very strange sensation, as I can kind of realize that I'm dreaming, but I am also in a state where I believe what is happening, or what I am dreaming about.

The reason why these two symptoms are associated with narcolepsy, is because when you have narcolepsy, you fall right into the REM sleep cycle (the dream stage). Normal sleep progresses through four stages of sleep, taking about 90 min before REM sleep begins. So with narcolepsy, hallucinations seem so real because they occur when the brain is partially awake in the process of going to sleep, or partially asleep in the process of waking.

Looking at the information I have, it talks about sleep paralysis and how it is in fact a normal and common phenomenon that occurs duing REM sleep. So ususally it will occur when you're deep asleep and not aware of its presence. It explains that for people with narcolepsy, because you fall into REM sleep right away, the brain is still awake enough to be aware of the paralysis.

This may be a lot of unnecessary information, or maybe bits and pieces might be helpful. I just thought it was relevant, considering one of the main reasons I was quickly diagnosed with narcolepsy, is because I had a noticable symptom, called cataplexy. I can go into more detail about how I was diagnosed to, if you're interested. If it's something that happens fairly often, consider looking up some info about narcolepsy to check and see if you have noticed any other sleep issues that may be associated with it. I am very passionate about that, because the sad thing is, a huge amount of people go undiagnosed for many years because they mistake their sleepiness to fatigue or something to that affect.

I'll continue checking this thread, but anyone who ever wants someone to talk to, please feel free to PM me. Although I take medication now, even still, this is something that I deal with everyday, and sometimes it can be difficult explaining it to family or friends.

Oh, and one more thing...the first year or so when I was diagnosed, I frequently visited talkaboutsleep.com. It's a great resource to learn more about all types of sleep issues and people chat about their experiences and things like that.

I hope this helps you.

 

[teaberry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funtabulous This happens to me sometimes. It used to occur very frequently, usually when I'd take a nap during the day or after sleep deprivation (especially when laying on my back). I can snap out of it if I focus on my right big toe and wiggle it, which spreads the ability to move through to my foot, leg, then the rest of my body. I've kicked my boyfriend a lot doing this! But it really works!

GOOOOOSHHH why does this never work for me!! LOL. i try to wiggle my fingers or blink my eyes hard too.. AND u know the weirdest thing? it actually feels like im moving them! but i know im not because my bedsheets are still haha and i also cant break out of it. *SIGH*

oh well.. i think i need to not love napping so much!

 

[esmeralda89]

Well two nights have passed and i've slept very peacfully

but I changed alot of things I did that day. To start off I was really exited about seeing someone again after a couple of months, wanted to look my best so I exercised, and took two Diurex pills (for water weight, and btw they have too much caffeine in them) causing my heart rate to go up, like i was shaking really bad after I took them. So I ate McDonalds (salt) and two oranges and cleaned my apt. Then I took a shower and went to sleep.

I exercise every day but I dont drink soda or coffe, so i think that explains why my heart rate went up really high, and that causes sleep paralysis. But at least I know what to do know and im not as scared because i know thats just gonna make it worse. I hope this post might have been helpful and good luck to those who suffer from it because its not a pleasant experience.