Waking up paralysed

cbmonstra

This happens to me a lot, but I've found that making a conscious effort not to fall asleep on my back works in preventing an episode.

Sometimes I forget though

Benny Lava

I had one of my worst bouts of sleep paralysis this morning.

It's hard to say how long it went on for, but it felt like ages.

oide10

What did it entail?

Benny Lava

I don't see things during paralysis, unlike other people. Mine basically feels as if I'm trapped between a state of sleep and a state of consciousness. Today, it went on for ages. I was trying desperately to move my hands, but I was completely unable to move. Eventually it wore off but it was horrifying while it lasted.

Benny Lava

It happened a few times today.

I was up all night watching Mayweather/Mosley and had to get up at 10 which meant I had to sleep during the day.

Suffered paralysis three times, once while lying on my back (seemed to be the worst).

Had some nice dreams though.

Cullen82

Hey,

I have had Sleep Paralysis since I was 15/16 (28 now)....I remember for about a year or so I had no idea what was going on until I saw a program on C4 one evening which explained everything.

It's very difficult to explain why but this does'nt scare me anymore even though it still happens regularly...Nowadays when it happens it is more like a lucid dream whereby I am paralysed yet I am still concious I am dreaming ....As I said its very hard to explain.

There is plenty of info on the net about it...It's true that it can sometimes be terrifying but from my experience I believe it can eventually be controlled.

lil_lisa

Yeah, I think panicking can definitely make it worse and harder to get out of. Which of course, is the instinctive thing to do!

Asphyxia

It has happend to me a couple of times it's very scary, I always find myself shouting for help but I can't even talk. I just lay there till I can move and when I can, I jump up and freak out for awhile. I don't think it's something I will ever get used to.

Jennyfer

This happens me all the time, just in the last 5 years. It is so frightening!

It usually happens just as Im falling asleep, my breath starts to catch in my throat (I use this as a warning sign now and sit up until it passes - sometimes starts again too quickly to talk sense into myself though) and it feels like theres someone in the room walking towards me. Next thing I know I cant breathe or move, in my head Im tellin myself "its just that thing again" but cant help panicking, its very strange and very scary! Feels like an eternity at the time but its only for about 20 seconds and aftwerwards Im like "how did it scare me again when I KNOW what it is!". Until I saw a programme about it I thought my house was haunted and that a ghost was doing it to me! Thats how frightening it is..:eek:

Dublinstiofán

I experience it every weekday morning just after seven o'clock

Kanoe

I suffered one major sleep paralysis event when I was in my mid twenties and have been having fallout from it since. I didn't known there was a name on this but thats what happened during it, thought my eardrums would explode and that kept occurring for years afterwards (without the paralysis) just as I was dropping off to sleep, and I'd end up waking abruptly. (electrical arc description is very apt) Got over that and now it's just like my body literally starts humming when I'm dozing off, to the point where the bed actually shakes.

wonder do I have sleep epilepsy

Mike Litoris

This first happened to me when I was 12. I never sleep during the day but this day I had the flu and ended up falling asleep. I woke up but couldn't move or open my eyes, when I realised I was paralysed the panic started to build then, this is the fubar part, the face of Jesus slowly started to come towards me. The terror built and passed the stage that would make me faint if I was concious I reckon. The whole time I was trying to move my hand to my face slap it or try to pull my eyes open.

I used to happen every couple of months but without the hollucinations. Then when I was 19 I starting take 'E' and acid. For the whole year I was taking the stuff the sleep paralysis started happening every second night almost. This time the building terror was accompanied by my heart beating faster and faster to a level humanly impossible and again the feeling of terror went way beyond what I reckon would make me faint conciously.

Every time I would try to either move my hand to my face or call out to someone, if I knew or thought someone was in the same room, in the hope they would try to wake me. Only once did I ever hollucinate that someone was in the room other than the Jesus episode.

It hasn't happened for 6-7 years thankfully, I'm 36 now. I try not to fall asleep on my back now as I noticed after an episode I'd be lying on my back with the pillow on the floor and my head tilted back.

Phew..sorry about the length of the post.:D

TherapyBoy

Woke up about two years ago & couldn't move at all. No breathing problems or weird dreams etc, just could not move at all. Called out for my sister who was downstairs. She checked me out & called an ambulance.
They drew blood in A&E and found out I had hypokalemia [potassium deficiency] An 8 hour drip later I was back on my feet.
Still wake up with weakness in my limbs occasionally but now I just eat lots of bananas =]

johanz

Hallucinations that sometimes come with SP are terrific. Enjoy worst of your fears, hehe.

BTW there is a way to force sleep paralysis if you want it.

Mike Litoris

johanz wrote: »

BTW there is a way to force sleep paralysis if you want it.

I reckon it's something along the lines of attepting self hypnosis. Wanna spill the beans??

johanz

Mike Litoris wrote: »

I reckon it's something along the lines of attepting self hypnosis. Wanna spill the beans??

No, it's not related to hypnosis at all.
Simple when you go to sleep, before doing so, drink, pee and do all other stuff.
Then lay on your back, in straight pose, legs straight, arms either on your chest like mummies or straight near your hips, close eyes. And now do not move at all. You will get an urge to rotate to a side, that's when brain checks if you're asleep or not. Do NOT rotate. Then you might start feeling numb or something similar. Then you will either just be paralyzed but awake, or you will also start having very realistic hallucinations, both in sound and visual.

But I warn you, if you have heart condition, do NOT try this. If you actually succeed(doesn't work for everyone, but does for most), chances are you will have the most terrific experience. That's if you get nightmare hallucinations. There is a rare chance of hallucinations being random or pleasant, but it's nightmare most of the time.

If done right, it will feel awfully realistic.
If you are in the middle of this nightmare, stop breathing. If you stop your breath, you should wake up from it.

delop

If you are interested in pursuing this , here are 2 great reads on it

http://www.amazon.com/Projection-Astral-Body-Sylvan-Muldoon/dp/0766146049

http://www.amazon.com/Journeys-Out-Body-Robert-Monroe/dp/0385008619/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

shoelaceface

happened to me once when i was 14, just woke up and couldnt move. It was terrifying!! I remember being able to lift my head after about a minute and looking down and not being able to move anything else! i was grand after 2-3 minutes. never happened since!

delop

To get out of it what you do is concentrate on you little finger and try to move it ...

Works every time...

johanz

delop wrote: »

To get out of it what you do is concentrate on you little finger and try to move it ...

Works every time...

Works too, unless you can't see your fingers.
Or your legs being cut off by a faceless figure *shrugs*

delop wrote: »

If you are interested in pursuing this , here are 2 great reads on it
http://www.amazon.com/Projection-Astral-Body-Sylvan-Muldoon/dp/0766146049
http://www.amazon.com/Journeys-Out-Body-Robert-Monroe/dp/0385008619/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

And unless you're really passionate about all this dream stuff, I wouldn't recommend buying a book.
Internet has enough info.

Sl!mCharles

ahhh nothing worse than waking up paralysed

Run Dmcal

sleep paralysis is very scary at first, but pretty cool when ya get used to it!!!

twice ive had hooded figures coming at me trying to kill me, an once i was floating around at the lightswitch trying with all my strength to stick out my little finger and turn on the light!

i cant remember any other hallucenations, but i got sleep paralysis about 10 times so far!

Dytalus

I've never had it myself, though I have heard it's a terrifying experience. At least at first.

johanz wrote: »

No, it's not related to hypnosis at all.
Simple when you go to sleep, before doing so, drink, pee and do all other stuff.
Then lay on your back, in straight pose, legs straight, arms either on your chest like mummies or straight near your hips, close eyes. And now do not move at all. You will get an urge to rotate to a side, that's when brain checks if you're asleep or not. Do NOT rotate. Then you might start feeling numb or something similar. Then you will either just be paralyzed but awake, or you will also start having very realistic hallucinations, both in sound and visual.

I'm sorely tempted to try this....but my dreams tend to be scary and realistic enough as it is. Damn my curiosity!

Oink

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis while lying face down on your pillow and you can't breathe?

It's hilarious, you should try it. I thought - now that is one stupid way to die.

(I didn't, i case you're worried. I breathed from the corner of my mouth.)

lil_lisa

Well good to know you survived

smelltheglove

I have a long long history of this. I havent posted in this forum about it in quite a while as I believed I had overcome it, I was able to pull out of it once it started for quite a while.

Unfortunately the last few weeks its been coming on more and more, thankfully last night I had a great sleep but the night before I most likely had it 6 or 7 times. It feels like it goes on for a very long time but I honestly dont know exactly how long. They havent been as dramatic halucination wise as they have been in the past but one new thing that came up over the last while is the feeling that I am being held down, the other night I felt like there was huge pressure on my head holding me down.

This frightens the bejasus out of me, when I can pull out of it I am fine but I havent been able to the last while, I dont want to get back into the way I was the last time, which was me being afraid to go asleep at all. I suffered terribly after childbirth especially the 2nd child so I couldnt take sleep pils or anything like that to help me go to sleep whereas now I guess I could. I may go to the doctor if it happens again over the next few days, I wish I could be like most here who have said it has only happened once or twice, even if it only happened once or twice in a night I wouldnt be as bad.

johanz

Oink wrote: »

Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis while lying face down on your pillow and you can't breathe?

It's hilarious, you should try it. I thought - now that is one stupid way to die.

(I didn't, i case you're worried. I breathed from the corner of my mouth.)

Normally if you can't breathe your brain should wake you up.
That's why holding breath while in SP or lucid usually will make you wake up.

W86indow

i never knew this thread was here but i have the same as what;s being described .... i am paralysed it hurts like hell
it's like the bad channel on the tv and its in your head and the most painful thing ever and you just can't wake up

in this state ive thought/slept/dreamt that ive gotten up and turned on a light but i havent at all ... all the time im SCREAMING and i cant wake up
im screaming so loud in my head that ive actually dreamt that my people have come into my room when they havent

scarier still i have dreams of deamons and devils all the while im still screaming to wake up .. one night i was paralysed and it felt like i was fallin down a massive hole and i kept falling it was a sickening feelin. god its so painful i hope i dont get it tonight

it comes and goes like sometime i think aw been 2 or 3 mths it must be gone and its not down to diet or anything because i dont even eat cheese only on pizza and that might be once a week
i used to eat at least 1 bar of chocolate a day and now i dont eat it ,,, i havent had a bar in a mth and i am eating fresh fruit shock horror ... so i really dont think its down to diet

i had it 2 nights ago it felt like the blood was draining out of me ...... does anyone know of any treatment for it i would be interested in giving it a go

Benny Lava

I have yet to find a cure for sleep paralysis but I have a few observations (mightn't apply to anyone else but I'll share anyway).

I've noticed that it tends to occur frequently when I have a broken sleep pattern. Back when I was in college I'd sleep from maybe 4 to 8 am, go to a lecture, then sleep from 10 to 2. During this second sleep it always seemed to occur, sometimes more than once. I recently had to completely change my sleeping pattern to fit in work experience, and during the transitional period, it happened quite a few times. It's less likely to occur if I sleep from 12 to 8, as long as I get up having been woken by my alarm. If I turn off the alarm and get up maybe an hour or two later, a broken sleep has been created and paralysis can often occur.

The only advice I can give is get up when your alarm goes off.

W86indow

no i find it happens most when im just gone off to sleep after about an hour
so bout 11-12
i am a terror for that though in the mornings i mite press the snooze button like 10 times