Thread: Sleep Paralysis

Yesterday morning I experienced what I think was my first lucid dream. I suddenly knew I was dreaming, and I could change things in my dream, it was pretty interesting. I played around by making a ball appear out of nowhere, but when I tried doing things I had never experienced, the sensations I expected to feel were replaced with ones from other things, such as a snowball feeling like being hit by a volleyball!

Well, enough about that. Last night when I tried to replicate the lucid dream, I felt one of the most fearsome things ever: I was "falling" asleep while awake. I could feel my hands and feet numbing, and the sensation going from there to my arms, legs, then crotch, and then slowly upwards to my chest. My eyes started moving around on their own: sometimes my eyelids would open and all I would see would be two blurry images moving around, and some other times I would feel how my eyes went upwards or to opposite sides. My ears where ringing, and I saw things like tunnels, lines, lights going on and off, and all kinds of cool things.

But the scariest part came when my body decided it was time for me to "sleep". My eyes felt like they were going to go flip 180º, I'd start feeling pain around my neck, arms and thighs, and my breath would suddenly stop. I tried to gasp for air, but my throat was tightly shut; I think this is the part where the body puts you out and switches to "auto breathing," but since I was fully conscious, it was like being choked by my own body.

After struggling for a while, I suddenly regained control of my body, and I kept gasping for air for a minute or two (indicating that the chocking went for longer than it appeared to be). These episodes happened about 4 or 5 times before I finally fell asleep out of exhaustion.

Have you guys experienced anything like this before?

No lucid dreams, but I used to be plagued by Sleep Paralysis. I immediately think I'm going to die when I experience it and manage to somehow urge myself awake. My doctor says I should just embrace the sensation and it'll be fine. I think it becomes a lucid dream after a while, or maybe it starts out as one -- I don't remember.

The crazy thing is that you can hear everything that's going on outside of the "dream" or whatever that state is actually called. I remember a few times my sister's voice looking for a hand-wipe or something and me trying to tell her to wake me up. It's like being trapped inside someone else's body, I hate it. I've heard shuffling feet a few times, too.

I haven't had an episode for a while since I got my body clock back on track, though. I hope I never experience it again . . . very unpleasant. It only happens when I sleep on the left-hand side of my bed, so I think it was triggered by the sleep apnea I had when I was fat, which also occurred on the left-hand side only. I've stopped snoring too.

Had you gone to bed unusually late, elite? or did you sleep in a position that you don't normally sleep in? Those things -- combined with my sleep apnea -- are what attributed to my nocturnal escapades . Have you spoken to a doctor?

I've had sleep paralysis before. It is pretty unpleasant.

I love lucid dreams. I usually make myself fly. I once dreamed myself all the way to Hogwarts. It was amazing.

Originally Posted by Bruno Spatola

Had you gone to bed unusually late, elite? or did you sleep in a position that you don't normally sleep in? Those things -- combined with my sleep apnea -- are what attributed to my nocturnal escapades . Have you spoken to a doctor?

Not really, I go to sleep always around the same time: 2 am. I always sleep in the same position, and I've never had these kinds of problems before. I do have a pretty terrible flu right now, so it might be attributed to that.

My wife suffers from sleep paralysis, commonly when she's unwell or stressed. It used to distress her a lot and I became very worried for a while. Lately though it's become far less common. She did have an episode recently but says she recognized it for what it was and accepted, even to the point of saying (in her brain) "Oh hello sleep paralysis! haven't seen you in a while...".

I'm afraid I can't offer much since I've never experienced it, but back when I was researching it to help her there was almost universal consensus that it was somehow stress related, and strongly linked to other sleep disorders.

p.s. When I was 16 I had a dream in which I was with Erwin Rommel's staff in the German Afrika Korps, fighting the British from 1941 - 1943. I didn't do any fighting myself, was a paper and reports kind of guy. It was hot, and I was very sad when we lost at Alamein.

Uhh... It's been kind of worse lately...

Now the problem is not just when I'm trying to sleep, it kicks in when I'm just relaxing!

It almost feels like I'm triggering it whenever I start thinking of it. It begins with my ears ringing, legs getting tense and my eyes start to move erratically. It takes a lot of effort to shake it off, and it's starting to get annoying. From what I've experienced, staying completely still and slightly moving my eyes in opposite directions sets it off.

It's not as bad as before though, as I am not actually chocking anymore. It's just like being conscious while sleeping, but going numb all of sudden while reading isn't very nice. The sensation isn't unpleasant (rather, it feels good), but it's getting in the way of my usual activities. I can fall asleep normally if I ensure I'm breathing normally until I naturally lose consciousness.

On a side note, I also had a lucid dream this morning, though I woke up a few moments after realizing I was dreaming. Too bad, it was a very, very nice dream!

I've always had a habit of ending up in a lucid dream, usually around the same basic area, a wild ravine of rolling tree's and a creek that expands into a boggy river, an enormous amusement park stuck in perpetual night, a maze made of icy forests, walls, and ruins, etc. For some reason though, I can't specifically change stuff, like focus and make a swirling ball of fire in my hand.

Hmm, the last lucid dream I had was private, mostly for emotional reasons, not because it was disturbing or disgusting, but the last one before that waaas (thinking) A city made of driftwood and a house riddled with secret passageways. They're usually very dreamscape-ish (referring to the type of art, not the fact the landscape was in a dream).

That brings back memories of some experiences I had. It was sheer hell, especially when the lucid dream was a nightmare.

Yeah it happens to me all the time........ but always the same

I've experienced sleep paralysis but it's because I have epilepsy. What happens is I enter a dream and I wake up suddenly within the dream (it is always a nightmare) not able to move any part of my body, open my eyes or make any noise. My dream self is usually screaming but when I end up waking up I have the sensation of having just been choked or something similar, because I just couldn't make any noise. Which is really the worst. I mean, if you are stuck fully aware in a nightmare but unable to completely awake or get anyone to help you its terrible. I wanted to see a sleep specialist but my crappy insurance wont cover it. My Neurologist has no clue what to do about it and it doesn't happen often enough for him to "worry" (once every couple of months). It sounds to me though like you're testing your limits. I am just able to manipulate my dreams by default, I wouldn't mess around with meditation or anything because i don't want to make things worse sleep paralysis can be extremely frightening!

OMG, I love LD's! I've had dozens after dozens after dozens... I don't have them as much anymore, but I think that I always know, a little bit, that I'm dreaming because I am pretty much NEVER scared in my dreams and when I am, it's superficial.

To the sleep paralysis... Looks like you were trying to get a WILD! I've had a few of those before, it's quite fun to see the transition from awake, to black, to dream. I think I've had it start a few times, but only during naps. I never like for it to continue (and I've found it easy to stop), though I know if you're good at controlling it, that's the perfect way to get into a WILD. You just have to know that nothing bad can happen to you while in SP- I think you were just freaking out from it (not that I blame you!). Just remind yourself that you're okay and that you're going to be dreaming soon so when you do get into that dream, you can go about doing whatever it is that you want.

Lol, I can't move in the dream either, my mind is awake, but it is actual paralysis and it is a sleep disorder. It's hard not to be freaked out when an invisible entity is picking you up and slamming you against the wall repeatedly and you can't move or scream :/ lol

Get a new partner......... it wasn't a dream!

Originally Posted by saintenitouche

I've experienced sleep paralysis but it's because I have epilepsy. What happens is I enter a dream and I wake up suddenly within the dream (it is always a nightmare) not able to move any part of my body, open my eyes or make any noise. My dream self is usually screaming but when I end up waking up I have the sensation of having just been choked or something similar, because I just couldn't make any noise. Which is really the worst. I mean, if you are stuck fully aware in a nightmare but unable to completely awake or get anyone to help you its terrible. I wanted to see a sleep specialist but my crappy insurance wont cover it. My Neurologist has no clue what to do about it and it doesn't happen often enough for him to "worry" (once every couple of months). It sounds to me though like you're testing your limits. I am just able to manipulate my dreams by default, I wouldn't mess around with meditation or anything because i don't want to make things worse sleep paralysis can be extremely frightening!

I would experience it usually on coming out of a lucid dream. It was the most terrifying thing that I had experienced. It happens because a brain chemical process paralyses the body during sleep, so that the body doesn't act out the dream. So the opposite problem is when people sleep-walk and do things they have no memory of.

But in that state it was like a shadowy surreal world that I didn't even realise was a dream state at first so I wouldn't try to wake up. According to the literature I was reading and following at the time this was not a mere dream but a plane of existence called the Astral. I managed to actually get out of bed in this shadowy world due to great effort and I fell out of bed, and woke up with a bump and I was still in bed. That was a long time ago. Now, however I try to lead a simple life with belief in God and do not touch the occult. I suppose if you know that it is only the brain process that is paralysing the body for sleep, then logically it shouldn't be frightening but it is hard to be logical in such circumstances.

Lmao, that's funny because one I actually did dream that *laughs* And it's so amusing because he's like a bunny rabbit haha