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Just Discovering What's Been Up Lately With Me - Sleeping Paralysis

by SH
(Dallas)

I think I have been experiencing sleep paralysis since I was 5 years old--at least that is the earliest episode I can remember. I was laying in my bed, falling asleep and all of a sudden I turned to look next to me for some reason and a raggedy doll slowly poked its head out from the side of my brothers bed which I was horizontal to. It was very scary and I ran to my dad and he didn't take me seriously...I always thought I was seeing demons or something.

Just recently I've discovered sleeping paralysis and it describes everything spot on; from the inability to speak or move, to extreme feelings of anger and fear, and to the hallucinations.

Recently, I have been getting them more often and I have been trying to find out why. I think diet might have something to do with it. I just had an episode this morning in fact. I was just laying there after sunrise and I started seeing things. First I saw a treadmill which is weird I know. I have a treadmill in my room but not where I saw it. The treadmill then morphed into my older sister. She was just looking at me and I began to get upset and started asking what she wanted. Actually I was pretty much yelling but I don't think I was making any actual noises. I was mad because she wasn't responding to me. Then she turned into a treadmill again...then she turned into half her and half something else. Her face was like squarish I don't know--something not human it was really weird...

The time before that which was 13 days ago I believe I was in complete darkness and I was alone in a basement...only it was my room at the same time. I realized I was alone and I hate being alone so I turned my head to look at the stairs and I was frozen and there was this silhouette of a woman who was incredibly pissed it seemed and her eyes were big and glowing green. There was a high pitched buzzing/yelling sound in the background and I was fixed on her eyes. It took me a while to break from it and once I did I convinced myself I was just imagining it and tried to turn again so I could get out of that room and go to where other people where. Only it happened again.

It is scary and I hope I find out why it happens and what I can do to avoid it.

Comments for
Just Discovering What's Been Up Lately With Me - Sleeping Paralysis

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Jan 26, 2011
 yeoah it happened to me t
by: Anonymous

well i remember my first episode i was about six and i seen te man off the horor movie halloween in my closet and i remember screaming for my mom but nothing would come out.Now im 26 and this morning it happened me and my husband were in bed i woke up and couldnt move my body and i could scence like a demonic spirit present i couldnt speek or move to wake my husband talk about scared
Feb 28, 2011
 Weird
by: Anonymous

My first one was when i was seven and it was SpongeBob? He was like, tip-toeing around my bed when he turned into a ship and the ship tried to crush me. Then the shiped turned into this green monster and then before I knew it, I was looking at my mom.
May 19, 2011
 slightly darker than normal...
by: Anonymous

last night i had another episode, which is normal for me now, i get them 2-3 times a month now, so when i woke up and started seeing demons and hearing them, even though i was petrified i knew it wasnt real (every time i have an episode its always precedented by an extremely sick and twisted demonic dream). but this time something happened to me that was a first...after i was finally able to move, i realized that i was still hallucinating. laying in my bed, i could still see the shadows of "things", i could hear voices coming out of my table fan, things kept banging on my wall (not actual people, im sure of it) and i started seeing the sick twisted faces from my dreams in everything, from the walls to the curtain, even to my own sheets and pillows. i was also having severe feelings of loss and abandonment (i have a fiance), and evedn though i know now its ridiculous, these feelings and things i was seeing were a reality for me for about 3-5 hours. has anyone had that happen to them before? and if so, have they lasted for that long after you were able to move?
May 20, 2011
 Thats freaky O.O
by: Anonymous

Demons after you could move again??Thats incredibly scary. I wonder if thats sleep paralysis or something else? Maybe you should go see a doctor. Are you taking any medications that have side effects that include hallucinations? Thankfully, I havn't experienced sleep paralysis for several months now. I wonder why it sometimes happens alot and sometimes not at all? Maybe its like linked to health somehow? I was vitamin D deficient before and Ive been taking vitamins and since then I haven't had any problems. Its pretty interesting. I hope you all find some cure, I know how frightening this stuff can get :/
Aug 23, 2011
 meditation helps me :)
by: Anonymous

ive had the hallucinations last after the dream but only for about a minute. they wer huge spiders with legs as thick as my arm clambering around on my floor n i had my back as close to the wall as possible as i watched them in horror. after a short while they bundled into eachother and dissapeared. over the years the only thing i've found that stops my sleep paralysis from happening is regular exercise and meditation. qigong or yoga are great for preventing sleep paralysis. nevertheless if i dont do meditation for a month or so then get caught in a nasty episode i say a Buddhist prayer (in my head) 3 times and it snaps me out of it straight away. i used to use the old wiggle ur finger till the rest of ur body catches on trick but now this prayer works every time. if you want to try it it goes like this:

Namo Guan Shi Yin Boddisatva
Namo Guan Shi Yin Boddisatva
Namo Guan Shi Yin Boddisatva

ive had the extreamly pissed off woman/girl sitting on me growling trying to choke me and as i started to say this prayer in my head she got even more mad, growled louder n pushed down harder but by the third chant she dissapeared in an instant.

all the best :)
Oct 24, 2011
 Ending the Paralysis
by: La'Tasha

I want to know how do you guys break out of the paralysis. For me it takes extreme concentration. I have to focus on a specific limb of my body and get it to move. Once it moves enough, the paralysis ends. But I am left extremely exhausted and sometimes out of breath.
Nov 24, 2011
 bicycling NEW
by: Markus

Thanks to you i was able to calm and reasssure myself that im normal, and i am not alone. i'd like to share my experience:
i was riding on a bicycle, i was asleep, i THink it is a dream. I saw a woman sitting in a bench, and when she turned her head towards me,SHE HAS NO FACE! i was trying to run through my bicycle but it didnt move, i can only feel my feet cycling thru the paddles but the tires are stucked.then everything turned black, and im conscious that im lying, but i cant move,no matter how i tried. i felt vibrations in my body, i was trying to speak, but my words are incomprehensible. i do not know, i was like mmbling and all. and suddenly, i woke, and everything;s fine,, i was really frightened.
Dec 16, 2011
 Help NEW
by: Tati871

Ok ive read most of your stories and I can somewhat understand what you all are going through. I am 24 years old and think I might be going through sleep paralysis but I don't have hallucinations after I wake up in my sleep I have weird horrific dreams and often dream of people killing me or dying I sometimes see demonic figures or things i fear and I'm in and out of sleep during the dream I can wake up n fall asleep n dream the sane exact thing where it left off. But now I am experiencing sleeping n dreaming horrible things and being alert n aware that I'm sleeping n laying down but in my dream I'm active , I've had many dreams end up in the sleep n waking stage of my sleep n experiencing the sensation of not being able to breath yell or ask for help . Today was my first dream which I was in and out of n finally was able to wake up from but still felt I was fighting my sleep mind you that I had only been sleeping for 30-40 min and when I was trying to scream for my brothers help I knew that there wasn't anyone but him home n aware I had taken my younger bros to school my mom had left for work and I had been up early but my older bro was sleepIng in the converted garage I tried screaming and lifting myself up I tried moving n couldn't even feel my dogs on my bed to help me I felt my mouth numb n limbs paralyzed n began crying n trying to yell for help I tried lifting myself and tried pounding on the wall next to my bed n could not it was useless and I felt I was going to stop breathing my tongue was numb and I sounded like I was mute I couldnt make noise or really even open my eyes completely but I could feel like a huge amount of pressure over my body I don't know what to do I keep telling my doctor that my sleep is horrible and I can't sleep at times and have these episodes but he says I'm depressed takes a list of questions to see if I am and I score in the high levels of a non depressed person I actually know I'm not depressed I'm a nursing student and have alot going for myself I live a decent life and don't really have anything to complain about everything seems to be good and the only thing affecting me is my sleep I don't know what I should do .
Dec 16, 2011
 Help NEW
by: Tati871

Ok ive read most of your stories and I can somewhat understand what you all are going through. I am 24 years old and think I might be going through sleep paralysis but I don't have hallucinations after I wake up in my sleep I have weird horrific dreams and often dream of people killing me or dying I sometimes see demonic figures or things i fear and I'm in and out of sleep during the dream I can wake up n fall asleep n dream the sane exact thing where it left off. But now I am experiencing sleeping n dreaming horrible things and being alert n aware that I'm sleeping n laying down but in my dream I'm active , I've had many dreams end up in the sleep n waking stage of my sleep n experiencing the sensation of not being able to breath yell or ask for help . Today was my first dream which I was in and out of n finally was able to wake up from but still felt I was fighting my sleep mind you that I had only been sleeping for 30-40 min and when I was trying to scream for my brothers help I knew that there wasn't anyone but him home n aware I had taken my younger bros to school my mom had left for work and I had been up early but my older bro was sleepIng in the converted garage I tried screaming and lifting myself up I tried moving n couldn't even feel my dogs on my bed to help me I felt my mouth numb n limbs paralyzed n began crying n trying to yell for help I tried lifting myself and tried pounding on the wall next to my bed n could not it was useless and I felt I was going to stop breathing my tongue was numb and I sounded like I was mute I couldnt make noise or really even open my eyes completely but I could feel like a huge amount of pressure over my body I don't know what to do I keep telling my doctor that my sleep is horrible and I can't sleep at times and have these episodes but he says I'm depressed takes a list of questions to see if I am and I score in the high levels of a non depressed person I actually know I'm not depressed I'm a nursing student and have alot going for myself I live a decent life and don't really have anything to complain about everything seems to be good and the only thing affecting me is my sleep I don't know what I should do .
Dec 24, 2011
 What finally stopped my sleep paralysis episodes NEW
by: Bill

For 40+ years I had episodes of sleep paralysis on a regular basis, but especially if I took a nap during the day. We all know how horrible it is to be paralyzed, fighting for breath and hoping to just move a finger to get out of it. Many times I would get out of it and fall right back asleep and go through it again. When I was in my early 50's, my doctor prescribed prozac for an anxiety related problem. I never discussed my sleep paralysis problem with him. Over the next months I realized I wasn't having sleep paralysis episodes even if I took a nap. That was over 10 years ago and I can count the number of episodes I've had since on one hand. What a relief. I doubt there's ever been a study of any kind to to use medication to eliminate sleep paralysis, but I know that prozac put an end to mine. I'm on a very low dose, but it works for me.
Jan 06, 2012
 Forcing my eyes to stay open NEW
by: Anonymous

Ive been have these episodes for as long as can remember. For me I may not have them for 3-6 months and then gave them 3-4 times a week. Mine are always very similar. I am lying there and cannot move a muscle. For me it is always very difficult to keep my eyes open and have to force them to stay open. I am afraid to close them as I fear something terrible will happen. That is the feeling I have at that time. I am awake because I can clearly see my room. Most times I can feel a presence in the room and sometimes see the outline of a person staring at me and at times feel them touching me. I try to scream out but cant which is very forsruating and frightning. I am usually angry and aggressive at the time then when I force myself out; trying to move, shouting and forcing my eyes to stay open, I am then quite scared and shaken up. None of my friends can relate to this or experince it so I am thankful for these comments. Sean from Ireland 21 cheers
Mar 04, 2012
 My Cure NEW
by: Anonymous

I have suffered from sleep paralysis as long as I can remember. My scariest encounter was when I woke up and couldn't move and it felt like someone was pulling my blanket slowly off me, then all of a sudden they jumped on me and I could feel my mouth slowly opening as if they were trying to break my jaw. I seriously thought I was possessed as it happened every night. After research I realized that I was having sleep paralysis and one site lead me to find that most episodes happen while sleeping on your back. So from that day on I sleep on my front or side and have never had it yet. One night I fell asleep on my back after my research and I had an episode so I take extra precaution to always sleep on my back. Hope it helps and it is sure worth a try!
Mar 05, 2012
 1st time Sleep Paralysis and totally freaking out. NEW
by: Anonymous in New Mexico

Okay, So I don't know if what I had was Sleep Paralysis; haven't even seen a doctor about it yet, but I have suffered with severe anxiety and panic attacks for at least 8 years and last night for the first time I ever I had 5 episodes of what I believe to be Sleep Paralysis just from reading, these other stories, I would be just about to fall like into a deep sleep and something would wake me, I don't recall what exactly, but when I would try to move, I couldn't. I couldn't breath and I was eventually able to open my eyes,and as I was laying there Paralyzed, unable to breathe, or yell for my Husband or scream or move a muscle,In my mind I kept repeating Please God...Please God, because I actually believed I was dying. Eventually, I was able to inhale sharply( gasp for air) and then I would regain movement in my muscles. I have never been so scared in my entire life and that is the worst feeling to have ever had to experience and it happened like 5 times in one night. I didn't have any hallucinations but it was still very scary. Thanks for all these stories. They helped me to realize and understand what I was experiencing and I feel a lot better to day knowing more or less what was happening to me.

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