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Unable To Talk Properly Whilst Dreaming

by Steve
(Pontypool, South Wales, UK)

I have a few questions to ask about sleep talking. I sleep talk quite a lot and have been known to talk, shout, swear and sing. I've even been known to bark, speak in "tongues" and speak in a different accent.


Anyway, I have two questions. Firstly, I've lately been experiencing the unsettling "problem" of being unable to speak properly during my dreams. I can make sounds but the words are very indistinct and I am fully aware of this inability whilst I'm dreaming and it always makes me feel uncomfortable. I can only describe it as the kind of speech one sometimes hears from stroke victims. The only explanation that I can come up with is that on these occasions my mouth may have become very dry and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. Could anyone shed any light on this?

My second question is more out of curiosity. I was wondering why people only seem to voice their own words in a dream but never seem to articulate the words being spoken by other characters in the dream. This seems odd as all the dialogue is being created by the same brain. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Regards

Steve (Captain Frantic)


Kevin: Hey Steve (aka Captain Frantic :). Interesting questions. The second I may have more thoughts about than the first, although they're just a bit simple and intuitive. Here they are:

Even during our dreams, our minds act with a certain expectation system built from our experience with the physical world that effects some aspects of the dream content itself. In most people's dreams, for instance, the laws of physics are still somewhat at play. The people around you still walk with their two feet on the ground. There are often the occasional exceptions to these normalities, but many of us often don't even pick up
on the fact that, wow, it was really weird that my little sister just turned into that horse over there by the water! (But when we do start to pick up on these changes and recognize them as abnormal we can start doing cool things like lucid dream. In a lucid dream we can say "To hell with physics! I know I'm in a dream and gravity need not apply here! I'll fly now please.")

While it's not always that easy (to fly ;), I think the point these thoughts are trying to make is that maybe your dream mind is still operating on a system that expects you to only utter the words that the "dream you" is saying, since that's how things normally work. Perhaps it is prior experiences from the physical world that guides the movement of your physical body in relation to your dream sequence.

Hopefully that's somewhat coherent, but it's entirely possible that it's not! Anyone else have any thoughts on this out there?

And for your first question, I don't have any personal experience with hearing anything quite like what you describe. I found it fascinating that you are aware of the difficulty speaking while the dream is going on. That seems rather remarkable! Another thing to note perhaps is that sleep talking episodes typically occur during NREM sleep stages 1 & 2 (also known as the stages of "light" sleep), where vivid dreaming does not occur.

Not sure what to extrapolate from that but there you go. Perhaps investing in a Zeo Personal Sleep Coach may help you with some answers to that end. It's essentially an at home polysomnogram, measuring your sleep and giving you feedback on when you're in REM and NREM sleep throughout the night. Perhaps if you tested when you personally most commonly talk in your sleep it will further shed more light onto your questions.

Warmly,
Kevin

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May 24, 2013
 Slurred dream speech NEW
by: Toni

I deal with sleep paralysis quite often, but recently I have noticed the same slurred, "stroke-like" speech in my dreams. I am unable to speak correctly and am completely aware of it in my dream, but have no idea what to do to fix it and end up in a state of panic while dreaming. It's really starting to concern me, but I haven't been able to find any answers as to what could be causing it.
Jul 20, 2013
 Unable To Talk Properly Whilst Dreaming NEW
by: Sammy

I suffer from the same problem, which started a few years ago. Very frustrating that I find myself speaking like a stroke victim as well. Martyn I think what you're describing is sleep paralysis. I've suffered from it since the 1970s but didn't have a clue what was going on. Thank goodness for the Internet! Steve, your comment re: speech problems, that your mouth is very dry, was interesting because mine is too, it's been getting worse over the past few months. I've been lucid dreaming since childhood, I fly often and it's the most wonderful feeling, so I just need to sort this speech problem out now!
Jan 03, 2014
 Paralyzed NEW
by: Jean

I too experience paralysis, just last night, I suddenly for paralysis in my legs just shortly into my dream and quickly it spread into my speech as I'm fully aware and even reaching out to my friend for help, everyone kept moving around like I wasn't there or that nothing was wrong even though I was slurring and reaching within inches and sometimes grabbing a hold of them. I'm curious what this may mean, it's such a helpless feeling.
Feb 26, 2014
 Speak in tongues NEW
by: dreams.00.gs

To "speak in "tongues" and speak in a different accent" is also known as to "speak in tongues of men and of angels" : such "unknown tongues" are likely to be those of the Nine Orders of Angels; while the "different accent" is that likely that of Otherworld (Otherwhere) entities. It could be instructive to make audio-recordings of such "unknown tongues"; for the very process of making the recordings would be likely to elicit from their source more specific information, such as the specific Order of Angels involved. Of course, the distinction between "speaking in tongues" while asleep, and "speaking in tongues" while awake, is that the sleeping variety must entail communication from Angels presiding in the dream-world counterpart of the heaven of that particular Order of Angels.
Apr 29, 2014
 FRUSTRATED WHILE TRYING TO SPEAK IN DREAM NEW
by: Anonymous

I am totally aware that I am having trouble speaking during my dreams. I am usually very angry and my husband wakes me up. I am also frustrated that I am having difficulty with speech during the dream. I can usually remember the dream vividly.
It's difficult to find information about this phenomena.
Jul 31, 2014
 amazing description NEW
by: Anonymous

Had the same problem (speaking as though having a stroke) and have been struggling with a way of describing it. Perhaps now I can find a solution. Its very disturbing and sometimes the dreams are so vivid I feel like it will never end.
Sep 26, 2014
 Possible answer to slurred speech NEW
by: Anonymous

I used to have recurring dreams I was trying to scream, but my mouth was litteray glued shut in some form or fashion. It was always in moments of crisis and my husband would have to wake me up, and my pillow would be soaking wet from crying in my sleep.

After much research, I realized it was my brain enlightening me to the fact that I didn't feel heard... Able to express myself. I was trying and trying to to speak, to no avail. Once this connection was made, I didn't have that problem anymore.

Recently, I been plagued with dreams where my speech becomes slurred. Mostly, it's when I am really angry or panic stricken. I suspect, based on the previous experience, this is representative of my attempts to speak out about something... The difficulty I am having. A look at the situation I am in during the episode has been offering some pretty clear pictures of some areas of expression I am currently struggling with. THAT would be my suggestion... Look at the situations you are in when this happens and think about this possible expalnation to see if it fits. Hope this helps and good luck!
Oct 18, 2014
 I relate completely NEW
by: Anonymous

I also have this same dream which has been reoccurring for a little over a year. I am trying to talk in my dream but it want come out. Or if it does its a low whisper and very difficult for me to do. All the while, I'm thinking to myself, what is wrong with me? Why have I lost the ability to speak. Even in my dream it's like me brain will not communicate with my mouth. It's a horrible feeling and I am always so relieved when I realize it was just a dream. The thing that brothers me the most is how reoccurring it is. I use to have a reoccurring dream for years and years about light bulbs being blown. In my dream I am flipping every switch I come to and no light will work. There's normally no direct danger related other than the uncomfortable feeling of being in the pitch dark and not being able find light anywhere.
Nov 23, 2014
 similar circumstances NEW
by: Anonymous

I am also suffering from a these similar paralysis and speech phenomena in my dreams.it usually seems more prevalent when my dream has me speaking in front of more than one person.
I have recently noticed that i now will wake up in the midst of this speech paralysis as i am awaking myself and my wife with my sleep talking.
This makes me think that since i am attempting to speak out loud physically while my mouth is probably closed, that from my dream state, I want to hear my articulate the words, but my closed mouth in my real life dimension stops this
Dec 26, 2014
 SPEAKING PARALYSIS in sleep AND SLEEP PARALYSIS NEW
by: Jesus

I learned stop waking up from sleep paralysis. "" demons would attack me and at first i used to try to physically fight them, then I would just imagine myself with telekinetic powers and defeated them mentally instead of physically which would end up waking me up stuck in place. Eventually the entities went away.

Now I just dream about not being able to speak. I started signing. In a particular dream I was being escorted from a shopping store by a security guard or cop and i was trying to ask him to wait and not touch me. He kept escorting me and then i signed out the letters W-A-I-T. and he understood me.
Apr 26, 2015
 HELP ME NEW
by: Ryan

Ihave this slured speech often. But what scares me more is somtimes i wake up from the dream and cant move in real life and try to scream but i cant make a sound. Ive sat in my body like that up to 30 mins. Wtf is that? My friend said he has heard people say its the devil sitting on your chest. Not only that i also see ghostly abbaritons as if the dream world is overlapping the real world. I saw a little blue girl sit at the end of my bed wacthing me as i tryed to movand scream with no results. After awhile she faded away and regained motor functions but felt tingly. I dont believe in the devil or the common concept of god. I know whatevers going on is coming from within my own head. Can anyone explain any of this? Im afraid to sleep.
May 07, 2015
 @Ryan NEW
by: Jurben

i got incedents like that too, that happens when your body is tired of doing too much work and u sleep all day... i see hallucinations in the real world... monsters, real people who is really isnt there, etc.
May 20, 2015
 Dream paralysis NEW
by: Anonymous

I think the most likely explanation is that this is an evolutionary protection against hurting yourself or alerting predators to your location while you are asleep. I do not see it as a disorder. My dog clearly has dreams, but his "running" is limited to twitching his legs and his "barking" consists of quiet yips. This would have the added advantage for animals who sleep together or near each other of not alarming or rousing others when one animal dreams. When you think about it, how could pack animals sleep sufficiently if others ran around and howled or barked at full voice in their sleep? Everyone would be on alert all the time.
Jun 08, 2015
 Someone who can relate. NEW
by: Morgan

I'm looking for answers to the same question, I had actually just woken up from a nightmarish dream. I had far too much energy in my dream, all bottled up I could do anything. I could fly for a short while then when I hit the ground, I still had so much energy I couldn't stop moving, I had to use as much as I could, I was too energetic. Later on through the dream I noticed how unsettling the situation was. I was next to a highway by my local university, and it was dark, but not naturally dark. It was as if it should have been sunny, but something was limiting the light. There was a baby rabbit who was making goat noises in the grass. Which was extremely off putting. Eventually off in the distance I seen a girl who was walking towards me. But I was so uncomfortable because of the setting and that rabit, I knew I didn't want to talk, so I pulled out my phones and called my brother. It I couldn't speak?!I know that I just just making inaudable noises. You described it very well, as if I was having a stroke. This girl came to me in a panic, asking for help, but her voice sounded so far away even though she was standing right next to me, she was panicking begging for help. I was scared, I didn't want to talk to her, even if I wanted to, I couldnt have. It was as if I could mentally say these things, but physically it was impossible.

Anyways, I hope you found your answer. I'll be strolling through the comment section myself to see if anything helps. I know this is a somewhat common occurrence in my nightmares (I do not have nightmares often, maybe 5 a year)
Jul 28, 2015
 Noticing the same things. NEW
by: Anonymous

I sleep talk/scream/cry/laugh in my sleep and I noticed the same dry mouth and slurred speech in my dreams. I wanna chalk it up to sleep me is actually trying to say what dream me is saying but I'm so deep in sleep or so dry mouthed I can't and dream me is saying how sleep me is. Haha I hope that's not confusing. I would defiantly like to see an answer tho.
Nov 10, 2015
 unable to talk NEW
by: jamie

I literally just woke up from a dream like this. I was yelling in my dreams and reaching out for my husband to wake me up but i couldnt get any words out but i was able to move my arms. Also i know i was dreaming in my dream so i was trying to pull my eyes open in my dream to wake up. Finally at the end i was able to muster a loud scream which in turn was me moaning in my sleep in real life according to my husband. I had this cycle reaccure like 3-4 times in my dream before finally waking up. It scared me so bad a had tears coming out my eyes. I dont have any explaination but glad its just a dream even though its terrifying!
Nov 29, 2015
 This just started happening to me! NEW
by: Benjy

So glad I found this entry and comment section! This has been happening to me lately. I'm pretty new to interpreting dreams and generally just experiencing them. It's rare that I dream and even more rare that I remember more than a few details.
I work in restaurants and I frequently have dreams that I'm at work, or something like it. It's always a stressful environment where problems happen and I have to do my darnedest to stay afloat. Lately I've been acting more ballsy in these situations and telling my customers what I really think!
Seems fun, but I find it extremely difficult to form words in my dreams. It's so difficult that I often wake myself with the sound of my voice by the time I get a full sentence out, and I don't even get to enjoy the reaction of a rude customer getting the cuss out of the day.
Once I gave someone a high five in my dream and awoke to the impact of my own hand on the wall I was sleeping next to. This speaking paralysis
situation has reminded me of that
Jan 19, 2016
 talking improperly while dreaming NEW
by: Anonymous

I too have been recorded by my cousin talking in a very strange voice of mine that I have never heard before. Gut wrenching cries and slurrs of exhaustion came out of my mouth. It was frighting to hear them.I was screaming and yelling about something in my dream but was finding it so hard to articulate and move.
Jan 26, 2016
 Any answers to this phenomena? NEW
by: Anonymous

Happens at least twice a week to me for the last 10 years or so
Feb 07, 2016
 trying to call for help NEW
by: Anonymous

I have had this before but not a lot then it happened again 2 nights ago. I was in bed alsleep and i dreamt somethign dragged me out of bed in the night and i was screaming for help at the time it was very real i then got back to bed in my dream and it happened again i could feel the words coming out my mouth but it was tho i had a speach problem or a stroke, in the morning i decided it must have been that i was it between being asleep and trying to wake up so i didnt have full control if my mouth uts very scary because at the time i felt as if it was real and have had this a few times before also.
Mar 26, 2016
 Similar reoccurring dreams NEW
by: Alice

I am having similar reoccurring dreams in which my voice is very hoarse or just above a whisper. It is becoming quite disturbing as the dreams seem to be intensifying as well as occurring on a more regular basis. 9/10 the dreams include my ex-husband, to whom I was married for 23 years. Divorced for 6 now. Our children were 18 and 19 when we divorced. Even though our relationship is not what I would describe as friendly, we are cordial and I hold no ill will towards him... or at least I didn't this so until these dreams began. It is always a situation which is urgent and I am trying to explain something or tell him something regarding our children. Sometimes the children are grown, as they are now, but more often the scenario is the children are in their younger years but the ex-husband and I have already divorced. It is driving me crazy! It makes me uncomfortable to have to deal with the ex 2-3 nights a week. I believe the dreams signify the belief that I "lost my relational voice" in the marriage but I dealt with those issues in therapy years ago. Why are they resurfacing out of the blue and on such a regular basis? I have remarried and moved on and would really like for my ex to leave my dreams as well.
Occasionally, the "lost voice" dream involves different situations in life.
Does this signify I believe I am not being heard? Or I feel like I am no longer important in the lives of my loved ones?
Finally, is there a way to STOP these terribly disturbing dreams? Help. Anyone.... Thank you.
Mar 30, 2016
 Same dream NEW
by: Anonymous

As of lately I've been having these dreams as well. I also work in a restaurant as a bartender. So naturally I deal with a ton of stress on a daily basis but never have a problem keeping the customers happy. The dream I had the other night was extremely off putting. I was alone behind a bar full of people on a really busy night, they would ask me to make drinks I normally make on a daily basis but when I try to make them in the dream it takes me forever and I can never remember what the recipe is. People start to become infuriated, it literally feels like the whole bar is against me and everyone is calling me out on it. I try to calm them down but when I try to speak I cant properly form a sentence and start saying things that don't make sense, or are slurred. As all of you have said, I'm completely aware that I'm not making sense and it's absolutely terrifying. One specific detail I remember is running to the downstairs washroom trying to escape from a room full of people that have it out for me. I get to the washroom where all of my coworkers happen to be (for some reason) and try to talk to them to get some comfort/reassurance that nothing is wrong. Except when I try to talk to them I'm making even less sense than before and they don't seem to be hearing me. It's extremely frustrating and I end up in a state of panic. But no one seems to notice and they keep walking right past me as if nothing's wrong or I'm not even there. Then the strange part, everyone clears out and my brother is standing there. I walk up to him and try to talk to him but the only words I've said that I can manage to somewhat remember are a barely understandable sentence saying "don't, overlook, mental illness" then a few words after that that don't relate. As you could have probably guessed, this completely mortified me to the point where I wake up to a cold sweat soaked bed. I'm convinced it's like a preliminary warning for a stroke or something. I've been stressing about this and other similar dreams for weeks now and it's starting to affect my daily life. What should I do?
Mar 30, 2016
 re Same Dream NEW
by: Alice

Anonymous, I wish I knew what to tell you to do to stop these disturbing dreams but I don't. I don't think it is a "sign" that you are about to have a stroke, rather I believe they are coming from some type of chronic underlying stress or issue. In fact, I've become quite the insomniac, dreading the thought of dreaming with no voice. I keep thinking maybe it will pass when I sleep a few nights without remembering any dreams then it happens out of the blue.
Disturbing recourring dreams mess with my psyche- almost losing confidence in areas of real life.
Maybe there is no "real" meaning to these dreams? I don't know- only wish they would stop. I do miss having fun, hopeful, fantasy type dreams but would much prefer none at all as opposed to these.
Maybe your job as a bartender has become more stressful recently? Maybe they mean nothing at all. It is hard for me to believe they mean nothing as our brains are so complex- but it is easier for me to accept than the alternative.
Maybe some quiet meditation before sleep would help? Now, if only I could sleep! I've done just a bit of "research", if one could call googling 'what does this dream mean' and have come up with nothing.
Sorry to be of no help- other than assure you are not alone.
May 20, 2016
 I have dream I have trouble speaking NEW
by: Hilarynonymous

I don't ever remember having trouble speaking in dreams until recently (I'm 69). It's most disconcerting and I often wake up panicky after such a dream. It's the same sort of scenario that everyone else has described. I'm trying to communicate to a loved one or just anyone and the words are just gibberish.
Jun 22, 2016
 Wow NEW
by: Andromeda

I just started this in February. (im 38) it happens like once a month and it's a common theme in my dreams, demons. I'm trying to holler at them and scream "go away in Jesus name but I can't. My mouth won't work. I can't open it. So I'm I'm screaming these words work a closed mouth. In my dream I know that I'm having this issue and try harder and harder to make my mouth open. My boyfriend wakes me because he hears my closed mouth screaming but can't make out what I'm saying. Im starting to actual wonder if demons are after me. I've never been a church goer or real religious, but this has me praying and going to church.
Jun 22, 2016
 Wow NEW
by: Andromeda

I just started this in February. (im 38) it happens like once a month and it's a common theme in my dreams, demons. I'm trying to holler at them and scream "go away in Jesus name but I can't. My mouth won't work. I can't open it. So I'm I'm screaming these words work a closed mouth. In my dream I know that I'm having this issue and try harder and harder to make my mouth open. My boyfriend wakes me because he hears my closed mouth screaming but can't make out what I'm saying. Im starting to actual wonder if demons are after me. I've never been a church goer or real religious, but this has me praying and going to church.
Jul 05, 2016
 Same dream - can't talk NEW
by: Anonymous

My dream is the same as Andromeda. It's been a reoccurring dream for more than 20 years now - either someone would be possessed or a demon was in my house. As soon as I tried to recite the Lord's Prayer, I couldn't get the words out - my speech was slurred, my mouth wouldn't move, etc. At first I thought it was a sign that I didn't have enough faith. But finally, about 5 months ago, it happened again, and this time I woke up and heard myself trying to recite the Lord's Prayer out loud. This led me to believe that whenever I try to speak in my dreams and can't, it's because I'm literally trying to talk. I remember reading somewhere that when you sleep, your body goes into a "paralysis" like state in order to keep you from actually moving and/or sleep walking. So perhaps the same thing happens with your mouth/voice when you sleep. You're trying to speak in real life, but your mouth isn't able to move - and this "paralysis" gets interpreted into your dream as you not being able to speak. And if you can speak in your dream but it sounds slurred (like a stroke victim, as others mentioned), I think it's because you are now literally speaking out loud, but not able to fully speak yet. It's almost as if your brain (in its dream state) is trying to break free of the "paralysis".
Sep 03, 2016
 Sleep paralysis and stroke like speech NEW
by: Anonymous

It has happened to me for many years. The paralysis since I was a teen, and I am almost 63 now. The stroke like speech, which was the way I described it to my husband before I found this thread, is often, last night, both the paralysis and stroke speech all night. My stroke like speech started when my dad died in 1993 and family issues I felt prevented me from being heard. I used to have sleep apnea and when I slept with a CPAP, I don't believe I had these as often. Hmmm. I hate them, they are frightening. Often associated with nightmares but not always.
Sep 07, 2016
 Having the same dream speech issues NEW
by: wheelhouse

I have more recently started having these speech issues while dreaming. My dreams seem to fit the narrative of the majority of the previous posts. I have been doing a lot of my own research or better explained as experimenting. In completely random order: Here is what I have come up with on my own. I first started with keeping a daily journal, trying to narrow down more stressful days and whether or not I could find a connection. This helped a great deal. I can tell you that in my situation, stress and being overly tired both physically and mentally exhausted seems to trigger these dreams more often. I have a very highly stressful job, some days more than others. I also tend to get much less sleep than I likely should. I have recently had a bad shoulder injury that doesnt allow me to get much sleep, I don't believe this to just be coincidence. The more often I wake up and fall back asleep, the worse these dreams tend to be. As the dreams got worse and more often, I finally decided to record myself as I slept. I can confirm such as an earlier poster said, I was very much trying to physically speak aloud, but that too just came out as mumbling and struggling jibberish. I wish I could tell you that what I have found has helped, but it simply hasn't. Having these recurring dreams only seems to stress me out more before going to bed. Which I theory only triggers them more often. My next steps are as follows: I am going to start walking every day. Even if it is just a block or two. I am also going to completely cut out caffeine from my diet. Lastly I plan on trying to meditate for a few minutes before bed to try and relax and clear my head. I will update again after a few weeks. Good luck to all suffering through this!
Nov 07, 2016
 This Might Help! NEW
by: Anonymous

I have delt with sleep paralysis as well as the stroke-like speech. I find that I experience this less when I am getting adequate REM sleep and also sleeping on my stomach. Most times I find myself having difficulties in my dreams when I'm sleeping on my back.

When the stroke-like speech occurs I am usually sleeping on my back and it's almost as if in real life I am trying to speak, but because I am sleeping my brain is almost confused. When I do wake up I flip to my stomach. I also try to remind myself that I have control over my dream.

Practicing techniques for lucid dreaming can also be very beneficial because you can control your dreams. It takes time, but eventually you will know you're sleeping and will be able to alter your dreams to be more pleasing.

I hope this helps someone out there!
Dec 25, 2016
 Speech Paralysis NEW
by: Kevin

Long story short, I was just awakened from a dream where I had the same speech paralysis like a stroke victim like many of you here had experienced.

This started a few years ago and initially, I panicked thinking that I might be developing a stroke, especially when my father was a stroke victim. Now, even in my dream, I subconsciously know that it is a dream and I would wake up frustrated, but no longer panicked. Subconsciously.

Interestingly, I've never thought of googling this and now that I did, more interestingly, I learned that I'm not alone in this. What Anonymous said above made a lot of sense to me, that we might not feel heard in our daily lives, which induces our speech paralysis in our sleep.

On another note, when I was young, I suffered sleep paralysis often like many of you do. But once I learned that there was nothing otherworldly about the experience, my panic subsided and I merely waited for the paralysis to pass.

Also, when I was a child, I too had recurring nightmares, and I trained myself to tell myself in my nightmares that they were all but a dream. When that happened, I'd wake up in my sleep and short-circuited my nightmares, kinda like an escape pod to this "real" world. I will start doing the same thing now. If I could do this when I was a child, I'm certain that I could do this now. As for not being heard, I'm going to be more conscientious of this when it happened, and learn to let the negativity go.

Good luck to me and good luck to all of you. It would be interesting to know how the rest of you are faring these days. Last but not least, it's Christmas tonight and Merry Christmas to all of you!

In Christ's Love,
Kevin S.
Feb 23, 2017
 Can't speak in dream NEW
by: Janice

Just read about a person who has problems talking in his dreams. I too experience this...with some regularity. It's like it's too much effort to get the words out. Stroke victim was how he described it
Which is an apt description! Someone with a speech impediment at the very least. And the awareness that you are in a dream. If I force all my energy into coherent and clear speech, I usually wake myself up and end up talking out loud.
May 24, 2017
 Just experienced this not being able to speak in a dream NEW
by: Jenn

I had he weirdest dream last night. I dreamt of my children and I sitting in a room I didn't know with this young girl. She looked like a southern belle whith her long curly red hair and her long layered dress. At one point I became aware that she was an evil spirit as she tried to possess my daughter. That stopped and then I was play wrestling with my daughter. I was laying on my back and my daughter was sitting on the floor above my head holding my arms pinned above my head. I was struggling to free her grip which was unrealistically strong. All of a suffused her face switched to that of the red headed spirit (like she was possessed and then it was the red head holding my arms. She opened her mouth and I could see shark like triangle teethbkn her mouth. I felt like she was trying to take over my body, so I tried to scream out stop, stop, help me. The words were not coming and it was so difficult to get the words out. The stops were mumbled and slurred, but the help me came out so clearly. Then I opened my eyes and I was still in the dream, but alone. A second later I was very aware that I was awake in my room, but unable to move and then I was able to move, but just laid there thinking about the weirdest dream I've ever had. Eventually I fell asleep again, but this whole dream is still so vivid. Wtf?!
May 28, 2017
 Exactly the same dream NEW
by: Geet

I too dont understand why cant i speak in dream.i try to scream as hard i can and i feel the same dry mouth and pain in my throat, and those words seems to be so important to be heard but exactly when i start speaking about them i actually can't and feel like i have reached a point where i need to get my throat some atention to get it healed, also i am left with tears in my eyes and a feeling of helplesheale and fustration.

Flying dream is also common for me, in dream flying is like i can easily reach the cealing with one go and i balance my self so comfortably, i feel like its so easy and i can do the same everytime, but i dont know wat it means😔
Jun 03, 2017
 Nightmare NEW
by: Scott

I had a shockingly similar dream to Morgan just now. Long story short I was in a dark forest running from a girl ghost and when I finally emerged I tried to call my roommate to meet up, sure that I'd be safe in numbers. Despite the call going through and my roommate answering I was unable to speak. It was like I couldn't force the air out to talk. My mouth made the motions and I was able to breathe, but when I tried to talk it was like the air was hitting seem invisible wall. What is weird is that at the beginning of the dream (before it became a nightmare) I was able to talk and articulate myself just fine. This is the second time I've had a dream where I can't talk, with the first being about drowning. Both dreams were very vivid. This is making hard for me to sleep.
Jun 07, 2017
 Stroke Symptoms During Sleep? NEW
by: Anonymous

I've literally had the same exact problem for as long as I can remember. But I'm commenting only because it seems to be getting progressively worse. Whereas I used to find myself unable to speak only in nightmares and in cases of sleep paralysis, lately I have been experiencing this issue at random times in my dreams, usually whilst in normal conversation. It's actually very strange and slightly concerning. Last night, I found myself in some half-dreaming state with my body numb, my head spinning, and my speech slurred. This scared me because at the moment, I thought I had just woken up, but now I'm uncertain as to whether I was even awake. I tend to have very realistic dreams, and so at times it can be extremely difficult for me to differentiate between dreams and reality. Anyway, I did a Google search to see if anyone else had experienced anything similar to last night's episode, and found that the experience sounds shockingly similar to a stroke. So now I'm just kinda confused, slightly concerned, but very intrigued. So if anyone got anything out of my rambling, I'd appreciate to hear any input you may have!
Sep 09, 2017
 aware of the difficulty speaking while the dream NEW
by: Pete

I too at times experience difficulty speaking in my dream, as if my mouth is unable to articulate speech. And those listening seem confused in my inability and stop listening or pass me off.
Sep 13, 2017
 Stroke symptoms during sleep NEW
by: Vlgthatsme

This is so crazy that I found this site. I literally just woke up from a dream (and a VERY common one for me) where I have stroke symptoms during the dream. Mainly it's my inability to speak or articulate what I am trying to say. Sometimes I notice that I am trying to speak and my lips won't move at all while I talk. It's all the more strange to me because I have had a stroke at 39 which was only a few years ago. But that was my first symptom that happened repeatedly over the course of a week before any other symptoms appeared. It's always concerning in my dream but no one else seems to notice. I have this dream AT LEAST once or twice a week.

But does anyone ever comment on this thread with insight into these dreams? I notice it's just a never ending thread of people having the same dream...
Jan 02, 2018
 My guess NEW
by: Anonymous

I have the same problem. I’m pretty sure it happens because we’re trying to sleep talk out loud, but our body is preventing us. It only happens to me when I’m trying to yell or shout or act emotionally (which is especially frustrating since I can’t voice my anger or fear), and during those moments I assume my mouth is trying to actually speak what I experience in my dream, especially since I’m normally a sleep talker.
Jan 31, 2018
 Terrifying dream NEW
by: Stephanie

I just woke up from a terrible dream as well, in my dream I was asleep on my bed with my husband . It was weird because it was our room but it didn’t feel like our room . It was very dark and I just had this sense of pure fear . I remember my husband being asleep at the head of the bed, and I was at the foot of the bed, in a fetal like position. I didn’t want to open my eyes because as I stated previously, I felt very scared. In my real life we have a closet in our room which is across from the bed where we keep the vacuum. So in my dream again similar setup of my room the vacccum comes flying out and there is what feels to be a scary woman screaming and shaking it behind my head. I was then in my dream calling for my husband to wake up but had the stroke like speech where I couldn’t get the words out, is how I felt in my dream . But I felt I was saying my husbands correctly . I then woke up feeling as if my heart was going to explode slowly realizing everything was ok . My husband then told me after I woke him up that I was "talking backwards" which scared me . Either way this dream felt very real and very scary . I’m going to find it difficult to go back to bed ,
Feb 15, 2018
 I have the same issue! NEW
by: Anonymous

I came across this post because I googled being unable to speak in dreams. This happens to me on occasion and its typically when I really need to speak like in a scary situation and it happens just as you describe; I'm trying to get the words out but it only comes out in sounds or pieces and in the dream its extremely stressful and I am aware it is happening. Glad I'm not the only one. I figured its something symbolic of things going on in my life.
Mar 08, 2018
 Is there a connection between B12 deficiency and sleep paralysis and stroke dreams? NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi,

Sorry for the long post but I wonder if other people might have a b12 deficiency that has these types of stroke-like dreams? Obviously, you should get the advice of your doctor before trying anything.

I just had a dream a few weeks ago where I was in a basement and there was a body hanging in front of me with blood on it. No idea why but I started trying to exercise a demon out of the body. There were other people with me. They were trying to give me advice and I was getting annoyed by their interruptions and started to tell them to give me space. At some point I started yelling but then as I was speaking I started to have what I would think was stroke like speech where I couldn't form words and my breathing became difficult. Woke up freaked out, to say the least.

I have had a rough couple of years with my health having symptoms of what I originally thought was MS, had been to a neurologist and told there is nothing wrong with me although I have had blurred vision, muscle weakness, fingernails go lumpy, arms often going numb while sleeping, heart palpitations and shortness of breath.

Out of frustration, I started to take vitamin b12 tablets (1000 mcg fast dissolve) daily, although my blood work showed within the normal range for b12 I was desperate. My symptoms went away within a short time, so I would go off the B12 thinking maybe I don't need them anymore. After this last time, I had the dream I realized I had been off the b12 for a while and went back on them and have been fine. After the dream I had, I will not go off B12 ever again! I have to wonder if there is a connection between sleep paralysis, dreaming of strokes and b12 deficiency?




Mar 12, 2018
 Enlightening thought NEW
by: Shalayla

This is an issue I've had while dreaming multiple times, forming words in my mind but it was literally a labor to even speak, I felt very disabled. In my recent one I was hiding in the grass and a giant brown bear was roaming around. I felt it walk right up to me, and I thought it would attack me but it put its head against me and laid down right beside me in the grass, and I felt at ease. I tried telling people about what had happened in the dream, but as I said it was like I had a speech disability. It was so distressing, but I kept trying and trying to form the words, but the more I tried to quieter my voice got and the tighter my throat felt.

I think it is similar to "running but not going anywhere" idea in dreams. I also think that when we are actually sleep talking or moving in the physical world, (in our beds) it blocks us from doing so more in our dreams. I know I sleep talk when I'm especially distressed, sometimes I actually remember hearing myself in the morning, and I talked in my sleep with this latest dream. So perhaps one fades away as our energy is focussed more on the other...? Not sure, but I hope this enlightening thought helps.
Apr 01, 2018
 cant talk during sleep NEW
by: AlDraper

I have had this unable to speak problem for a while, it started when I had PTSD, 10 years ago (fully recovered). I have not had it for years and it started again last night I have been diagnosed with low vit D, and malabsorption in the gut. May be connected to the B12 mentioned earlier. However in this dream I was asking for an ambulance to be called as I though I was having a stroke in the dream,I then knew I had to wake up and I was trying to wake up but could not leave the dream, then it got weird as I touched a lady on her shoulder I didn't know her and light came from my hand and she descended upwards... then I could speak again...I woke up shortly after after cleaning a kitchen sink !!.. this is following on from recent dreams of discoloured water coming from any part of my body I touch.. and sorry for this one sausage like meat coming out of hole in my spine (where I suffer pain)... I have un-diagnosed illness and I am having various medical tests (CT scans etc..)so maybe it could be not knowing, I having been saying to my GP I think its MS , he hasn't took me on .. so maybe it the not listening... who knows!! I do know I embrace my dreams and feel no fear during them... its like going to the movies every night...great site and thank you for all the stories..
Apr 15, 2018
 Response to original question. NEW
by: Anonymous

Hey captain frantic. I just had the same dream with basically the same circumstances as you had and I can’t explain why. I also had a dream Earlier tonight in which everytime I try to talk I would basically be regurgitating a bunch of dry leaves, both dream in the same night, very vivid and I can still remember a good portion although it’s really all just parts of a whole. Trying to write it down would make no sense. It’s jusr interesting that I found someone who had essentially the same dream I just had

- caption cope
Apr 15, 2018
 UpDate NEW
by: AL Draper

2 days after I wrote this post I was admitted to hospital serious ill, I was on an acute ward for 5 days, the illness is still undiagnosed but suspected Wegeners, which effect the face bones muscles etc..curious that the unable to talk has now shown twice when I was ill, both physically and mentally(refer to PTSD), both times I was undiagnosed I knew something was wrong but nobody was listening... theme I noticed.
Apr 16, 2018
 I know the feeling NEW
by: BK

Hi -
I often have dreams - and for me its usually "coming out of dreams" where i cannot form words. The sounds generate in my throat but come out as essentially gutteral moans. In these dreams I am usually trying to stop something but cant because i can only gasp and moan."
I believe that i have a small form of paralysis with this as well... in these dreams i know i am always trying to move and when i wake up i am stiff with my hands curled in front of me.
These dreams always trouble me for days - i get them about once a month. Its terrifying and also strangely fascinating.
I'm glad i am not alone tho.
Thank you
May 13, 2018
 Don't Speak NEW
by: Mighty K

I don't know if anyone is going to find an answer here. Yes, it's nice to know we are not alone... Maybe there is something we have in common? Do we all just need to become Toastmasters? The first thought is always to look at the literal or symbolic message of the dream and apply that to ourselves ala Freud. The last thought is that there could be any actual phenomena taking place while we sleep. Now, many have said they also experienced PTSD which is associated with a specific type of nightmare, sleep paralysis, shadow people, etc. I wouldn't just write everything off as PTSD symptoms. This is a deeper subject than many will care to delve into. There is some reason PTSD victims are also targeted with this kind of scenario in dreams. Why? I'm pretty sure that they make ideal subjects for further trauma. You kind of drop to the back of the pack following major trauma and the weakest in the herd gets culled. Anyone interested might want to research archons, shadow people, djin, or mind parasites/flyers ala Carlos Castaneda or Don Ruiz.

Does everyone here feel they are poor speakers? There's plenty to indicate such in waking life. Often the more you have to say the smaller your audience. I mean everyone tries to be heard but the reticent have learned often after much protest that silence is in their interest. Inspiration to try try again from within a dream isn't going to change much. Besides this dream makes you feel absolutely feeble as an orator. It puts all the blame on you and let's face it communication is a two way street.

Why are there some that are routinely silenced and others who are conventionally amplified? Why would we need to be piped up by our dreams? Are we too honest? Too outspoken? Perhaps seen as whistleblowers? Are certain characters present in these dreams? Friends? Demons? I don't seek philosophy from the damned. Can we trust these characters? There was an interesting point above about why we just have to speak for ourselves and not the others in our dreams. It is one brain and we assume it's carrying on multiple conversations with itself. There are those who sincerely endeavor to invade minds of other people and beyond that entities who lack physical bodies who may see our sleeping frame as a joyride.

The connection between our attempts to actually physically speak through the barrier of sleep paralysis is plausible but not the whole story. We are still able to move in our dream while paralyzed in bed. However it can happen that locomotion is impeded within a dream and we wake with exhausted legs in the morning. It seems too selective in which senses are hampered while dreaming. They are the very senses you rely on to escape the dream's horrid predicament. Darned if we aren't trying our best not to trip with the killer in tow. That effort is what seems to pierce the sleep barrier. Before you get to moaning out loud it doesn't feel like a sleep paralysis episode. I've learned to sometimes go with it and realize I simply won't enunciate.

Let see if we can define the scenarios in which this happens and explore situational and psychological commonalities. Genetic? Politics inclinations? Who knows? This dream certainly doesn't seem like a reward for any of us.

It's important to distinguish whether you were in a sleep, waking, or between state when recountimg a dream sequence. I want to know what happened to the guy a couple of comments earlier who was hospitalized...
May 13, 2018
 Don't Speak NEW
by: Mighty K

I don't know if anyone is going to find an answer here. Yes, it's nice to know we are not alone... Maybe there is something we have in common? Do we all just need to become Toastmasters? The first thought is always to look at the literal or symbolic message of the dream and apply that to ourselves ala Freud. The last thought is that there could be any actual phenomena taking place while we sleep. Now, many have said they also experienced PTSD which is associated with a specific type of nightmare, sleep paralysis, shadow people, etc. I wouldn't just write everything off as PTSD symptoms. This is a deeper subject than many will care to delve into. There is some reason PTSD victims are also targeted with this kind of scenario in dreams. Why? I'm pretty sure that they make ideal subjects for further trauma. You kind of drop to the back of the pack following major trauma and the weakest in the herd gets culled. Anyone interested might want to research archons, shadow people, djin, or mind parasites/flyers ala Carlos Castaneda or Don Ruiz.

Does everyone here feel they are poor speakers? There's plenty to indicate such in waking life. Often the more you have to say the smaller your audience. I mean everyone tries to be heard but the reticent have learned often after much protest that silence is in their interest. Inspiration to try try again from within a dream isn't going to change much. Besides this dream makes you feel absolutely feeble as an orator. It puts all the blame on you and let's face it communication is a two way street.

Why are there some that are routinely silenced and others who are conventionally amplified? Why would we need to be piped up by our dreams? Are we too honest? Too outspoken? Perhaps seen as whistleblowers? Are certain characters present in these dreams? Friends? Demons? I don't seek philosophy from the damned. Can we trust these characters? There was an interesting point above about why we just have to speak for ourselves and not the others in our dreams. It is one brain and we assume it's carrying on multiple conversations with itself. There are those who sincerely endeavor to invade minds of other people and beyond that entities who lack physical bodies who may see our sleeping frame as a joyride.

The connection between our attempts to actually physically speak through the barrier of sleep paralysis is plausible but not the whole story. We are still able to move in our dream while paralyzed in bed. However it can happen that locomotion is impeded within a dream and we wake with exhausted legs in the morning. It seems too selective in which senses are hampered while dreaming. They are the very senses you rely on to escape the dream's horrid predicament. Darned if we aren't trying our best not to trip with the killer in tow. That effort is what seems to pierce the sleep barrier. Before you get to moaning out loud it doesn't feel like a sleep paralysis episode. I've learned to sometimes go with it and realize I simply won't enunciate.

Let see if we can define the scenarios in which this happens and explore situational and psychological commonalities. Genetic? Politics inclinations? Who knows? This dream certainly doesn't seem like a reward for any of us.

It's important to distinguish whether you were in a sleep, waking, or between state when recountimg a dream sequence. I want to know what happened to the guy a couple of comments earlier who was hospitalized...
May 13, 2018
 PS NEW
by: Anonymous

I also have the broken lightswitch dream recurrently as someone else mentioned. You can look that one up too... Most nights I do not remember much of dreams. These two plague me.
May 13, 2018
 PS NEW
by: Mighty K

I also have broken lightswitch dream like one of the earlier folks. Another fav of shadow peeps. I don't remember most dreams but these two plague me. Maybe this has nothing to do with entities. Can't remember them, personally don't want to. My mother saw shadow people in my brother's house night before he died of cancer. She was awake..., got up, walked around, still there... She prayed and pulled the sheets over her head. Not sure that works. I got his house packed up and moved his belongings. Right after had no speech nightmare and actually got out some words girlfriend next to me understood. "Why did you follow me here...?" I swear. That's all she would tell me!
May 22, 2018
 Speech like a stroke victim NEW
by: Maemae

I am so glad to realize other people have had this repeated dream. I am 71 and don't THINK I am going thru PTSD but couldn't list all my little worries. I'm trying SO HARD in the dream to speak clearly and I just can't. Yes, my sleeping is terribly irregular. I'll be watching this thread.
May 23, 2018
 Lucid Dreams NEW
by: Steve (Captain Frantic)

Hi everyone, and thanks to you all for the responses.

I stopped experiencing the dreams where I could not speak properly a number of years ago but I like to look in on the comments every now and then.

Anyway, I did another quick google search and it turns out that this experience is fairly common among people who experiment with lucid dreaming. So maybe we were in a state of lucid dreaming (or similar) but just didn't realise it.

So, if anyone still has this problem, try taking control mentally of things that are happening in your dream and let us know what happens.

Many thanks - Steve
May 27, 2018
 Cannot talk while dreaming. NEW
by: Jason

I also had a dream last night,I found it hard to speak,after I woke up,I realized I had bad heart burn.do you guys think that's why I couldn't talk in my dream?
May 27, 2018
 Difficulty speaking while dreaming NEW
by: Bosco

I enjoyed reading the comments about difficulty speaking while dreaming. I especially can relate to the fact that itt seems like a stroke victim’s speech. I too have had this issue recently. This is my belief about dreams. There are two kinds of dreams, in my opinion. Dreams that are a result our experience, such as a scary dream after watching a horror movie. Secondly, dreams where our subconscious is trying to speak to our conscious about an issue that we are experiencing. In both cases, dreams always use symbolism. By that I mean, everything in our dream symbolizes a feeling that is in our subconscious. We have dreams to make us aware of these feelings that we do not want to deal with consciously. In my dreams I often can’t speak. I’m usually speaking to a group of people. They seem to be listening, yet I know they do not understand what I’m saying.. No matter how hard I try to speak clearly, the words just will not come out in an intelligible fashion. The person or people I am speaking to seem to understand me, and sometimes respond. However, I have the distinct and troubling feeling that I’m not being understood, and the words I hear coming out of my mouth are like a stroke victim’s speech, as it has been described. I agree with the contributor this is a symbol or a feeling that we are not being understood or heard. Interesting stuff. If anyone has any comments on what I’ve said, I would like to hear them.
Jun 12, 2018
 I try to speak during my dream but it comes out as a grumble or moan NEW
by: Mike

I sometimes have episodes in which I realize I'm dreaming and am trying to speak to someone...Usually it's a case in which I'm trying desperately to cry out someone's name and get their attention. Only speaking proves very difficult --nearly impossible-- as though my body is trying to prevent me from speaking. Ultimately it comes out slurred (at least in the dream and perhaps in reality), like speech from a stroke victim.

It seems this is some form of sleep paralysis, where you're conscious enough in your dream to realize you're in there trying to "get out" but not so awake that you've regained full muscle control.

Some articles indicate this may be an early sign of a neurodegenerative disease!
Jun 13, 2018
 Reply to, “Mike “. “... I try to speak ...” NEW
by: Bosco

What you mentioned about a neurodegenerative diseases interesting. It has always been my experience that dreams are based on emotional or psychological issues rather than physiological. My advice is to try to do some soul-searching. Attempt to identify if there are any areas in your interpersonal communications whereby you feel that you are not being heard, or you need to express something to someone in particular who seems not to be listening.
Jun 13, 2018
 Reply to, “Mike “. “... I try to speak ...” NEW
by: Bosco

What you mentioned about a neurodegenerative diseases interesting. It has always been my experience that dreams are based on emotional or psychological issues rather than physiological. My advice is to try to do some soul-searching. Attempt to identify if there are any areas in your interpersonal communications whereby you feel that you are not being heard, or you need to express something to someone in particular who seems not to be listening.
Jun 23, 2018
 Life changing move NEW
by: John.M

Had to find out what was going on with these dreams.Now that i know i am not alone i cancelled my visit to the Shrink.
Jul 17, 2018
 Can't talk, dry mouth NEW
by: Richyrich

I woke up from a dream like this about 15/20 mins ago.

My current real situation is that I rent a room in a nice house but my landlady is in the process of selling up. The process of selling started a few weeks ago, but I think it will take a while to sell. But I will have to move out soon enough. My landlady is a kind lady, a super Pisces,, but she does drink a lot and is very changeable, so I'm never quite sure of where I stand or if what she says Ito me is true, as often she says one thing and end soon after does the exact opposite.

In my dream the house I'm living in is different but the situation is the same as my real one. In reality my landlady and I have 2 weeks notice to give if I want to move out, or if she wants me to move out. In my dream I was trying to sleep, but she came in and started pressing her finger into me in different places, like my belly,and it pissed me off.

In my dream I got up and went into her room to tell her I'm giving her the 2 weeks notice, but when I walked in, she was getting undressed and me walking in freaked her out and she was attempting to cover up. I knew there was a guy in the corner of the room (jack Nicholson for some reason) and also that her ex boyfriend was upstairs, david???

I tried to sputter out I'm giving you two weeks notice (even though in my dream I was aware I didn't have another place to live) but the words didn't come out. This frustrated me in my dream, so I started to use my fingers and distinctly show her two fingers to show her my intent. Stroke speech is a pretty good description.

Soon after this I woke up with my mouth open, a really dry tongue, but I was calm and wasn't paralysed and once I had closed my mouth and some saliva got on my tongue, I was fine. Including the time to write this, the dream was about 30mins ago. It's 424am, and I need sleep, so I'm gonna put my head back down, maybe something else will happen I don't know.

I also have a job situation ongoing in reality where I'm suspended unfairly and have raised a grievance, but I'm calm about that as I'm sure I'm ok as my employers have broken lots of rules and I know I have a voice there and I am using it the right way to resolve the matter. The job is of no importance to me, a kinda disposable one, but the employer is a big one with 40,000+ employees and HR teams ensuring laws are kept to..

Oddly, I'm the only person in my house tonight, landlady is at her boyfriends (who is an old ex just back on scene) and her son is away on a camping trip. Lucid dreaming is possible as I have been able to fly in dreams and I know I'm dreaming so I remain calm.
Aug 14, 2018
 "Stroke" Speech During Dream NEW
by: Anonymous

I too have experienced this inability to speak properly during a dream (2 or 3 times, I am 33 years old). I just came out of a dream like this. The dream I had was that I came up with a great rap song. I cam up with the song in my dream by using my voice which worked fine, however once i tried telling it/rapping it to others I couldn't talk right. I will tell you a few things I did in my real life right before this dream and see if maybe we can find some connections. 1. I normally workout every day (cardio), however today I did not. 2. I slept at a time of the day that I don't normally sleep at (this one was while sleeping from like 9pm-1am). 3. My mouth was very dry upon waking.
Aug 14, 2018
 Reply to “Stroke” slurred ... while dreaming NEW
by: Bosco

It is my opinion what you did or did not do before sleeping had nothing to do with it. Not working out may have made you less fatigued, and therefore you did not sleep as deeply. However dreams, in most cases, and in my opinion, signify or represent something that is going on in our life. Oftentimes, not being heard about a certain subject or concern is stressful, and we don’t want to deal with that emotionally. Our subconscious still has these issues in mind, and during a dream it communicates with the conscious mind. As I stated in my post, I believe the inability to speak in dreams is representative of our wanting to be heard, and feeling like we are not being heard. In most cases, I believe this has an emotional base.
I advice.… Think about what is going on in your life. Especially, in regard to interpersonal relationships. Is there something that you want to talk about with a person close to you, and you feel like they’re not listening?
Sep 06, 2018
 Speaking improperly NEW
by: L santi

My words do not come out properly when I'm dreaming but my husband says I'm talking in my sleep. I can't remember anyone's name or the name won't come out. I'm so confused.
Dec 22, 2018
 Non lucid dream NEW
by: Bee dub

Just HD a dream where I had an infant in my house a black orb came from its mouth an I caught it I told the people there 3 were dead 1 is still alive the alive one one one came to see . I struggled to tell him and tried to annunciate I'm paralyzed and it's hard to speak. Then I let the orb go it went back to the infant. When I awoke I was told that I speaking in a strange tongue not to be understood. How's that one
Apr 22, 2019
 Unable to speak in my dreams
by: Tebello

Most of my dreams involve my mouth being full of sticky stuff like a huge chewing gum, which prevents me from being to talk properly. In the dream, I try to pull it out but it is never ending and I have never been able to get it out completely from the mouth. This is so frustrating and scary
May 28, 2019
 Unable to talk well yell in dream NEW
by: Anonymous

I have a slightly different problem. In my dreams, I can talk fine its when I get mad and want to yell at a person, that I cannot. It's like my lips won't open enough to do so and it takes so much energy to try and when the word does come out it's yeah like on 1 side of my mouth but barely. Actually last night I even tried to help open my lips to yell at a person. Fully aware that I was doing it.
Jul 20, 2019
 I also Have slurred speech I. Some nightmares.
by: Antoni Zeváyos

When I have vivid nightmares where my wife’s and children’s safety is threatened, I experience the slurred speech, yelling in my dream and it adds to the sense of frustration and desperation I feel. My wife woke me up last night to ask me if I was okay and because I clearly remembered the dream, I recounted it. I imitated the voice by speaking through my teeth and lips without moving my jaw. "That’s it!" she exclaimed.

It was a dream about an entity in my house that was trying to control me and prevent me from caring for my wife and children. Through slurred angry speech, I demanded it show itself and give me proof of its existence because I believed it was only a figment if my imagination. Before I was awakened, I could only vaguely see it’s face emerging and it was me.

When I woke up, I was collected and calm. My wife, anxious and afraid, told me my yelling had awakened her from a dream she was having about an entity in the house. Intriguing but my tendency is to think that hearing me speaking in my sleep growling at something to get out of my house also informed her dream. I tend toward skepticism that an external force was haunting us and making us have similar dreams.

Once awake, I knew I had physically been unable to move my mouth and the sound of that in turn informed my dream. Doesn’t the brain paralyze the body in deep REM sleep? That would explain why my speech was slurred, because I physically was unable to move my jaw tongue and lips. I’ve read this before about sleep paralysis. Verywellhealt.com says, "Sleep paralysis is often characterized by a transient inability to move or speak during sleep transitions. It may last for several minutes. In general, the ability to move your eyes is preserved. Some people try to scream or call out for help, but this may manifest only as a soft vocalization. For example, you might only be able to whisper, squeal, grunt, groan, or whimper."

For believers in the paranormal - my wife told me her dream was about the old family friend, Bill Porter. He left the house to my parents and I in turn got it from them. She says she’s seen Bill in the house before. Although she never met him and we have no photos of bill, she describes him accurately. I’m still a skeptic, I believe there is always a pretty basic and rational explanation for these things, like illicit and confirmation bias. We look for and find links and meanings in things that aren’t there: like the fact that Bill Porter had had a series of severe strokes and up until he died in our front room, he had very slurred speech.
Jul 20, 2019
 I also Have slurred speech I. Some nightmares. NEW
by: Antoni Zeváyos

When I have vivid nightmares where my wife’s and children’s safety is threatened, I experience the slurred speech, yelling in my dream and it adds to the sense of frustration and desperation I feel. My wife woke me up last night to ask me if I was okay and because I clearly remembered the dream, I recounted it. I imitated the voice by speaking through my teeth and lips without moving my jaw. "That’s it!" she exclaimed.

It was a dream about an entity in my house that was trying to control me and prevent me from caring for my wife and children. Through slurred angry speech, I demanded it show itself and give me proof of its existence because I believed it was only a figment if my imagination. Before I was awakened, I could only vaguely see it’s face emerging and it was me.

When I woke up, I was collected and calm. My wife, anxious and afraid, told me my yelling had awakened her from a dream she was having about an entity in the house. Intriguing but my tendency is to think that hearing me speaking in my sleep growling at something to get out of my house also informed her dream. I tend toward skepticism that an external force was haunting us and making us have similar dreams.

Once awake, I knew I had physically been unable to move my mouth and the sound of that in turn informed my dream. Doesn’t the brain paralyze the body in deep REM sleep? That would explain why my speech was slurred, because I physically was unable to move my jaw tongue and lips. I’ve read this before about sleep paralysis. Verywellhealt.com says, "Sleep paralysis is often characterized by a transient inability to move or speak during sleep transitions. It may last for several minutes. In general, the ability to move your eyes is preserved. Some people try to scream or call out for help, but this may manifest only as a soft vocalization. For example, you might only be able to whisper, squeal, grunt, groan, or whimper."

For believers in the paranormal - my wife told me her dream was about the old family friend, Bill Porter. He left the house to my parents and I in turn got it from them. She says she’s seen Bill in the house before. Although she never met him and we have no photos of bill, she describes him accurately. I’m still a skeptic, I believe there is always a pretty basic and rational explanation for these things, like illicit and confirmation bias. We look for and find links and meanings in things that aren’t there: like the fact that Bill Porter had had a series of severe strokes and up until he died in our front room, he had very slurred speech.
Aug 05, 2019
 speaking in my dreams NEW
by: Anonymous

I have experienced talking in my dream. I know what I am saying, however, it is like the a person from a stroke. I know I get frustrated in my dream because I end up yelling. Almost in slow motion. It is a very strange experience. Glad to read other people have/had the same issues.
Aug 06, 2019
 speaking in a dream NEW
by: jake

Today was the first time I couldnt speak in a dream. My thought process was great, I knew what I was trying to say- I was even controlling the dream.
But just could not speak to save my life. Worse than 'stroke like' speaking. I ended up waking myself from the dream, thats how frustrating it was.
I did see some mention in this thread about flying in dreams. Thats a norm for me- so I ask this; after you can fly easily in a dream, where do you go from there with lucid dreaming? I have been working on sex dreams but am a little worried to continue as if i can get that figured out, again- where do you go from there?
Feb 03, 2020
 Difficulty speaking
by: Penny

I started having difficulty speaking in my dreams and knowing I was having a hard time, while people in my dreams show no reaction to it. This started right after the most traumatic event in my life. My children were killed in a car accident. Has been almost 10 years now and it happens a few times a week. Perhaps PTSD has something to do with it? I even tell myself in the dreams to just wake up but am unable to wake up. Can be very scary and disturbing. When I do wake however, I do not feel short of breath in the least.
Mar 26, 2020
 not speaking or moving in dreams NEW
by: Anonymous

when i was 5-6 i had dreams where my dad got killed infront of my eyes and i knew it was gonna happen before i saw it happen, but i couldnt move or scream no in my dream. i tried my best to wake up and my heart was in panic. i woke up and told nobody like i usually would because i thought if you tell scary dreams then they become true. i also had dreams where my dad came back from holiday and i hugged him and got excited so i made noise, and a pink bunny grabbed him and took him away and i couldnt talk in the dream.
May 26, 2020
 Desperate to Speak NEW
by: Anonymous

I have this same dream at least once a week. I'm trying desperately to speak and my words are all garbled and I can barely get them out. I grab onto people trying to make them understand but they turn away and I move on to someone else. No one cares and I become more desperate and the words are then totally stroke like. My sense of desperation is so severe that I awake with heart pounding and on the verge of total panic. It takes quite a while to calm down enough to go back to sleep. Sometimes I fear I'll have a heart attack because my sense of fear and panic is so real. I wish there was a way to make them stop.
Jul 11, 2020
 Same here NEW
by: Kathy

I have this experience. Usually it happens when I am in the process of waking up but I am still dreaming. I get frustrated and angry that my speech is so slurred (like being heavily drugged or stroke like). This feeling in my dreams also extends to uncoordinated walking, fighting or running. This seems to happen when I am trying to fight, run or argue in my dream. I have to force myself awake. I also talk and physically lash out in reality while I sleep. This is very disturbing. I am able to speak and move normally once I am awake.
Oct 04, 2020
 slurred speech NEW
by: jen

i too experience slurred and inarticulate speech while dreaming several times a week forthe past 5 years and im completely conscious of it while asleep. its disturbing to say the least and have been unable to decode or stop it.
Oct 18, 2020
 speech in dream NEW
by: MarBee

I tried in my dream to tell my husband to put out white dishes and could not say it correctly. It came out slurred and then I tried to tell him something else and it was coming out the same way. I wonder about the PTSD idea. I just witnessed someone being hit by a car and think they died. I have spoken out clearly in a dream with a very strange voice but my husband could hear the words so this not being able to talk correctly is new. I was taking a nap which I normally do not. I was laying on my back which I normally don't and when I woke up my mouth was dry. Since it was such a boring dream I am not afraid but had to look up the fact I couldn't pronunciations words.
Nov 11, 2020
 Speech problem
by: Liam

This happens to me sometimes.

Reading the comments, the common factor seems to be when we're really focusing on trying to get a message across - for me, it's usually when I'm trying to tell someone something really important but they aren't listening.

Like another commenter says, we have a natural limitation on what we can physically do when we are asleep; some people have flaws in this, which allows them to sleepwalk and do other things, but most of us are limited by this. It's designed to protect us.

When we strain to get a point across, we are trying to override this barrier, as we feel like we aren't being heard in our dream; we become aware that physically in the waking world we haven't actually been speaking - so we try our utmost to do so.

It's very frustrating, but it's also nothing to be concerned about.
Nov 30, 2020
 Dream stroke
by: Kathy

Last night early into sleep, I dreamt of a hand on the door/door jamb to my bedroom (4 fingers seen) then a male sitting behind my head reaching towards what I believe was a younger version of my daughter and I’m trying to speak and it’s like I had a stroke. I’m saying that I will effing kill you if you touch her. I asked the person (?) to roll me over (?) I think I was all scrunched up and unable to speak and either my teeth were clenched or I really felt like it was a stroke. I find this really disturbing and can’t get it out of my mind. Immediately after this I went to bathroom and hear cats screeching outside (Fighting or mating, I don’t know) large orange cat outside. My cat is black & white.
Dec 08, 2020
 Can't speak properly in dreams either!!!
by: Lyric

Finally someone with the same problem as me. I can make sound and and get the just if the word but I cannot speak proper words in my dream. I justbwone up from dreaming that I saw my friend get snatched and I was trying to describe who did it because I was the only one there. I could not speak properly. I was aware in my head that I was not speaking properly and it just made me push harder to try but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't. It was like I couldn't open my lips past an "O" dime size and my tongue was stuck on my bottom row of teeth. The words I was trying to say were raging in my head and people in my dream (the officer I was trying to talk to) was getting annoyed.He could pick up on a word after a long while. One sentence took about 20 minutes. Also, this unintelligible speech is what my mouth does in real life while I'm sleeping.. so in the real world it seems like im grunting and trying to talk but can't as well. I dont know why I cant speak in my dreams.. Only in urgent situations too.
Dec 24, 2020
 Can't speak(paralyzed) to deceased relatives in dream NEW
by: Anonymous

Today is my dad's 80th birthday
we will briefly celebrate even with Covid I've had periodic dreams like this but just happened again on his birthday of seeing my deceased grandmother and uncle in a room with other of my friends and relatives that are still alive. I can speak to and comminicate to the alive one's but not to my uncle or grandmother. My uncle is just sitting on a chair and looking away at something. My grandmother is sweeping the floor with her head down. When I tried to say my uncle's name I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. I was paralyzed. I started to make groaning noises saying his name. My mouth wouldn't open like Neo in The Matrix movie. Also my cousin. The son of my deceased uncle was sitting next to his dad. He is alive but in the dream he had red blotches on his head, looked and ck and also did not look at me. Does this mean his death is immennt? Perhaps because of his birthday the spirits are visiting? I mentioned Covid only because the scene was at my grandmothers house as I remembered it as a child but I told an older friend to put his Covid mask on which is a 2020 event. So the timeines were mixed.very confused about this event
Jan 17, 2021
 Omg! I'm not alone!
by: Anonymous

I deal with that same speech problem in dreams!! It's particularly noticeable during angry outbursts or emotional pleas. It's like I'm trying and trying to push the words out but they're coming out at a speed that is like 10x slower and the volume of it is as if you have laryngitis. It's so frustration. I compare it to when you try to throw a punch in your dream... You feel like your arm is a limp noodle that's trying to punch through water. It's so frustration!
Aug 07, 2021
 Me too!!
by: Anonymous

I’ve had this for many years as well, but haven’t ever met anyone else that did and always found it hard describing! I am always aware of it when I’m dreaming and try to tell people in my dreams that I’m struggling to talk, it’s the weirdest feeling. I also get sleep paralysis which can be extremely scary at times! The mind is a crazy and amazing thing!
Nov 11, 2021
 stroke like speech NEW
by: Kim Kent

Over and over I'm having the same dream, well not the same dream but not being able to talk well enough to get anyone to understand me although I try and try. It's stroke like speech that others have mentioned. Yes I have noticed just since reading that my mouth was so dry it was like glue. I've also been a waitress my whole life and I also have emotional family problems so I kind of have it all and don't know why. I just know the dreams like that are more like nightmares and I wish I knew why.
Dec 20, 2021
 Can't talk properly (mumbling speech) in my dreams
by: Jane

Wow!have been having the same thing in my dream. Can't articulate my words.like I have had a stroke. Haven't found an answer to this issue.
Dec 20, 2021
 Can't talk properly (mumbling speech) in my dreams NEW
by: Jane

Wow!have been having the same thing in my dream. Can't articulate my words.like I have had a stroke. Haven't found an answer to this issue.
Jan 18, 2022
 LUCID DREAM TURNED SLEEP PARALYSIS
by: Anonymous

I started off having a very good Lucid Dream swinging around like spider-man until i started being chased by people(vague but too long to explain why scary j know it was terrifying) in fear and realizing the "seriousness" of the threat i started to lose the ability to control myself and surroundings. Things started to feel less and less like a dream and more and more like real life. speaking to people my voice was clear and controlled. then mfs started fr chasing me so i got in my car and drove off. i decided to call 911 but i could only utter very shallow, gasp like, slurred words like "help" and "i’m sorry i’m trying to speak but i’m having trouble breathing." rather than what i was really trying to say, "HELP ME IM BEING CHASED THESE PEOPLE ARE GONNA END MY LIFE, HELPPP" yet the more and more i tried to say the immediate danger i was in, the harder it became to speak. my breathing became more and more rapid like i was having a panic attack. i started to wake up and felt my mouth was extremely dry but i couldn’t speak or move my body. my girlfriend just so happened to be awake and heard me breathing really hard and asked if i was okay which thankfully woke me up and allowed me to move (drenched with sweat). but holy mf dang did i feel stupid asf trying to explain to the operator what was going on.

Its very interesting that while dreaming the brain allows you to say certain things while in distress rather than what you’re really trying to say. i wonder if it has to do with your real life and feeling certain pressures to speak out about something or maybe that you don’t feel heard at all.

I also wonder if your body overheats while dreaming you start having nightmares which makes sense because the part of your brain that controls fear ramps up when your body temperature rises. idk i know nothing i’m not an expert just thought i’d share this experience and note how similar everybody’s experiences are. wonder if the people from 2014 even remember posting their stories but it definitely helped me realize i’m not alone.
Mar 10, 2022
 Not being able to speak properly in my dreams NEW
by: Anonymous

I too experience this in my dreams. In meany dreams. I dream that I can only speak with a faint whisper when talking to another person. Iam mentally aware of this while dreaming. I can actually feel the pressure in my lungs and the effort that I have to put forth in order to speak. It makes me very frustrated in my mind while I’m having the dreams. Note: i am very happy with my life, I have a great 20 year relationship and my kids are grown and are quite successful in their chosen fields and are happy people. I have no reasons to feel like I’m not able to express myself. I do realize that it is lucid dreaming.
Apr 23, 2022
 Fuck you Mrs. Thompson
by: Anonymous

So my dream went like a memory. In the 5th/6th grade i was back in class. We were doing math and the problem at hand was to figure out the distance and measurements of some shit. Ever since that god forsaken class i developed a fear of public speaking. I used to be a free spirit and would sing and act characters in class and i think up until that 5th grade teacher i was loved by my peers and teachers for being different and entertaining. But that teacher made it a point to show me how difficult i made her job and ultimately i got ptsd from that class. I was a happy kid and always felt punished by the way she would teach. I remember going to school terrified to once again get ny name pulled out of a jar to answer questions about the homework that i didnt do because for the life of me i didnt understand it on any level or as to why it mattered. But this teacher she took it very seriously. Anyway my dream was being called on in class to answer which was kindof a forced process to embarrass people imo. I like to teach myself from a distance. And in the dream i actually had the answer this time but when I spoke i couldnt say my word endings or R's and it sounded like a stroke victim. It was so frustrating and i was aware of this while dreaming. I had such a good answer and it felt like everyone in class was used to just letting me try to talk but they stopped expecting anything coherant to come out and that i should just be grateful to be there in the accellerated learning program. It was an unfunny joke on me. They all pretended to understand me including the teacher. I remember the first suicidal thoughts I had were during that time 11 years old. I disappointed my mom and family who just wanted me to follow in my sisters footsteps who was in that class with the same teacher before me. I remember acting out at that age i would steal things from the class store, i would pretend to go to school and then I would just leave and walk around town. I got in huge trouble when i got my friends to leave with me we got caught sluffing school at the local grocery store when one of my friends moms was there shopping. I lost my best friend and most my other friends because I became the bad influence. I didnt even get to see them again because my parents switched me schools in another district because they thought it would help. Later on i received honors in English and History graduated high school with an Associates degree in Science from University, and none of it was as difficult as that god forsaken 5th grade class. But you see the trauma happens when you are blindsided by unkindness in your youth. I still have to deal with a fear of public speaking and I tend to isolate myself from people who dont understand me easily or dont want to. I have some issues with explaining myself to others. I have had to learn when that is necessary and when it is not. Long story short I woke up with my mouth open and dry. But I get dreams like this quite often. I think it is about reclaiming your voice which is just about finding your unique truth. I wasnt meant to know the answers to everything, I was meant to tell stories and sing share alternatives and be less rigid in how I express myself. Sometimes I think our dreams just remind us to keep going by showing us where we have been at different parts of our lives. Coke nail Mrs. T please find peace we are only 11 forever at heart.
Nov 18, 2022
 Can't get my words out
by: Ethel

I have had these dreams a few times. Last night I dreamed, by the way it seems so real, there was a person sitting on my floor by my bed, right away I recognized it as not being real, I recognized it as a demon. I started rebuking it in the name of Jesus but the words would not come out. I gave it so much energy to get the words out but the wouldn't come. Finally I was able to say them, I said I rebuke you Satsn in the name of Jesus. When the words came out clear, it got up and left the room. I woke up still saying In the name of Jesus. It took me a while to go back to sleep. Good to know I'm not by myself having these dreams.
Dec 05, 2022
 I can't talk, yell or fight in my dreams NEW
by: Randy

Almost every night, when I'm dreaming, I can't speak clearly or yell at all. When the going gets tough I can't move or fight back and then wake up, sometimes yelling in real life. What I do know is that I'm aware of these problems while I'm dreaming and feel so helpless! And like others have mentioned, my dream speech is slurred and unclear, like a stroke victim. BTW I do not take any medications, which I know from a past experience can induce bizarre dreams. So disturbing!
Jan 03, 2023
 Stroke like sleep talk NEW
by: I'm Right Here

I had a incident while sleeping, where I couldn't speak my thoughts clearly. I would speak, and everything I attempted to say was garbled..and I felt just as if I were a stroke victim.
I did wake myself up, and could speak normally.
But, since then (10 days ago)I have felt sewhat dizzy, and twice with vertigo. I have had a mild headache..and am moody.
This occurrence was real enough, that I have QUIT smoking. That, alone..is a plus! But..after studying, it's possible to have a TIA in your sleep, and not realize it. I am going to speak to my Neuro, and see if we can do an MRI. TIA's can be indicative of future strokes, so I'll be paying better attentions!
(By the way..I'm SEVENTY, so I would think you youngsters would have less to worry about,)!
Jun 17, 2023
 Sympatico NEW
by: Anonymous

So glad to find I'm not alone. I dreamt last night that my speech was slurred and my hands couldn't grasp or catch things. I too thought my mouth might have been dry and my hand could have been trapped in bedding. I too immediately felt like I had stroke symptoms but people were not understanding. I've also had regular dreams of being lost in vaguely familiar streets. Recovering from cancer probably has a lot to do with it.
Jul 08, 2023
 Unable to speak but make sounds while dreaming. NEW
by: Jackie

I to often have this problem in my dreams. Sometimes it’s during an argument or when it really counts and I’m trying to help someone. Everyone will laugh because I can’t even speak but I feel angry during them when it happens and from what I looked up it means you’re not being heard in your waking life. Maybe at work or home, there are things you’re trying to communicate but others aren’t listening to you.
Aug 16, 2023
 same experience with the inability to talk in dreams NEW
by: Anonymous

I just experienced the same type of situation in my dream where i’m trying my hardest to form words and speak but i just can’t and it either doesn’t come out or its really low like a whisper. As time went by i forgot what actually took place in my dream and what led me to be around a group of people but i was and i got asked what happened so i tried to explain to those people what happened and i just couldn’t talk as if i had lock jaw or something it was really weird. While that was happening i was actually aware of what was going on in my dream and the inability to speak so i was trying other ways to say what i wanted to say and i couldn’t speak at all even though i knew exactly what i wanted to speak about. These type of dreams aren’t really reoccurring for me i think this is like the second time i had an experience like that in my dreams and even though i have had other type of experiences in my dreams unrelated to speaking this one was by far the weirdest for me and i was so relieved that it was just a dream. I have no idea what the meaning behind it is but i’m very intrigued to know.
Oct 29, 2023
 Same same
by: Anonymous

Just omg!
I thought I was the only one.
Even trying to grip my nails into the pavement because my legs won't work to move along is another thing, and no-one helps because I can't communicate properly. And then I have a mobile but I can never work it and I can't call in late for work.
This is about 4 times a week.

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