Ever feel you're paralyzed in your sleep? And an evil presence is by your bed?
I've always experience sleep paralysis since I was a child. It is one of the scariest things ever... Whenever this happens to me, I just struggle to move until I can. Like many who have sleep paralysis, I also have "hypnagogic hallucinations" that I'm being attacked. It's not a serious condition, but it can be very disturbing.
Has it ever happened to you?
Sleep paralysis is a strange condition when you feel you are awake but cannot move. It happens when you are between the between stages of wakefulness and sleep. It can take some seconds or even several minutes before you are able to speak.
You go to bed and fall asleep, but instead of waking up peacefully in the morning, you half wake in the middle of the night. And in the darkness of your bedroom, it slowly dawns on you that you can’t move your body…and that someone, or something, is watching you.
You’re in this state, you realize you can’t move, and you get a very strong sense of presence... You feel certain that there is someone, or something in the room with you and whatever that thing or person is they mean you no good at all. They’re evil, in some cases a pure evil…
If that’s not frightening enough you being to sense there’s something or someone in the room with you – a shadowy figure starts to loom over your body, but you’re powerless to do anything.
You feel a weight on your chest, pressing you down and preventing you from sitting up. And not only is your whole body paralyzed, but you can’t so much as move your lips to call out for help.
You’re not sure who or what is pushing on your chest. It’s too dark to see. You just know there’s a presence there. Something strange. Something frightening.
It sounds like the familiar plot of a horror movie. But sadly, these experiences are all too real for people who suffer from sleep paralysis. One can say that you are actually awake in your nightmare.
If you have ever experienced sleep paralysis, you will know how awkward this condition can be.
Very often these episodes are associated with hallucinations. These might be visual (you might see lights moving around in the room, dark shadows, grotesque monstrous forms); they might be auditory (you might hear footsteps, or voices, or mechanical sounds); they might be tactile (you might feel as if you are being touched, or as if someone is holding you tightly, or as if someone is dragging you out of the bed. Sometimes these can turn into full blown out of body experience.
It's not harmful and should pass in a few seconds or minutes, but can be very frightening.
Many people have sleep paralysis once or twice in their life, while others experience it a few times a month or more regularly.
Just why or how it happens isn't clear. Researchers believe sleep paralysis is caused by a disturbed rapid eye movement cycle because it mostly happens as people are falling into or coming out of REM sleep. During that stage, their brains normally paralyze their muscles anyway - so they don't act out their dreams. But during sleep paralysis, the sleeper is awake, or half awake, and so is aware he/she cannot move. Sleep paralysis has also been associated with:
- not getting enough sleep (sleep deprivation or insomnia)
- irregular sleeping patterns – for example, because of shift work or jet lag
- narcolepsy – a long-term condition that causes a person to suddenly fall asleep at inappropriate times
- a family history of sleep paralysis
- sleeping on your back
Clearly, an episode of sleep paralysis can be scary, which has led to some unorthodox theories. Research shows that people in countries as diverse as China, East Africa, Mexico, Newfoundland, and the United States have long believed that paralysis is caused by demons, witches, or other supernatural creatures sitting on their chests and sometimes trying to have sex with them.
Myths and legends about sleep paralysis persist all over the globe. Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an “evil” presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors.
Often the experience is accompanied by noises (like loud buzzing), sensations of being dragged out of bed or flying, and difficulty breathing. In fact, some researchers believe sleep paralysis is what's really going on with stories of alien abductions.
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Originally Posted by Oneeye
United Kingdom
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