sleep paralysis

[MikeF]

So, anyone get screwed around by sleep paralysis?
I've been experiencing it for the last year or so on and off mostly at points where stress is really getting to me. I found out i'm out of work next Tuesday so stress to find a new job is through the roof and last night just about killed me.

For those who dont know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

What seems like hours is only minutes and the hallucinations are the mos terrifyingly real things you could imagine. I'm starting to notice an increase in how lucid the experience is becoming but sadly it doesn't help control the situations, it just allows the mind to think up even more wild stuff to throw at you, after fighting it for about an hour last night i just decided to give up and stay awake, it was more peaceful than trying to sleep.

Bottom line: if i'm a vegetable in the hospital, i want the plug pulled, i cant imagine anything worse than being trapped in your own mind after experiencing this.

[Zack Fowler]

Didn't one of the Kotaku editors go through this? I think it was Fahey. It sounds awful, you have my sympathy man.

[rebb]

Yeah it's scary as fuck, luckily i didn't experience it for quite a while, had it only a few times so far.
It usually makes me feel like im suffocating and then i try to breathe as hard as possible while desperately trying to move.

[Ghostscape]

I've only experienced it once, a couple of months ago, when I was certain that there was someone in my apartment, I couldn't move, and I watched them slowly move into my bedroom via their shadow on my wall. When they grabbed my blankets (which I had partially over my head) I couldn't even scream.

But I did wake up at that time, thankfully, still unable to shake the feeling that someone was in my apartment. After spending some time in front of the computer trying to relax I gave up and wound up going in to work at 5am that day :)

[Ruz]

MikeF , don't worry man I get it quite a lot and its generally when I have been slaving away on a zbrush model until the early hours.

It's best to spend at least half an hour winding down before going to bed after working on the computer, ie watch telly, look out of the window for a while but NOT on the computer

sometimes the experience of someone touching you or other freaky shit is just you with your hands or arms folded over your body whilst asleep.
you become aware of your body , like your hand might be on your face etc

[Delerium]

yeah, I had it on and off for a couple of years. so horrible sometimes, specially when i didnt know what it was. I was convinced that i had the gift of seeing ghosts for some time. I eventually learned to break out of the paralysis and after that it gradually dissapered. I get it once or twice a year but now when I have learned to wake up its ok.

[JasonLavoie]

That really sucks to hear Mike, when I was a bit younger I use to go through that at least once or twice a week (not as intense as Ghost) but I did have this one shadow that just loomed outside my door... and the ringing in my ears would increase as the shadow got closer. After awhile (and going through many of these dream states) I could control myself more (sounds weird) and then I would try and "face" the shadow, which usually woke me up faster, but made the ringing almost unbearable.

I haven't had one in quite sometime now, but I still have very vivid memories of what it was like.

If there is anyway you could bring down the stress a bit, or maybe try sleeping on the couch for a couple days, this may help.

[samgriffiths]

I don't know if i've experienced this, sometimes I know 100% that I'm asleep, but I can't move - I know that I'm laying on my sofa or w.e - usually it lasts for like 5-10 seconds, I save up all my energy and push it out in one go and it breaks it.

I lucid dream alot, I usually know I'm in a dream the second I go to sleep.

I get it every few weeks, scary shit especially when you can't wake - perhaps not SP but dam it's nasty.

[Calabi]

I used to have these, alot. I'm asleep and I have this entity float down from the ceiling, it used to scare me, but not any more. I dont know when, but when it happened I knew that I was alseep, I never tried to move my body but I could move, in a way.

I wont go into details but I could and did a few wierd things. After this I can sometimes go straight into a lucid dream from that where I can control mostly anything.

[00Zero]

i know what you guys mean. somtimes on saturday mornings, i know i have to wake up and do some work, but im just so lazy, i just lay there for a few hours staring at the window. then i get bored and get out of bed. its horrible ;)

jk. one of my friends actually has this too.

i dont understand about the "shadows". wtf are they? it sounds super freaky

[MikeF]

somewhat glad to see its a bit more common than i thought, thanks for the words guys. Jason, i completely forgot about the ringing in the ear, but now that i think about it, every time i'm about to go into an instance the ringing starts. Usually its just a light ringing like when the room is completely silent and you just feel a slight pressure but then it builds up gradually to the point where you are full blown into the paralysis, i think thats part of the reason it its so physically alarming for me because it ringing in my ears pisses me off, just gets in my head.

ruz, i usually try and get out for a 10-15 minute walk before going to bed, but last night i skipped it because i was feeling really tired, so i just watched pbs for a while before trying to go to bed, you're prolly onto something there

As far as the shadow things goes, i've had that happen once and it was just as you guys described, and it was also followed by the sensation of being lifted up by my chest like being pulled by a tractor beam or something. It felt so real at one point i stopped fighting it and just decided, "hey at least i might see an alien, make the best out of this". Still scary as fuck tho

[Jackablade]

I've had it a few times back when I was in uni. Scarier though was the way it'd just suddenly disappear and I'd wind up flying out of bed in an insane panic and trying to fight off the incubi. I'd either wind up breaking into a run and crashing into something or worse, punching out inanimate objects in my room.

The worst instance was the time I smacked the nearby pedestal fan, knocked the cover flying across the room which then bounced off the wall and came straight back at me. This resulted in me punching at it a whole lot more. When the adrenaline ebbed enough for me to go and turn the light on, I had two fingernails torn most of the way off, the skin on the backs of my fingers was all shredded and there was blood splattered right across the bedroom wall. I shudder to think what would have happened if there'd been anyone else in the bed at the time.

Thankfully it seems like those were just a few freak occurences and I haven't felt the need to fight any monsters in quite a while.

[brandoom]

I have no idea if this will help at all but I read somewhere while your dreaming, ask your self if your awake.

If you can manage you ask yourself this while dreaming it is supposed to wake you up within your dream.. or something.

I don't think I've ever experienced what your going through but it definitely doesn't sound much fun. Hope things get better for you.

[aesir]

i hallucinate a lot, but it's rarely scary.

[Parnell]

This sounds like you guys are really just being abducted by aliens.
B

[danshewan]

I'd never even heard of this until I read this thread - sounds intense.

[IEatApples]

I sometimes hallucinate while going to bed. It tends to be bug like creatures flying towards my face, pretty freaky.

[JasonLavoie]

Ohhhh, actually another thing I remembered, if you are listening to music / radio / tv while you are sleeping, noises can actually trigger this... its usually a "bright" noise that will get you into it if you're about to go into a deep sleep.

One thing I did was actually cut tv out when I sleep (I liked having the noise) and that instantly helped, also you'll get a better nights rest.

[acc]

I've had sleep paralysis my entire life. Yeah, sucks. My tip for dealing with it, if you're in your lucid dream state and feel paralyzed, is just to get really pissed off. Struggling in fear will do nothing but getting angry and trying to take a few swings at 'em can work. Just need to stop yourself before you actually start running around punching things in real life instead of the dream ;)

Also, for some people there are warning signs before it kicks in all the way. For me I'll generally be in my home somewhere, and I'll hear a strange voice or "feel" a presence outside of the room approaching me. I catch that happening and I try real damn hard to wake up real fast.

[Pedro Amorim]

Fuck
while reading this shit i got goosebumps.

Because some weeks ago i was asleep and i dreamt that this weird ghost shadow type shit was hovering above me and trying to lift me up. and i tried to push him away and wake up! damn! it was so freaky! i turned on the light and covered myself with the sheets!
damn!

[low odor]

In my exp. the best thing to do is relax. It takes practice, but as soon as you can learn to let go of your fear, and stop struggling to control, you'll ease in and out of it fairly quickly.

I had this pretty bad in my early 20's. I would also hear this wierd static noise right before it happened. Freaked me out pretty badly.

[Ruz]

odd though, I kind of enjoy the sensation really. what I don't like is when I stop breathing for a while and wake up bolt upright taking a deep breath.

[Mefix]

odd though, I kind of enjoy the sensation really.

Pretty much the same. The first time was scary, without an actual idea what the hell was going on. The other times I just explored the sensations, was pretty interesting.

What helped me was to start concentrating on the tips of my fingers, slowly releasing the hand from paralysis and moving up the hand and other parts of the body.

[perna]

Yeah, I feel like that every time I visit polycount

[StJoris]

Heh wow pretty freaky stuff going on here. I've heard of it before, but that so many people experience this I hadn't expected.
I don't think I've ever experienced this paralysis but closest I came to this when I was getting ill one night in the middle of a very busy work period. A bit delirium, sweaty, hot, you know, the type that keeps you out of deep sleep all night. So I was half-asleep, sort of knowing I was dreaming but not able to get out of it. And lo and behold I dreamt I was working all night, god damn it dragging things in InDesign all night. Telling myself to dream of pretty beaches instead resulted in pictures of beaches, hehe but unfortunately those were inside indesign boxes as well. I could not get out of it.

[Stradigos]

I think I experienced something like it once, but I'm not sure if it was sleep paralysis or hallucinations because of a nasty flu I caught.

I had been watching The Day After Tomorrow on TV before I went to bed and over night I was having this terrible dream that somehow I created this blackhole and it was devouring everything in the universe exponentially. I couldn't stop it and it was getting closer and closer to Earth and no matter what I tried to do all my friends, family and loved ones all were perishing and be sucked into this thing. It sounds retarded, but it was truly frightening.

I woke up and even after I woke up I remember trying to snap myself out of the emotions I was having but I couldn't do anything. I felt freaking hot so I dragged myself into a cold shower and sat in it for 20 minutes. I got out, skipped drying off and sat in front of a fan and waited for the water to dry off hoping to disappate some of my fever with it. I finally remember coming to my senses and the panic'd feel went away.

Sounds like a bad acid trip :D Scary as hell though. I'm glad I helped break the fever though, that was a really high temp.

[cman2k]

I used to get these when I was younger and holy fuck was it terrifying.

I haven't had them since but I have had nightmares about having them.

Yes. I had nightmares about nightmares. That's how fucking scary they are.

[Yozora]

Oh so thats what it is...
I had one of these before when someone posted some thread here about dreams, didnt know it was some condition :o

I was having some weird dream where a strange silhouette with a very thin neck and a weird round hat/head was killing people, and then I woke up with my head facing the side and saw the corpses of those people in my room.
The silhouette was still standing there in between me and the corpses, and I couldn't move or speak. When I eventually could move, I put on my glasses and discovered the strange silhouette was actually my chair (http://www.thehirebusiness.com/images08/e030-maglia-mesh-chair.jpg)

First time I ever experienced this, it definitely was a frightening experience :/

[Ruz]

just wondering if you also woke up with wood:)

[hobodactyl]

For anyone experiencing lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, etc. I really recommend picking up some books on astral travel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection

I know some people think this is new age mumbo-jumbo, but anyone who has experienced it knows that it's very real, and it's something anyone can learn to do. I think for people that experience terrifying sleep paralysis, for example, learning about astral projection can show you how to turn these terrifying experiences into very powerful spiritual journeys.

I've been studying/practicing to achieve OBEs and astral projection, etc. so if anyone would like to talk about it more or anything PM me or just message me on MSN :)

If you haven't ever had a conscious OBE I suggest practicing it, it can be amazing :D If you're interested you can find some good info here: gnosticweb.com

EDIT: OBE = Out of Body Experience ;)

[perna]

just wondering if you also woke up with wood:)

damn it dude

[Ruz]

LOl, I meant ed wood of course

[Joopson]

Oh my god, I hate this.

Usually I am not paralyzed, thank goodness, but I do hallucinate if I am half asleep.
Like real and dream worlds mix.

Squirrels running under my bed, just barely glimpsing giant spiders crawling below my bed-side table, or a creepy lady standing staring at my hallway wall slanted like this: \

But I sleepwalk very rarely and the same thing happens when I do, so its kind of cool sometimes.
One time I woke up to my blanket across the room. I threw it in my sleep at someone crouching on the ground (No, they weren't really there)

meh, it scares me

[Del]

Used to get this very regularly when I was younger. So much so that I would be afraid to go to sleep.

I always found that as soon as someone touched me I would be free, but sometimes it felt like I had to wait an eternity for anyone to come get me.

I hope I never have to go through it again.

[yoyomon]

I have no idea if this will help at all but I read somewhere while your dreaming, ask your self if your awake.

Easier said than done. I doubt it's possible while deep asleep for you to know that what's happening in front of you is all just a dream. You're more or less a passenger instead of the pilot of the show.

I use to have sleep paralysis when I was smaller. The first time I got it was when I was about 14 and I had just gotten back from a day at Carowinds. A small nap on the couch and next thing I know, I was fully conscious but couldn't move. The only thing I could really do was push what amount of air I could muster from my lungs through my relaxed vocal cords to produce a soft, low, broken noise.

Lucky I don't see anything too out of the ordinary during these episodes so they were more annoying than scary. I realized after the first incident, the only way I could get back full control was to reach down inside myself and muster what strength I had to try and move some part of my body. It kind of sucks since your body feels like noodles and it requires a couple of attempts. A good analogy is the scene in Kill Bill vol. 1 where Beatrix makes herself to the hospital nurse's truck and tries to revive her paralyzed body by "waking up" her toes.

@ Raz: I think you've just figured out why guys get sleep paralysis ;P Girls don't get sleep paralysis so it makes sense.

[mookster]

I've had this happen quite a few times. I remember reading that it's most likely to happen while sleeping on your back. After reading that I've made sure I sleep on my side or stomach and I haven't experienced it since.

[pior]

Mook, I was just about to type this exact same thing! It's not something I heard, it's actually the conclusion I came to after a few cases of paralysis. Falling asleep on the back seems to trigger it indeed.

It gets even worse without a pillow actually haha. Gives me the feeling of my body tilting back further than the horizontal plane of the bed - kindof like taking a backwards dive at the pool, only slowed down to an extreme. And yeah most of the time when conscious paralysis happens it gives me the feeling of fighting for my own safety as it often comes with the sensation of having someone sneaking in the room. Freaky stuff!

Also I believe this is all strongly linked to chronique fatigue. I am pretty positive that most posters experiencing sleep paralysis often stay up till like 3am working on stuff huh?

[Thegodzero]

This disease is the cause of most all alien abduction stories, and it makes a lot of sense.

So the white noise/ringing you hear would it invert? You know like in the fanta commercials.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the same thing, but I used to have a dream/nightmare that was basically my mind stuck in a all sand desert with a white noise/ringing that moved closer and closer. The closer it got the more it inverted and with it the sand would change to twisted sharp shards of black glass.

[oXYnary]

Ive had similar when your going into sleep, but your awake.. Your at the point where your automatic breathing function should kick in, but since your awake, it wont, and because your paralyzed, you cant breath manually. So its like your suffocating.

Suckors.

[HonkyPunch]

It happens to me sometimes, but used to happen a lot more when I was little.
Hallucinations suck, had one where horses were jumping over my bed :D
All said, it doesnt happen so much anymore unless I go a long long long period of time without sleep.
Still, it sucks shit, yeah. Also, when i have really really bad migraines, cause I get those about twice monthly, but some are really shitty bad.
Augh, worst thing ever, having to lay in a dark room with a wet rag on my forehead, hours on end wanting to get up and do something, but feels like my head is going to pop.
Worst.
Thing.
Ever.

[Ride]

Sounds scary. Never had one of those, i think. I do however sometimes just before falling asleep, feel as if im falling through my bed at an incredible speed for like a second, and then i wake up super alert.

I doubt that's sleep paralysis tho.

[Yozora]

I do however sometimes just before falling asleep, feel as if im falling through my bed at an incredible speed for like a second, and then i wake up super alert.
.

Yea I've experienced something like this a few times myself. It lasts less than a second, but it feels like I'm about to fall off the bed even though I'm laying flat in the middle :s

[hobodactyl]

For everyone having that sensation of falling out of your body when you're falling asleep, and even sleep paralysis, it's something you can learn to control and to explore things outside of your body. It's really amazing, and it can be life-changing.

My understanding of it is that our consciousness leaves our body every time we fall asleep, so you're "astrally projecting" every time you sleep. However, most people aren't consciously aware of it. Sleep paralysis is when you become consciously aware of your body while it's asleep. If you don't know what's going on though, your consciousness is trying to say "hey, I have to be in that body!" so even though you're consciously awake you feel trapped in a sleeping body. You can learn to leave your body and explore whatever you want.

[Xoliul]

For everyone having that sensation of falling out of your body when you're falling asleep, and even sleep paralysis, it's something you can learn to control and to explore things outside of your body. It's really amazing, and it can be life-changing.

My understanding of it is that our consciousness leaves our body every time we fall asleep, so you're "astrally projecting" every time you sleep. However, most people aren't consciously aware of it. Sleep paralysis is when you become consciously aware of your body while it's asleep. If you don't know what's going on though, your consciousness is trying to say "hey, I have to be in that body!" so even though you're consciously awake you feel trapped in a sleeping body. You can learn to leave your body and explore whatever you want.

I have that falling feeling too sometimes. It lasts half a second and I snap out of it after violently shuddering my body. What you're saying sounds very interesting, like a trip from drugs but without touching that stuff (which I have sworn to never do). I should look into that.

[low odor]

This disease is the cause of most all alien abduction stories, and it makes a lot of sense.

So the white noise/ringing you hear would it invert? You know like in the fanta commercials.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the same thing, but I used to have a dream/nightmare that was basically my mind stuck in a all sand desert with a white noise/ringing that moved closer and closer. The closer it got the more it inverted and with it the sand would change to twisted sharp shards of black glass.

The sound getting louder is somthing that always happened. I dont think I know what you mean by "invert". It sounds like a radio that is almost, but not quite tuned to a station. Like you can hear snippets of voices mixed with static, but mostly just static. I got it so much, I eventually used it as a dream sign to help me become lucid. Its actually pretty common..barely happens to me anymore

[ericdigital]

An artist friend in L.A. I know suffers from sleep paralysis. Man, he had some freaky stories too. I know his was real severe to the point where he would see his body parts changing and transforming and ghosts and monsters ripping him open, really insane.

His wife said it's really weird to see.

[kickzombies]

Sleep paralysis sounds awful.
Dont think I've experience full on sleep paralysis but some similar incidents.
But I often have these dreams where I'm usually somewhere in my basement and nasty things happen.
My room is located in the basement along with a laundry room, spare room, and a bathroom.
Things get really weird, its usually accompanied with this sense of panic or something beside me right before I fall asleep.
Then the entire time I'm sleeping it usually goes as follows. Ill be wandering or in my dream 'wake up', sometimes someone
calls for me, but just something that gets me moving to other parts of the house. Last night in the dream someone called
for me by the stairwell so I natural went to see then I hear a giggle behind me, then i instantly knew (from past dreams)
that nothing good would come from this I tried to turn around and walk away but then the feeling of someone jumping on
me accompanied to what would feel like someone hitting you in the the head with a baseball bat without the blunt pain
sometimes the feeling of vomiting as well. The feeling my dream is so surreal, anyways I usually topple over and hit the
ground then thats when I wake up, or the dream repeats itself over the night.

O_O

Maybe I have some subconscious fear of basements lol.

[mLichy]

Damn, I've never even heard about this stuff actually... pretty fucked up.. : \. The only thing I've experience was panic attacks a couple times. Felt like I was having a heart attack or something or if I was falling to my death, but in reality am just laying in my bed.

[00Zero]

I do however sometimes just before falling asleep, feel as if im falling through my bed at an incredible speed for like a second, and then i wake up super alert.

ive had this happen a few times as i was sleeping in the classroom. embarrassing.

[rooster]

that one's called 'sleep starts' or 'hypnic jerk' apparently, I looked it up after it happened to me. i usually feel like I'm falling forwards and jerk my leg in the air to stop myself, followed by a loud curse

[Noia]

I had this a lot as a child. Often I would simultaneously see the first POV of whatever getting into the house, creeping up the stairs, peeking into my room, etc. Never found out what my monster was. When I was really little, I had this but instead of being paralyzed in bed, I was paralyzed in the palm of a hand of a hungry giant.

I think the getting pissed off approach that Acc mentioned might help.

My dreams are often lucid, and sometimes when they're not if I can replace my fear with something just as strong (grief, anger), I can get some control. I've also tried a sort of Eternal Sunshine method before too where I can gain lucidity where whatever is going on in the dream, I refuse to play along and instead search for my boyfriend, or sometimes my little sister or nephew (protective feelings are strong). It can get sad when you can't find them anywhere or they don't seem to notice you trying to catch them, but I suppose it's easier to be running towards something than to be running away from, or worse helplessly waiting for, something scary.

[dejawolf]

actually.. i think i had something like this once when i was very little, about 2-3 years old.
there was a fox skin hanging on the wall, i probably fell asleep on the living room floor,
and i saw the thing crawl down from the wall, and i giggled when it was following me as i was being carried to my bedroom. then when i was lying there about to fall asleep, it jumped up from behind the bed, and scared the shit out of me. i even remember it turned its head towards my step-dad when he opened the door to my bedroom.

[hobodactyl]

Here's a link to a bunch of people's first experiences with astral travel:
http://www.gnosticawakenings.com/video/obe-experiences

At least one of the people interviewed talks about how they became interested because of their sleep paralysis (The interview with Matthew). The site has free online courses that can guide you to understanding astral projections & out of body experiences :)

[shotgun]

This sounds like you guys are really just being abducted by aliens.
B

actually, one time its precisely what i believed was happening to me. scary shit, until im able to jerk myself out of it - it takes super will and determination. just keep pushing until u snap out man... kinda feels like lifting a huge brick off ur chest. its scary. i remember one time trying to shout to my parents for help... tried and tried, as loud as i could, a rawr practically but couldn't make more than the slightest whisper. brrrr.

[Minos]

For anyone experiencing lucid dreaming, sleep paralysis, etc. I really recommend picking up some books on astral travel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection

I know some people think this is new age mumbo-jumbo, but anyone who has experienced it knows that it's very real, and it's something anyone can learn to do. I think for people that experience terrifying sleep paralysis, for example, learning about astral projection can show you how to turn these terrifying experiences into very powerful spiritual journeys.

I've been studying/practicing to achieve OBEs and astral projection, etc. so if anyone would like to talk about it more or anything PM me or just message me on MSN :)

If you haven't ever had a conscious OBE I suggest practicing it, it can be amazing :D If you're interested you can find some good info here: gnosticweb.com

EDIT: OBE = Out of Body Experience ;)

Yup. I had my first sleep paralysis when I was about 14. It scared the shit out of me so I did some research and found out it was closely related to lucid dreaming, which was something I had always been very interested in. I also learned about astral projection in the mean time and became very interested in it too.

So I started to do the exercises and after about 3 months I had the first experiences. I actually learned how to induct sleep paralysis and enjoy it. Despite never being really able to stay focused until the lucid dream/astral projection kicked off I still managed to have 2 lucid dreams and one astral projection when I wasn't really trying to.

The astral projection experience was interesting. It was quite realistic in the beginning, I saw my parents in the living room and started flying up high. And then some funky shit started to happen and it all turned into a normal fantasy dream :)

I regret not keeping up with the exercises though. Maybe I'll start doing them again... it's really worth the effort!

Tip: It's easier to induct sleep paralysis when you aren't too tired or when taking naps in the afternoon.

On the other hand I also wonder if I was just dreaming of being lucid, if you get what I mean. :)

[Lamont]

I've had these quite a few times, usually around periods of immense stress. But my last one my wife said she saw that I was awake, but un-responsive. It freaked her out a lot. When I get them, I know it after a few moments and I just go with it. Eventually I am able to move again.

From these moments, I've had two awesome stories engraved in my mind.

[Irreal]

Yeah, I've had this occur a few times in my past. The last time being at Uni which was about 6 years ago now. I do think it's stress related and possibly linked to being put in new situations, for me anyhow.

I've had a few crazy dreams whilst I've been in Canada but nothing like what I experienced at Uni. The shadows on the wall, figures in my room, sheets being pulled off, unable to move or scream etc etc. Not had the Old Hag though. That would just about finish me off. Interesting though how it persists in other cultures around the world and how they attach there own names and ideas to it.

Here's a video just to shit people up.

Scaryoldhag

[funshark]

Well, I've had some related experiences in my early years ( with somnambulism... ) and 2 sleep paralysis some years ago ( around 20 ).
The first one was powerful... but I found that it was easiest for me to stop the thing during my second time :o

Despite of that, I don't think there is a real OBE experience. That's just imagination control.

[hobodactyl]

I found these really nice videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrV4vEDPkB0&feature=PlayList&p=FE64F4EEE7624CA4&index=0

They teach you how you can lucid dream; I was able to have a lucid dream the first night of trying the technique from these vids :D (Sunday night I had a lucid dream, it was pretty awesome :D)

[Illusions]

actually, one time its precisely what i believed was happening to me. scary shit, until im able to jerk myself out of it - it takes super will and determination. just keep pushing until u snap out man... kinda feels like lifting a huge brick off ur chest. its scary. i remember one time trying to shout to my parents for help... tried and tried, as loud as i could, a rawr practically but couldn't make more than the slightest whisper. brrrr.

Monsters for me here. Its creepy as shit. I've found that you can still use the muscles you'd normally be able to use while sleeping, so you can still control your eyes and your breathing. Not really helpful if no one is around, but I've made it sound like I'm hyper-ventilating a few times in order to get help from someone else. Either that or concentrate on just moving a single part of your body, like your fingers or hands.

...also to the astral projection stuff being mentioned: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html :P

[hobodactyl]

...also to the astral projection stuff being mentioned: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html :P

It's something you can experience for yourself, you don't need a magician to prove or disprove it :P I brought it up because regardless of if you think it's "real" or not, it can definitely help people with dealing with sleep paralysis.


http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/double-blind/pear-cable-calls-james-randis-1-million-offer-a-hoax-307473.php

http://www.naturalnews.com/025627.html

I don't know who's "right", but Randi doesn't seem to be any more trustworthy than the people he's trying to disprove.

[Mezz]

Man, what surprises me here is how LATE in life everyone seems to be getting these. Late, in relation to when I used to get this, which was probably around 5 or so years old.

For many years I thought it was just they were really bad nightmares, where for some reason I couldn't move... but I'm pretty sure I'd heard this term some time ago and realized this must be what they were.

When I was really little, I would often get really horrible nightmares, can't really remember much of what was going on, but I remember it would get so scary I would get to a point where I would think--OH, this is a dream! Wake up, wake up, wake up. And first, opening my eyes would seem impossible, that I couldn't escape the dream. But then I would finally get my eyes open--only to realize I couldn't move, and no matter how wide I opened my mouth, couldn't scream.
In my imagination, I thought it was that I was tied up, hands and feet, to something like a rack. And I guess I thought it was my imagniary friends who tied me up (believe it or not, as a kid, they were Mario, Luigi, and co :P Yes, I was destined to be a gamer geek even then). Anyway, first I'd get my voice back and scream my head off, and shortly after I would be able to move, so I would leap out of my bed and run screaming to go hide in my parents room. I can still remember the sensataion of not being able to make my limbs move...

They slowly went away as I got older--can't even say how often they happened, it was too long ago now :P But of the few memories I have from that age, this is still a pretty clear one.

[ivars]

This is good stuff, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I've had this occasionally before, but it's increased a lot lately. Probably because I'm really stressed. It's much like you describe it, but never that long though. I usually wake up (even though I feel certain that I already am) pretty fast. It's usually people or creatures approaching me, coming through the door or windows.

This night I died in a nuclear blast. But that was just a regular dream, non of this freaky shit ;)

[Calabi]

Has anyone had dreams where their asleep within a dream.

I've had a dream where I'm in bed In a dream and then I start to literally sink into my bed. I would get scared and then grab onto the sides or wake up. A few times I did just let myself go and then it was like falling down into a deep ocean I could hear the water bubbling around me I could breath, or I didnt really need to breath. It would get darker and then I would dissapear, and have strange dreams.

[funshark]

Has anyone had dreams where their asleep within a dream.

Yup

But a regular one :)
Just did some dream, then woke up, and go for a normal day ( like going to school... ), and some hours later ( in dream time ) I woke up again, but for real.
A bit weird heh

[Calabi]

But a regular one :)
Just did some dream, then woke up, and go for a normal day ( like going to school... ), and some hours later ( in dream time ) I woke up again, but for real.
A bit weird heh

I get those except I wake up really late for work. Sometimes a day late.

I also had a dream where I woke up and I could do telekenesis, it was so vivid I could almost describe the physical process by which I was able to do it. I practiced while I was still in bed then I went out and caused a bit of chaos. When I woke up for real I had to try it, but no such luck :(

[indian_boy]

Ah this was a bitch to me up until i was around 15 or so, and still happens to me when i'm getting sick / about to recover from sickness - even the common cold.

What worked for me was eating dinner closer to bed time / doing a 20 minute workout before bed. ended up too physically tired to dream, and digestive system at work is supposed to reduce amount / intensity / memory of dreams. Maybe i was simply convincing myself mentally that those methods helped, or maybe they actually did, but holy shit did i hate those dreams.

[martinszeme]

Didn't know anything about it until know. Guess that's a good thing. :)
Have had a Lucid dream once, nothing since then. But very interesting topic nonetheless.

[ivars]

Weirdest thing ever happened to me was sleepwalking awake. I was drifting in and out of sleep and would find my self doing shit I didn't plan to. Nothing special just getting up, walking around, ended up in the shower :P Aware of what I was doing but not able to control it. Freaky!
Only happened once though, when I had a high fever. Sleepwalked a lot when I was younger though.
Is it just a coincidence that so many in here have these "problems"? Any link between vivid dreams, imagination and creativity, perhaps?

[Mezz]

...
Is it just a coincidence that so many in here have these "problems"? Any link between vivid dreams, imagination and creativity, perhaps?

While I have abosultely no evidence to back this up, my guess is: Yes.

[Wahlgren]

I say no. I just think its a very common thing that alot of people don´t know what it is. Hence all the goddamn ghost and alien-things. Trolls back in the day for us vikings and bigfoots for you americans. Sure your imagination takes a big roll when it actually happens but i find it very unlikely that it would be the trigger. rly!

Never happened to me and i stress about shit daily and cant sleep enough as it is (I almost have a phobia when it comes to sleeping). I should be having these every day. :)

[Joshua Stubbles]

I'm more scared of morning wood. That shit is dangerous. >_>