# Sleep Paralysis Anyone?



## BornInTheWrongPlanet (Jul 22, 2011)

So here's what happened with me this morning... 

I woke up at 6.45 a.m. but being tired and deciding it was way too early for a Saturday I turned on my left side and fell back asleep.
I don't know what time it was when I started to hear a loud steady purring sound on my right ear (I was in that half asleep kinda state). I opened my eyes and stared at the wall for a few seconds (all the while hearing the purr). I remember thinking "must be the cat" and so I closed my eyes. Then realization hit me. I opened my eyes and must have looked really panicked because I remembered the door was closed and the cat was outside. Where was all that purring coming from? That's when I tried to lift my head to see what was on my pillow. I couldn't move. I tried my arms, my fingers, my legs, toes... I literally couldn't move! I started to breathe heavily and moving my eyes around but all I could see was a little bit of pillow, my hand, the wall and - out of the corner of my eye - the closet. So then, feeling really frightened I decided to call for someone but my mouth wouldn't move; it was slightly parted and relaxed but I had no strength to move it. The only thing that came out was a very faint moan and even that was hard to produce... It was like even my throat wasn't cooperating! I don't know how long I stayed like that. I know at some point I heard a male voice whispering God knows what (which really didn't help me to calm down and focus on my breathing) and I closed my eyes. Like... Seriously I had to move! As irrational as it is, at that very moment, there was no more doubt in my mind that there was someone in the room. I focused on trying to move something... ANYTHING. Eventually and with great effort I was able to move my jaw to the side a couple of times. My body still felt very heavy and unresponsive but all of the sudden my left pinky twitched. After that the purring stopped and I was able to move. Obviously there was nothing or no one in the room but at the moment it felt so real! It scared the crap out of me! I left the bedroom and felt like I HAD to find an explanation for what had just happened. After a very quick research it sure seems like a case of sleep paralysis.
Have you ever experienced anything like this? It kinda creeped me out and I hope it doesn't become a habit... -_-


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## britisharrow (Jun 18, 2009)

I get sleep paralysis, it feels like an intense feeling of pins and needles covering the whole body to the exent that you cannot move and you feel your breathing is in danger. I take the medication Seroquel which is almost certainly the reason. Perhaps look up sleep paralysis and go through the causes and see if any of them strike a chord to you.


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## Hiccups (Jul 15, 2011)

I used to get it A LOT around the age you are 20-21 ... it's very very common and pretty much a right of passage in a sense! I have had it since but only for a few seconds so I don't think it counts I used to get it for around 30secs which was scary especially when you're only half awake. xP


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## avoidobot3000 (Aug 22, 2010)

I've had this. I thought people were coming into my room and waking me up then running out... and then I would curse them in the mornings and they didn't know what I was talking about... awkward


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## TomRay (Aug 6, 2011)

Yeah. I get it sometimes or induce it myself. If you're experiencing sleep paralysis it's very easy to get into a lucid dream and, if you believe in that kind of thing, Astral plane. There's nothing to be afraid of.


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## keyla965 (Jan 13, 2011)

I used to get sleep paralysis ALL THE TIME. its like im not sleep yet then all of a sudden i wake up a little bit then i try to move but i cant it last like 5 or 6 seconds for me. my family always tells me that the devil is riding my back and im like seriously, do u people really believe that ****. lol. where do people come up with stuff like that. And most of the time im ON my back so that dosnt really make any sense to me. lately, i havnt really been getting it so im happy about that. But after its over i usually just dont wanna go back to sleep. Its scary most of the time, but i got use to it as time went by.


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## syrella (Aug 4, 2011)

I get this every few months. It first started when I was 17-18 or so and continues to today. Last one was last month or so. 

A few times I've learned to take control of the nightmare and turn it into something good. I got to have a few flying dreams, as a result. Hehe. Other times I just gotta learn to "go back to sleep". 

I'm not sure what causes them. I know your body is put into a paralyzed state during one of the stages of sleep. As in, chemicals are released that prevent you from sleep walking or injuring yourself. The paralysis that you experience is probably leftover from that. Then something sparks your bodily conscious and you try to wake up, but you aren't able to move.

If it gets worse, try sleeping in a different position and not eating right before you go to bed. If it continues, maybe you could go see a sleep specialist. One or two episodes, though, and I don't think you have much to be concerned about.


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## BornInTheWrongPlanet (Jul 22, 2011)

TomRay said:


> Yeah. I get it sometimes or induce it myself. If you're experiencing sleep paralysis it's very easy to get into a lucid dream and, if you believe in that kind of thing, Astral plane. There's nothing to be afraid of.


Hmm yes... I'm a bit familiar with that but I don't think that's something I'd try. I'd rather unconsciously visit my friends up there and leave it like that. Call me crazy but I don't like to mess with that sort of thing.


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## BornInTheWrongPlanet (Jul 22, 2011)

syrella said:


> I get this every few months. It first started when I was 17-18 or so and continues to today. Last one was last month or so.
> 
> A few times I've learned to take control of the nightmare and turn it into something good. I got to have a few flying dreams, as a result. Hehe. Other times I just gotta learn to "go back to sleep".
> 
> ...


Yes it has only happened once and I guess that's why I freaked. I had no idea what was going on and waking up paralized and hearing things isn't exactly my favourite kind of breakfast 
Thanks for leaving a reply  (And I mean this to all of you who've posted on this thread )


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## meganmila (Jul 25, 2011)

I've had it twice maybe three times. First time I was about 15 and I was really depressed during that time so I was asleep and all of a sudden I couldn't move. I can see my room but I was just paralyzed. I wanted to scream and call out for help. And I saw a dark cloud in the corner of my right eye. I was terrified. Then I woke up and I dunno what happened. 

The second time I was doped up on Morphine in the hospital alseep from it and I felt some kind of thing lifting my arm up towards the ceiling calling my name and then I woke up, ugh, I never wanted to go back to asleep. I thought I was dead.

The third time it wasn't really sleep paralysis but doped up from demerol in the hospital and of course was asleep then I guess it was a dream but I thought I was awake and I saw a man walking back and forth in front of my bed. He was frantic. just going back and forth then he stops looks at me and gets a gun out and points it at me. Omg, I thought it was real seriously. Then apparently I woke up. So scary.

So all in all this is long so sorry about that but these are the incidents I remember. I dunno what causes it but I never have one again. Haven't had one in like 2 years.


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## Kennnie (Oct 21, 2010)

I had this the othe night felt like I was in inception I was in a dream within a dream


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## estse (Nov 18, 2003)

Yes, I experience sleep paralysis around three times a year.


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## sas111 (Oct 20, 2010)

Yeah, first time of sleep paralysis seems to be the scariest. Escpecially when you've never heard of it before. It only lasts a few minutes or even seconds, so there's nothing to worry about.

Your imagination sure does run wild while stuck in that state. I always feel like somebody's watching me, like a dark shadow figure. :teeth


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## angus (Dec 18, 2010)

I'm one of those people who get's it really bad. I used to think I had been abducted by alians and everything. But the worst is when your lying in bed frozen and someone comes in and punches you in the face and in a wierd sort of way you can actually feel it, it's not painful it's more like a gentle electric shock. Since iv'e been on Agomelitine (brand name Valdoxan) though iv'e only had one bout of it.


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## angus (Dec 18, 2010)

Just had a thought it might have some thing to do with alcohol, is anyone here a drinker or a t-totaller?


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## Mur (Jan 20, 2011)

Before I figured out what sleep paralysis was I thought I was losing my mind because I would hear strange people having conversations while I was trying to sleep (I could never figure out exactly what they were saying though and they were the voices of men and women).

Check this out, it's kinda creepy but informative.


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## awkword (Aug 2, 2011)

I had it quite often in my early 20s. I'd wake up, but I couldn't open my eyes or move my body. It literally felt like someone was pinning me down to the bed. Each experience lasted maybe 30 seconds...a minute at the most.

That said, I haven't had it in years now.


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## rockyraccoon (Dec 13, 2010)

I get it quite often actually. Usually it's my left arm that gets it. I will wake up and my whole left arm will be paralized for a few minutes; then I get these kind of tingling, pins and needles feelings, then my arm comes back to life again. I think it happens because when we sleep our body is basically in a coma, but sometimes when we wake up, our brain is awake but our body is still in that state of coma. It's just a matter of the brain adjusting to the body. Sometimes they don't co-ordinate perfectly well when we wake up from sleep.


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## cafune (Jan 11, 2011)

I had a dream that went exactly like that. I am pretty sure I wasn't awake... Although it sounds kinda scary, especially if you're experiencing it for the first time, and have no idea what it is.


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## Attica! Attica! (Oct 8, 2008)

I don't know if I've ever technically had sleep paralysis, but once every now and then I wake up and can't breathe, usually the result of a nightmare. I wake up and it feel like some sort of presence is floating above me,crowding me, and I can't take a breath for a good while.. it was really scary at first, but not so much anymore since I know I will always be able to breathe again eventually. Is this sleep paralysis?


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## Poisoned (Jun 28, 2011)

I've had it happen twice to me... both in I was younger. 
Once I was asleep/awake... and all these shapes were floating everywhere around me. I remember everything was white other than the bright colored shapes. I was facing the tv at the time which is why it was so bright. >< Then I tried moving and I couldn't and I finally managed to move (Though I didn't realize it) and I ended up falling off my bed. .-.

Another time I was dreaming, but I was aware I was asleep. I had my face pressed into the pillow so I couldn't breathe and I couldn't move so I tried screaming out but it only came out in mumbles. I was screaming- "Wake me up!"- and finally my mom came and woke me. >_<


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## i just want luv (Feb 13, 2011)

just about everynight, I think i'm going to die from it one day.


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## Glacial (Jun 16, 2010)

I get sleep paralysis when I am extremely tired and wake up early (usually on a weekend morning). I heard that it occurs when the brain wakes up before the body and the muscles are not able to get the message from the brain "to move."

It's a horrible feeling, especially when it keeps occuring on the morning.


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## John316C (May 1, 2011)

ive had sleep paralysis at the time i saw saw a spirit. scariest thing ive ever been through but eye opening


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## Ohnoes2191 (Aug 26, 2011)

I used to get sleep paralysis a lot... I haven't had it happen to me in a while. Whenever it happens, I feel like something or someone bad is in the room, I guess you can say the grim reaper. And I try to speak but it just comes out as a moan or mumble, and it sucks because I'm trying to warn this around but I can't.

Hopefully it doesn't happen now lol.


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## regimes (Aug 24, 2011)

ohmygoodness, i used to get it a lot last year. at some point i was imagining that i was having a heart attack but couldn't move or call out for help. it's crazy but it's also really interesting to look up the myth behind it- it'll creep you out when you read about devils sitting on you.


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## nycdude (Mar 20, 2010)

Yes! In total about 3 or 4. Around 2006 was laying on the floor in my parents living room, I was about to fall asleep, and I am not sure if it was a dream but I suddenly felt like I couldn't move or speak. I felt this presence on top of me and I had this loud buzz in my head and it literally felt like my head was going to blow up. It then ended with a faint whisper saying "help me" and I woke up and broke free. I haven't had one in a while. And I hope I don't


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## nycdude (Mar 20, 2010)

Poisoned said:


> Another time I was dreaming, but I was aware I was asleep.* I had my face pressed into the pillow so I couldn't breathe *and I couldn't move so I tried screaming out but it only came out in mumbles. I was screaming- "Wake me up!"- and finally my mom came and woke me. >_<


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## 8vessels (Aug 26, 2011)

i get this and main way i avoid it is to program myself to wake up before it occurs, so as soon as things go downhill in a dream i already start bein close to awake. i like to beat it and not put myself thru that if i can help it.


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

Only when I was taking otc sleep aids and no prescription ones. They weren't enough to completely knock me out so I got stuck somewhere in between sort of dreaming that something was happening I needed to get up for but conscious enough I realized I wasn't actually accomplishing movement. The one time on a bunch of melatonin I heard the cat meow probably in the hallway and in a panic dreamed I'd left the door open to my room and the cat was going to eat my gerbils (she'd accomplished opening the cage and getting one once) but I couldn't move. I finally clapped my hands which immediately let me move completely and then I rushed to close the door. It turned out to be closed so when I reached out to grab hold of it I almost fell in my fish tank instead. Learned not to take lots of melatonin without a prescription sleep aid to back it up.


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## pheonixrising (Sep 7, 2011)

I've had several sleep paralysis incidents. They suck. For the longest time I had no idea what it was, and they really scared me. Now that I know what the deal is, they're just annoying. The only way I can get out of it is by hyperventilating. But every time it happens it's always accompanied by a really scary, I'm gonna die, feeling. One time I actually thought I was going to. I haven't had it happen in a while, so I guess I'm overdue. =/ lol


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## danberado (Apr 22, 2010)

I _know_ when I shake out of sleep paralysis the first time in a night that I need to get up and walk around for a bit or it'll just return in a few minutes, yet I never learn my lesson. So I go through a cycle for about 30 minutes of fighting it off, hoping in vain it won't come back, fighting it off. Always just as terrifying despite knowing exactly what's going on. Frustrating.


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## obsidianavenger (Sep 1, 2011)

i just want luv said:


> just about everynight, I think i'm going to die from it one day.


its not dangerous.

i used to get it really bad when i was sleeping poorly, and had an irregular sleep schedule. i think that sort of thing usually contributes to it happening.


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## keyla965 (Jan 13, 2011)

i use to get sleep parlisis all the freakin time (and still do). its scary when it happens. theres the "i cant move one inch part". its the trying to get unstuck part that i have a problem with. My sleep paralisis only lasts a few seconds at the most. If i could put a number to it it would probably last for 7 or 9 seconds, maybe. im use to having them so im not as freaked out as you, i get it when im really really tired. Its like i dose off but then i kinda wake up, all the while im paralised. i just mostly moan and stuff like that when it happenes. Thank god i dont hear all of the scary stuff people claim to hear or even see while it happenes,


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## Event Horizon (Feb 23, 2011)

Yeah that only happens to me when I'm hopped up on sleeping aids or certain herbicals.


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## Haunty (Oct 24, 2008)

Sleep paralysis is interesting. I think it happened to me a few times as a kid, but then I went without it happening until just a couple years ago. The strange thing is, it happened like the morning after I was reading up on sleep paralysis. 

I became conscious and had a feeling like someone or something was on top of me, I was trying to turn around to see it and to push it off me, but then I realized what was happening so I just waited it out and I woke up fully a few seconds later.

It's happened a couple times since then, but I always know what's happening so I just try and relax and wait for my body to wake up, heh.


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## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

I refuse to sleep on my back because of it and haven't had it happen since. Seriously thought I was having a stroke or heart attack at first. Could even breath or speak. I have woken up many times with numbness in my arms or legs so that didn't bother me but the lack of oxygen felt like I was suffocating. I wasn't asleep though, was laying on my bed blinked and it happened unless I fell asleep and started dreaming that quickly. Although REM sleep is supposed to take at least 90 minutes to occur.


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## Wacky Wednesdays (Apr 10, 2011)

I had a similar experience at the age of 12, felt the bed sinking under, an intense pressure on my back like someone was pushing me down, not being able to move for an entire minute or two, even hallucinating, hearing voices etc. It's crazy what the mind conjures up. The scary thing was, I hadn't even fallen asleep yet so I can't say that it was during deep sleep. At the time, I'd thought it was some demonic possession because I'd tried screaming for help but obviously couldn't move or open my mouth so I prayed, that's when the voice told me it was useless and that praying won't help. Fking hell. Since then I've only had milder spells of sleep paralysis. I used to be Christian so the 'spiritual attack' argument seemed more likely but now it's like wtf, sleep paralysis makes sense...still not the kinda **** you need when you're already very anxious/paranoid. As long as it's not exorcism-of-emily-rose-like, then I'm happy.


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## cat001 (Nov 1, 2010)

I had this once, I had just come home from college and was very tired indeed so went upstairs and had a quick nap. When I woke up I went to sit up but nothing happened! All I could move was my eyes. In the corner of my eye I could see a cloaked figure at the end of the bed, looked like a mist was coming of it, but I ignored it and tried to shout for help...nothing happened, I just breathed with no sound. My eyes began to get very heavy but I was determined to wake up properly...suddenly my arm moved and everything was back to normal...weird.


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## John316C (May 1, 2011)

i had sleep paralysis ONCE. the strange thing was it happened on the exact date and time my grandmother died one year later. and when i woke up after a really scary dream i noticed i had sleep paralysis and also experienced some psychic stuff.. then after i saw the spirit of my grandmother and i fainted. i didnt know my grandmother died on that day because i never bothered to remember. it was so real as real as im sitting at this keyboard. the process of going through sleep paralysis is real scary.


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## danberado (Apr 22, 2010)

Wacky Wednesdays said:


> I had a similar experience at the age of 12, felt the bed sinking under, an intense pressure on my back like someone was pushing me down, not being able to move for an entire minute or two, even hallucinating, hearing voices etc. It's crazy what the mind conjures up. The scary thing was, I hadn't even fallen asleep yet so I can't say that it was during deep sleep. *At the time, I'd thought it was some demonic possession because I'd tried screaming for help but obviously couldn't move or open my mouth so I prayed, that's when the voice told me it was useless and that praying won't help.* Fking hell. Since then I've only had milder spells of sleep paralysis. I used to be Christian so the 'spiritual attack' argument seemed more likely but now it's like wtf, sleep paralysis makes sense...still not the kinda **** you need when you're already very anxious/paranoid. As long as it's not exorcism-of-emily-rose-like, then I'm happy.


Yeah, I'm not pleased religion told me demons exist because this is the exact horror I felt growing up with it. Now the events are still disconcerting but knowing that it is a fairly simple biological mix-up is such a relief.


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