Sleep paralysis, Natural or Sinister?: Your Experiences

Shoons101 · 30-04-2014 12:52am

Hi guys I haven't got the chance to read any of the posts I jus wanted to post my exp wit sp & 'lucid dreaming' I have suffered with what we always called the old hag from a very young age I would estimate I was about 6 when it first happened. It always left me feeling really disturbed even to this day (I'm 22) it hasn't always involved the 'hag' sometimes it was jus a feeling of heaviness on me & I would hallucinate about elephants, very large objects, heavy things in general & when I would come out of it I would run around the house in a panic slamming doors, just freaking out generally. That's jus the sleep paralysis part, and that happens often. But when this is mixed with lucid dreaming it gets even weirder. When I was about 10 I realised I could lucid dream, I fly in mine, I can't control them for very long cos once I run out of ideas it seems something else takes over, anyway, as I mentioned flying is my thing while lucid but as soon as I lose control & try to get back down to the ground my legs are beyond my control & they keep floating up above my head and I get the feeling some evil spirit is dragging my body around. That's when I start dreaming that I'm in paralysis, I will switch from my bed to another room in my house & dream about trying to crawl back to my bed & call my partner. I try to wake up so hard but it seems I fall deeper into this sinister feeling dream. It feels as if it happens all night until I eventually wake in the morning. In my dream I can jus about reach out to hit him and I try really hard to ask for help. He can here me mumbling sometimes. I am not conscious or at least I feel I am not that's where my question is, can you dream you have sleep paralysis & does this mean I am actually paralysed at the time. Its really quite disturbing. It happened last night & I'm still feeling the effects at 1am the next night I am always afraid to sleep the next night even tho the chances of it happening again for awhile are slim. Actually I know the chances are higher if I'm over tired so it's really just a vicious circle ðŸ˜¬ ...

Shoons101 · 30-04-2014 12:56am

Oh I forgot to mention the weird noises while in regular sp the first few times this happened I was sure I was being abducted by aliens, strange noises & vibrating in my ears. Ahhhh I hate sleep paralysis

Kaycee2 · 21-05-2014 1:15am

For me this only started about 6 months ago. I changed bedrooms and the new room I was in is at the side of the house beside a busy road.

At first when I was falling asleep I'd hear banging noises they weren't too loud and I'd assumed it was from outside on the main road but after only a few nights the banging got louder and it took me a couple of weeks to realise this was actually all in my head.

It seemed to progress more each night with the banging getting louder and then i started to see flashing lights, it was like someone had switched the lights on but my eyes were still closed.

Then one night I heard the loudest bang yet, it sounded like a concrete block falling and smashing but as well as that it felt like the explosion was in my head, I didn't know what was going on I tried to move and I couldn't, my body felt like it weighed a ton and then I felt like I actually left my body and I was floating above it, it was the freakiest thing ever, I couldn't see my body beneath me it wasn't like that but it felt like I was hovering above it for I don't know how long it could have been a minute or so and then suddenly it felt like I fell back into it

I felt fully awake but was too afraid to move, I managed to go back asleep and the next morning googled it just to see what came up and then I read up on sleep paralysis. What I gathered from that was similar to the feeling of 'falling' when going to sleep which I always got and I know other people get quite a lot I seen it as another form of that only a hell of a lot scarier, my thinking now is that it is natural in my case it happened when i was feeling exhausted, my quality of sleep is pretty poor and throw in a bit of stress on top and that's the result

However, while it was happening I was thinking all kinds of mad stuff, when it felt like my head was exploding I thought this is this a stroke, is this what a stroke is and then when I felt like I was floating I was thinking of a conversation I had with someone that day who was going to see a psychic/medium and I was being very skeptical to them about it and I thought this what I get for having that attitude, this is proof they were right and I was wrong, someone is trying to tell me something!

I get the flashing lights and the banging noises regularly now but the out of body experience hasn't happened again but if it did I don't think I'd be afraid again.

riffmongous · 08-06-2014 1:36pm

I had another one there last night. It was a normal (as far as dreams go) dream at first, then as part of it I was lying in my bed in the dark, lying on my side (which is how I was lying when I woke up after it) and I noticed something move around the bed and behind me, not the way a person moves but more like a brief wind, like if a bird flies close to you. And I knew I needed to turn around and face it but I couldn't move, I also think at this point a part of me realised that this was a dream and what would happen. Then I felt this thing move closer and whisper something in my ear, at which point I started to freak out with such a feeling of terror and I started to shake myself out of it.

Apologies for the structure of the post, I just remember it still quite well at the moment and wanted to get it written down in as much detail as possible.

DarkAngel91 · 14-06-2014 11:35pm

The first time it happened to me I think I was about 15. I had just gotten into bed and was lying on my side when suddenly I felt a presence in my room and my whole body became paralyzed. It was a bright night so I could see in my room i looked out of the corner of my eye and I saw this black figure walking towards me. My heart started racing and I closed my eyes so tight, I opened them again to see if it was still there. This time the figure was standing right beside me, it reached out its arm and started stroking my hair at that point I thought I was gonna take a heart attack cause my heart was beating so fast. Shortly after that I passed out.

retro:electro · 19-06-2014 11:38pm

This has started to happen to me lately. I woke from my sleep one night and I could not move a muscle, I was lying flat on my back and couldn't move or speak but I was fully aware. I felt like someone was pushing down on my chest and in the corner of my eye I could see a white circle and was convinced it was some sort of poltergeist. All of a sudden I just sat up in the bed and awoke properly. The terror I felt was unbelievable although I specifically remember my heart was not beating fast and this didn't match the fright and anxiety I felt inside. It happened a few nights later when I was lying on my side and woke up and couldn't move. I was convinced there was something behind me in my bed but I couldn't move to see what it was, I heard whispering and tried so hard to move my hand and shout help but I couldn't. These episodes have scared me so much I'm afraid to go to bed at night, they really are terrifying.

riffmongous · 20-06-2014 12:01am

That's pretty tough when they are so close together. Has anything changed with respect to your sleeping behaviour recently? I've decided to keep a diary of when they happen to me now and hopefully record what time i went to bed at and how tired i was in the hope i can identify a pattern of some kind

retro:electro · 20-06-2014 5:24pm

No I don't think anything major has changed. I was telling my mother and she brought up the fact that I had painted my room that week and that perhaps the paint fumes had interrupted my sleep somehow and made me hallucinate or something? Maybe she's just trying to make me feel better because I've never heard of that.. I'm telling everyone who will listen about it, it really is the freakiest thing when it happens.

Micky Dolenz · 20-06-2014 5:34pm

Yeah, it can be pretty scary alright. Take comfort that you are not alone and a lot of people experience it. The whispering was the thing that used to get me the most.

Read up on it, it's a well known phenomenon, it may put your mind to rest.

riffmongous · 20-06-2014 5:34pm

What colour did you paint it maybe? And from what colour did you change?

okioffice84 · 20-06-2014 5:42pm

I get SP all the time. Did a bit of research on it a few years ago...apparently it is very common in those who keep 'odd' hours e.g. nurses on shift work.

I also experience 'exploding head syndrome' quite regularly....I actually try to let it go on as long a possible to see how far I can push it.
I don't experience visual hallucinations, which is a good thing as the grey alien really freaks me. I do sometimes get the feeling there is someone in the room and sometimes hear footsteps on a carpet floor... there is no malevolence there though.

Ramza · 22-06-2014 2:04am

I've suffered from sleep paralysis since I was a young boy of about 4/5, and have done so until now regularly. I'm 23 now, so that's a good 17/18 years experience with it. I thought it was normal and that everyone experienced it, and didn't know until I read about it years later that it was in fact something only a percentage of people suffered. Whenever it would happen as a child, I would always have a sensation before sleeping (but I think I was asleep at this stage and only imagining this) that I was being dragged by my feet out of the bed by some unknown force I could not see or sense in any way. It was then I would ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS have a nightmare. If this didn't happen, there would be no nightmare. It was so strange and I still to this day cannot explain it. Whenever the nightmare ended I would then wake up in a state of sleep paralysis. This absolutely terrified me as a kid, as the nightmares themselves were extremely vivid.

This continued all through my life on and off, lately it's been bad. I've woken up countless times being frozen in my bed, while I hear strange noises and see hallucinations in my room. I'm literally awake and paralysed while the nightmare continues in my bedroom. I've experienced it all, last night was especially bad, and I know this is going to sound extremely stupid and far-fetched, but trust me it is anything but ; I woke up to being frozen in my bed, and saw a blue-ish looking face, with weird looking features, hovering in the corner of my room. I tried to look away but I couldn't. A hand then reached and grabbed me, and it was the weirdest sensation, it made me shake somewhat, and in sheer terror I was unable to move or scream or shout, although I was trying so hard. A loud echoing noise was also present, and got louder every second. It literally felt like I was being squeezed, like a giant pressure was being put on me. It was all so strange and I woke up eventually. Trying to pry yourself from the paralysis is insanely hard, I haven't slept well since, and this was my worst experience so far

What makes it so scary is KNOWING it's happening or will happen. There is a build up. Sometimes even my good dreams can instantly turn eery or evil, and this is usually a sign I will experience sleep paralysis. When it happens I become halfway between awake and asleep, and I try my very hardest to pry my eyes open, because I am so terrified knowing what is coming. I sometimes even plead, to god knows who, for it to not happen. When I open my eyes 9/10 I'm in the sleep paralysis state, and terror ensues. It can last a second or a minute, even more. This is what makes it so terrifying to me.

I sometimes have "small" episodes, while trying to sleep. I will randomly drift off, but wake up instantly, to hear some echo or buzzing noise, while unable to move. I also get a lot of shocks or weird sensations down my spine during the paralysis episodes, it sometimes feels as if I am being prodded at times. I've seen and heard and experienced so much weird stuff, I could go on but I think my post is getting a bit long

I was googling around looking for places to discuss this, so hopefully my story doesn't seem too far fetched or anything. It is 100% true and unfabricated. It is the scariest thing ever, and I would never wish it on anyone

lisaface · 28-06-2014 1:04am

I've only ever experienced paralysis ,give or take 5 times now. All in my 20s. Apparently it came from a stressful year I had (this is what my dr said as he prescribed me Xanax!!). Is stress really the common factor to it? Either way, I'm glad it's no longer happening. I remember the first time it happened ,when I finally woke up I had tears rushing down my face. Ooh that feeling is horrible,but I did begin to get used to the feeling? It was always as if somebody was sitting on my chest ,and tying my hands and arms down. I could move my feet. I don't know how standard that is ,but that's how it happened each and every time for me.

I've had loads of lucid style dreams in the past ,some intrigue me ,some don't. These felt like that but with a fear. Does that make sense? Luckily when I had them ,I had someone in my life who had them as a kid/teen and a few only months before me, so they talked me through the process of trying to get around it. I did as they said 'focus all your energy on your baby finger and try move it'. I did that every single time ,and somehow it worked. Not the first time haha ,but the second, third and so on it did.

FullblownRose · 17-07-2014 9:51pm

Another thing to be alert to is the possibility that some kind of noises are going on in your environment while you sleep. I believe this can somehow confuse your brain during sleep and possibly trigger an episode of sleep paralysis.

DoubleD · 22-07-2014 2:29am

This might not apply to anyone here, but its helped me a lot. Have been experiencing SP on and off for 15 years or so and came to the realisation about a year ago that I only ever experience it when I sleep flat on my back. Since then I always try to sleep on my side or on my stomach. It has cut back massively on the amount of episodes I have. It only ever happens now if I happen to move in my sleep into that position. I've gone from experiencing SP several nights a week to once a month or so now.

Another trick I use for "escaping" them is to concentrate on moving one of my fingers, once that moves I'm out.

g0g · 22-07-2014 7:09am

This thread has been a great find for me and has some really interesting stories. I presume like many others I experienced this for ages before getting around to Googling and discovering it was a known thing. Defo agree with others that lying on back is a common trigger. I've never experienced a presence in room or on me, but it's still a distressing experience each time, even if I'm aware of what's happening. Is anyone able to ignore it and try let their brain go back asleep? If it happens I ALWAYS feel the need/urgency to wake myself up, but I wonder if an easier option would be to relax and fall back fully asleep?

King George VI · 24-07-2014 1:38pm

g0g wrote: »

This thread has been a great find for me and has some really interesting stories. I presume like many others I experienced this for ages before getting around to Googling and discovering it was a known thing. Defo agree with others that lying on back is a common trigger. I've never experienced a presence in room or on me, but it's still a distressing experience each time, even if I'm aware of what's happening. Is anyone able to ignore it and try let their brain go back asleep? If it happens I ALWAYS feel the need/urgency to wake myself up, but I wonder if an easier option would be to relax and fall back fully asleep?

Normally I'm able to wake myself up. As soon as it happens I know that it's sleep paralysis and try scream so my girlfriend can wake me up, but more often than not I'm just silently going "mluuuuuh uuuuuhh eeueuehhhh" and fight my way out of it after a few minutes. It never descends back into sleep though.

This is odd, most of the time my dream moulds its way into the SP. One time in dreamy land I was drinking in a saloon in Kerry and all of a sudden a cowboy on a horse burst into the bar and jumped over the bar, wrecked a few glasses and bottles then ran out the door. Then everyone in the bar was staring at me. I thought "this is very strange, this almost feels like sleep par....aAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" then the dream just moulded into SP and it began.

Very strange. but cool

riffmongous · 24-07-2014 1:55pm

It happened to me twice again now within the last 5 days, recently I havent been sleeping well which I think must be causing it, I've been getting up late and not falling asleep till late. I almost never lie on my back while sleeping so it's not a trigger for me I think, but because I lie on my side what usually happens is I can sense someone behind me coming closer and I desperately want to turn around and face them but I cant.

FullblownRose · 24-07-2014 3:38pm

I try very hard to call out, then wake up and realise after all the effort i wasnt making a sound! i quickly go back into SP, and can think Im awake, even recognising that i was in an episode of SP, but Im still asleep even then. By the time I wake up properly i dont now whether to believe im really awake or not, which is a bit scary.

Wise Old Elf · 21-10-2015 11:22am

Hope you don't mind the bump....
I experienced this for the second time on Monday. I had been at a wedding at the weekend, and had done a load of driving, so was a bit over tired. I was off work Monday so fell asleep on the couch during the morning.

The experience was similar to my previous one, I woke up but couldn't move. I'm fairly sure I could see my actual surroundings as I was aware of the other person in the room moving around. Like last time, I didn't experience the dread or the malevolent presence that others have described with sleep paralysis, but it's still very unnerving not to be able to move.
If I closed my eyes, I could think myself moving, but opening them again, was still on the couch. It passed eventually, but I thought of this thread straight away.

One extra part of this experience though was that I felt I had an "out of body" experience, in that at one stage I felt awake and was looking at the back of my neck/head still asleep on the couch. That part was a bit more unnerving to be honest, as I have mostly heard of out of body experiences being associated with near death (though while searching for this thread, I see others have experienced this as well).

I'll report back with my next experience!!

Valentina · 11-11-2015 1:52pm

I never heard of SP until I read about it in a thread over in AH.

I ended up experiencing it some months later. I woke up one morning and couldn't move or breathe properly. It felt like someone was squeezing around my rib cage. I was actually afraid to open my eyes after reading about other people seeing a 'hag woman' so I just lay there trying to move my limbs. I could also hear bizarre sounds, like crows squawking in my ears. It was getting louder and louder and only stopped when I regained movement and was able to wake fully. I didn't feel like anyone was in the room with me but when I couldn't breathe I felt scared and panicky. Really hope this never happens again!

DyldeBrill · 12-11-2015 11:32am

Experienced it for the first time when I was around 16. I woke up and couldn't move an inch. All I heard was various different whispers in my ear to which i absolutely freaked out and started screaming. I eventually sprung up to gather my senses and that's when it ended. I've had it a few times since but never ever as bad as the first time I got it. Scary stuff!

moneymad · 19-11-2015 11:09pm

anyone ever see a red laser?
light a laser pointer?

puddles22 · 19-11-2015 11:25pm

happened to me a on a few occasions , each one was progressively worse , the last felt as if something was trying to molest me, anyhow i happened to be in a pub one night and by chance was talking to a missionary priest and somehow told him what happened , we met up the next day and he performed an exorcism , i kid you not. I am not into religion in any way but let him try it and it hasnt happened since so i'll take that.

Bongalongherb · 24-11-2015 2:54am

I just watched that new/recent documentary about sleep paralysis called... 'The Nightmare' and it brought a fear back into my mind from having many episodes of it in past years.

I have to add this response in relation to this phenomena...

I have not had an episode of sleep paralysis in around 4 years, but I have noted a possible reason as to when I did constantly experience it, and it was when I smoked a lot of hash years ago (not cannabis) only hash and I think this has had a profound effect on a person to experience this nasty spell of waking up but not being able to move, and the hellish fear of feeling that someone or something is in the room with you but you can see the whole room in my experience and feel the fear like you were going to be killed, very frightening indeed I have to say. I'm sure many folk have died having these they are that frightening.

I have never had sleep paralysis after smoking cannabis bud not once, (as I gave up smoking hash at the time) but I have to stress that smoking hash seems to be a factor in having this awaking encounter. I'm sure many folk have sleep paralysis even by ingesting pharmaceutical drugs, but I have noticed a connection between this phenomena and the smoking of hash.

It's the weirdest thing that can happen and it can make you think of reality when you have the experience of waking up but cannot move and being able to see your surroundings perfectly clearly and then the real fear of a feeling that something seriously evil is coming close to you to harm you but you cannot move but only see.

A lot more scientific research should be put into this because when you have the encounter believe me you will never forget it. An interesting subject though.

But then again... it doesn't explain all of the reports of documented sleep paralysis cases from hundreds of years ago. It's a thing you don't want to experience that's for sure. I hope I never have one again.

salamanca22 · 24-11-2015 3:10am

This happens me relatively frequently. Almost every time it does happen there is one common factor which is stress.

I am lying in bed, usually facing the wall as that is my favorite position to fall asleep, suddenly I am awake, it takes a moment to realize I am frozen in place and can not move my body except for slight twitches of my extremities. Sometimes I am able to move my arms but at a pace that is extremely sluggish. After I realise I am unable to move then comes the 'hauntings'. Sometimes it is the infamous hag people mention and other times it's a sort of demon. They never touch me or get more than a few feet close to me. Always just... watching. It is the most unnerving thing that has ever happened to me. Even though I am facing the wall I have like other posters have mentioned an out of body experience, I can see the whole room but at the same time I am facing the wall... If that makes sense?

One time when it happened the hauntings never came but I could hear imaginary noises outside my bedroom door. The bedroom door was slightly ajar and I could sense the intruder just outside, I could do nothing but lay there and wait for the intruder to find me. He never did, he just passed by the door a few times making odd noises.

I am a grown adult. I never really get scared for real. But when these... nightmares happen I can feel the terror for days. I always thought I should get some help with them, like I had a mental illness but from watching a few documentaries and hearing of other peoples experiences I now know just how common it is and it has put me at ease a little, though I have never really heard of other people who have had the experience at such a degree of intensity that I have had at times.

I hope I don't have to experience it again for another while. I really hate it.

pflood1978 · 24-11-2015 3:17am

I first got SP when I was 12 and 25 years later I am still getting them. Its progressed over the years and now I am getting them most nights. I'm afraid to sleep because of the screaming. I have no control over my mind or body. One night I thought I saw people in my car couldn't shout so I tried to climb out the bedroom window 3 stories up. I have punched and kicked the bedroom wall so many times, broke everything on the locker leaving me with cuts to my fists. Its not nice but I get through it.
I try to tell myself it's not real. It works some nights and other nights it doesn't.

Three years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar and was told that what I had wasn't psychological. Last night I heard a man's voice say "why oh why p did you do that". I slept with the lights on these days.
It has gotten so bad I sleep in the spare bed because I have attacked my wife a few times.
I have an appointment in the new year to get my sleep monitored.

NufcNavan · 11-12-2015 2:55am

I had SP for the first time last night.

Lots of stuff similar to what's being mentioned before. I was only asleep for about 15 minutes and the first thing I noticed was I thought there was someone in the room, I thought at first it was my sister looking for something.

The weird thing was, I was 'awake', yet I couldn't open my eyes. It felt like somebody was sitting on me but I couldn't move at all. The harder I tried to open my eyes, the more there was a loud buzzing in my head, like a beehive. Even though my eyes were closed, I could still 'see' a figure in the room in my mind. All very strange. I was trying to shout but once I properly woke up I realised I wasn't making a sound.

It wasn't too scary as I read up on it before and I knew what was happening after the first few seconds. I eventually opened my eyes and turned on the lamp.

Dreannz · 21-12-2015 2:15am

Bongalongherb wrote: »

I just watched that new/recent documentary about sleep paralysis called... 'The Nightmare' and it brought a fear back into my mind from having many episodes of it in past years.

I have to add this response in relation to this phenomena...

I have not had an episode of sleep paralysis in around 4 years, but I have noted a possible reason as to when I did constantly experience it, and it was when I smoked a lot of hash years ago (not cannabis) only hash and I think this has had a profound effect on a person to experience this nasty spell of waking up but not being able to move, and the hellish fear of feeling that someone or something is in the room with you but you can see the whole room in my experience and feel the fear like you were going to be killed, very frightening indeed I have to say. I'm sure many folk have died having these they are that frightening.

I have never had sleep paralysis after smoking cannabis bud not once, (as I gave up smoking hash at the time) but I have to stress that smoking hash seems to be a factor in having this awaking encounter. I'm sure many folk have sleep paralysis even by ingesting pharmaceutical drugs, but I have noticed a connection between this phenomena and the smoking of hash.

It's the weirdest thing that can happen and it can make you think of reality when you have the experience of waking up but cannot move and being able to see your surroundings perfectly clearly and then the real fear of a feeling that something seriously evil is coming close to you to harm you but you cannot move but only see.

A lot more scientific research should be put into this because when you have the encounter believe me you will never forget it. An interesting subject though.

But then again... it doesn't explain all of the reports of documented sleep paralysis cases from hundreds of years ago. It's a thing you don't want to experience that's for sure. I hope I never have one again.

I am on Morphine and fentanyl patches and I am now getting SP episodes a few times a week.
I can get an episode wake myself up then realise I've fallen back in to another one. It could happen 3or 4 times in a row.
I think people are there that aren't. Luckily people I know. But still scary when I come around as its all so real when I am trying to call out to them to wake me but they aren't even there.

When I have a night of bad pain and need a higher dose of morphine or to take it by injection I will definitely have it. Im terrified to fall asleep. I get woken every hour.

It's definitely caused by the opiates in my case although I did get it before I was got ill. But once a year maybe nothing like this.

Sleep paralysis, Natural or Sinister?: Your Experiences

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