Just to offer another view point besides 'you were a blink of the eye away from an OOBE'. I am not saying that it could not be an OOBE.
Rather, I am saying that one should not simply fall into the more 'romantic' explination without attempting to rule out all other logical, and more
common, occurance of waking sleep paralysis.
Originally posted by xhorrorgasmx
I was lying in bed, had just woken up and was scared and didn't want to open my eyes. I couldn't move my body (which is why I think it was sleep
paralysis). The paralysis wasn't solid though, it came in waves, so one moment I felt tense and unable to move, the next I was fine, and then I would
tense up again, unable to move.
Although I am far from an expert on the situation, I would suggest that this is simply an episode of sleep paralysis.
The feeling of 'waving in and out' is sometimes present in sleep paralysis --although admitantly less common of a sensation then simply being short
of breath and experiencing the actual paralysis.
Originally posted by xhorrorgasmx
This particular time was strange though because any other time I've experienced what seemed to be sleep paralysis, it was a constant paralysis. It
didn't come in waves.
The feeling of 'coming in waves' may be one of a couple things.
*If you have low blood preasure or other blood flow related problems it could be a state of almost passing out and not sleep paralysis at all. I have
low blood preasure and when I pass out (especially standing up out of bed in the morning...) I 'come to' in waves. It is like you described and a
horrible buzzing is present for the majority of the experience.
*It could be another hallucination within your episode of sleep paralysis. I am not sure about this one and it seems to be the less likely, although
auditory hallucination is common I can not verify that 'waving in and out' is a hallucination associated with episodes of sleep paralysis.
*You could actually be 'waving' in and out of unconscious sleep and a conscious state of mind as your body continues to fire off the hormones
required to accomplish a state of postsynaptic inhibition of motorneurons. If this would the case it would be very interesting as I have never read
about someone slipping between a resting mind and an aware mind more then once during an episode of waking sleep paralysis (although it does not sound
too out of line and may be the case).
I am not saying that those three are the exact reasons that you are experiencing what you are...I am simply offering a counter balance to the OOBE
explination.
After all, it never hurts to be logical at times.
Originally posted by xhorrorgasmx
The other things that was different about this time was that with every wave of paralysis, I heard a loud buzzing in my head.
[...]
In the later waves, before it all stopped, I could hear words through the buzzing (and no, there was no one talking when the buzzing stopped).
This is what leads me to believe that it was an episode of waking sleep paralysis. It is thought by many that the hallucinations experienced during
these episodes (such as the buzzing and voices you describe) are a result of the mind being aware of its conscious state of being but also
experiencing the 'tail end' of the dream as well which causes hallucination.
An individual who experiences an episode of waking sleep paralysis usually feels terror or extreme panic. And, because of this state of terror
combined with the increased activity of the temporal lobe, the brain generates and releases internal visual or auditory stimuli which produces
hallucinations.
I've looked into sleep paralysis a bit and I know that with it you can have hallucinations, so I'm not suggesting that this is anything more than
sleep paralysis.
Your 'buzzing and voices' are very common in episodes of waking sleep paralysis.
I hope that I have at least offered an understandable and coherent alternative to the supernatural explinations which have been presented. I am not
saying that I am more right or wrong then the other posters, but
I do believe it to be a neurological phenomenon rather then and OOBE.
Whatever you believe, I thank you for relating your experience.