I could use an explanation!

I've been experiencing something wierd while i'm asleep and I have no clues to what is happening to me. I'm a 22 year old male, I don't use drugs and only drink on occasion. When I'm asleep sometimes it feels like I am paralyzed and cannot move. I'm aware of what is going on around me, it's almost like my mind is awake and my body is still asleep. It usually happens when I wake up from a 5-8 hour sleep then drift back off to sleep, and this has occured probably 3-6 times a week for the past two and half months. I have to fight to bring myself out of this because it can be a very frightening experience, I've stopped breathing before and could not do anything about it. If anyone is familiar with this could you please tell me what is happening? Thanks.

I know exactly what you're experiencing. It's called sleep paralysis. It is a quite common sleep disorder that people can go through for many reasons, sometimes stress, sometimes diet, sometimes drink or drugs -- though from the sound of it the latter is not your problem.

When you are asleep and dreaming your body paralyzes itself to keep you from harming yourself when thrashing around in a dream. For whatever reasons, your mind wakes up but your body keeps itself on lockdown, which creates the paralyzed feeling. It is very frequently accompanied by hallucinations, which are really your dreams still occurring while your conscious mind is awake. I had episodes of this happen to me about 20 years ago and it is very terrifying.

But there is a rational explanation for it, it's not really anything to fear though it's horrible at the time. People used to think it was incubi and succubi, or night hags. More modern victims of this phenomenon think they've been abducted by aliens or are being attacked by "shadow people."

In truth, it's all in your mind.

Here are some links to help you come to terms with what you are experiencing. Hopefully by learning about it, it will lose the power to scare you so badly.

www.stanford.edu...

watarts.uwaterloo.ca...

www.medterms.com...

You can find many more resources by Googling "sleep paralysis."