Sleep Paralysis has anyone had it?

Has anyone on ATS actually experienced the phenomenon known as "Sleep Paralysis" ?

The reason i ask it here is because its usually accompanied by some sort of alien encounter...

I'm doing research into this and i would like to know what you experienced.

Please no fake reports, you will only discredit/damage the UFO community further.

If you have ever had a real case of sleep paralysis please post the following:

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
3. What you saw (if anything).
4. What happened?
5. How long did it last?
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

I think those are enough questions, so to summarize this thread is dedicated to ATS members who have had Sleep Paralysis / possible contact. I hope this topic is not trolled and only serious accounts are given, you can also post if you know anyone who has sleep paralysis as well.

Video

1) Once i was sleeping in bed and awake with sleep paralysis. Paralyzed really from my bed yet what i am doing was "sitting in a black folding chair" that is actually standing next to my computer desk; paralyzed next to my bed facing a coffee table with a "computer" (really isn't there either) placed on it. My eyes were open faintly trying to see clear but my vision was blurry. I felt myself trying what felt like minutes to move and than just drop lifeless to my mattress...after the paralyzed state subsides, i "splash onto my bed" i open my lids seeing the ceiling fan spinning. This never happened, yet it wasn't a dream. IT was just as real as me typing this now :/

2) I was sleeping at a friends house in an open bedroom and all of a sudden i awaken with this unfortunate feeling. What I am doing during this is "walking into another room" and "talking to a friend, lights on" & than I head back to the one room I came from. All of a sudden I realized I am actually sleeping because within an instance, what just happened was like a blink of an eye. I am paralyzed to the bed with my eyes shut because with all my strength they could not open...A minute later, I think I am "seeing a friend of mine, standing up and looking down". I am pleading for the friend to lift me up because I cant move. I feel my arms raising into the air & than *snap*, half way of being sat up; My eyes really open and what I saw flying towards me from the pitch blackness...the most evilest thing. From what i remember, it was a demonic apparition flying towards me like lightning. I felt myself "screaming like a girl" as I "snap the sheets over my face and curl". What felt like a second later, no longer am I paralyzed. I woke up, the room filled with sun...

P.S. I have had many paranormal experiences since the age of 6. The hearing of the name whispered into my ear, poltergeist, the white sheet standing in front of my bed. A full apparition of an old man sitting on my bed with his hands placed on his lap, even a wheelchair moving out of nowhere doing a 360. Alot more stories which would be even detail. Mostly it would be the man who died in this house prior to living. His name was Alex. Yet he is friendly and makes his appearances without meaning or causing actual evil harm...The 2nd incident of the sleep paralysis had taken place at a friends; I looked it up and what they told me about the demon i saw flying into me is that this happens normally in west African tribes. They described him in detail and said this means "you are not possessed by a ghost, you are the ghost's possession; he owns you". I cant find that site anymore and have since tried many occasions to find the link. Not shocked, I always knew I had a 6th sense but was little nervous discovering I am actually owned by another spirit like I am his slave or something. Again this is mostly experienced (that demon) in west African tribes...the weird part, I live in New York :/

The times that I have felt like I had sleep paralysis could have been dreams influenced by my last waking memory....

terrifying though!

reply to post by Newz2387


WARNING NO FAKE REPORTS... A quick google search reveals you clearly just copy & pasted that from a website!

I want to hear first hand experiences only please you have been warned.

I have this probably 1-2 every 5 months. I cant move or breath, scary stuff.

reply to post by Alpal


Interesting, ive never had one of these my whole life... If you don't mind me ask where you live?

Originally posted by RevelationGeneration
reply to post by Newz2387

 

WARNING NO FAKE REPORTS... A quick google search reveals you clearly just copy & pasted that from a website!

I want to hear first hand experiences only please you have been warned...

edit on 17-8-2011 by RevelationGeneration because: Hoaxer

IM the guy from yahoo answers lol

yahoo answers

This is when I shared the same questions...I am Danny, nice to meet you lol

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


Peterborough England, but this happens everywhere. My house, friends house even on holiday. Feels like "something" is holding me down i cant feel it but i find it impossible to move.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration

Has anyone on ATS actually experienced the phenomenon known as "Sleep Paralysis" ?

The reason i ask it here is because its usually accompanied by some sort of alien encounter...

I'm doing research into this and i would like to know what you experienced.

Hey RevelationGeneration,

First off, I understand that this thread is a look at the possible ET connection to SP (sleep Paralysis), but since I've done my fair share of research into the subject in the past, and since you say you're doing research into the topic also I thought, especially since I'm under the impression SP is in no way related to anything paranormal or otherworldly, I'd post my own thoughts and opinions on the subject, as well as attempt to explain a little bit about how SP really is caused. If this alternative, but rational, view is not welcomed, for whatever reason, then feel free to just ignore. I just feel that 2 opposing views are better than one.. and I hope many others would feel the same way really.

Anyway, I used to "suffer" through sleep paralysis growing up as a young teen. I still get episodes of it now in fact, but I used to experience it literally every night, at which point I was absolutely convinced it was something paranormal or demonic in nature. Due to this though, I decided to look into it a bit more to try and gain a better understanding of exactly what was happening and to potentially figure out whether this really was what I first suspected.

I was to learn that SP really isn't what many suspect it to be at all, unfortunately. In fact every single person reading this thread right here and now will end up experiencing it at some point in their lives. You see there's only really 2 types of Sleep Paralysis that people will experience, as far as I'm aware anyway. They are as follows:

CSP.

HSP.

CSP stands for Common Sleep Paralysis and as the name suggests, It's quite common. So much so everyone will experience it as I've just said. Please also see this snippet explaining a bit about it:

According to most researchers ( in a 1992 Gallup poll ) nearly every adult will have an episode of Common Sleep Paralysis (CSP) every couple of years. In the 1950ies and 60ies researchers discovered that sometimes sleepers gain counsciousness finding their bodies temporarily "frozen". This temporary paralysation affects the gross motor functions and macro muscle groups of the body. This state lasts between 15sec to a minute ( though subjects report that it lasts longer.)

These episodes of paralysis baffled sleepers and medicals professionals for centuries. It was not until R.E.M. and its correlation to the dream state was discovered that the mystery of Sleep paralysis started to unfold. Researchers soon discovered that hormones were released during the R.E.M./dream state that paralysed the body and kept it from acting out the contents of the dream. During most regular sleep cycles the hormones begin to wear off even before the dream is completed and thus people wake with a full funcitionning body. In rare occasions the hormones are still actively suppressing the gross motor functions of the body and thus upon waking the individual finds its body temporarily paralysed.

Though waking to this helpless state can be disturbing for the individual, it is perfectly harmless and fairly common. There are rare cases were some people produce too much of the hormone and will suffer from frequent sleep paralysis. There are other cases, where people do not produce the hormone at all

(Source)

As this source says, as well as every other medical source, SP is common, it can be explained and thankfully It's not dangerous at all. Although there's simply no denying It is a disturbing thing to experience and I know through my own personal experience it is very frightening, especially for the first time. Anyway, the other type of SP people experience is HSP and It's as follows:

HSP stands for Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis and once again as the name suggests, this is the more frightening one people can experience particularly as It causes people to Hallucinate - this being where many night time abduction stories come into play, as well as many paranormal ones such as Old Hag Syndrome for example. Like last time, please read this snippet explaining it in detail:

A more terrifying sister to the common sleep paralysis is the hallucinatory sleep paralysis also known as the hypnagogic sleep paralysis and the Hag phenomena.

There are three major differences between Hallucinatory Sleep Paralysis (HSP) and CSP.

Characteristics of sleep paralysis:

1.) Whereas CSP is common and universal HSP is rare and seems to be geographically episodic.

2.) CSP is of raletively short duration where HSP can last as long as seven or eight minutes.

3.) The major difference of course is that CSP maybe unsettling for the sleeper but the HSP is accompanied by a nightmarish hallucination.

There is evidence that HSP seems to affect an area (e.g. a village) much like an epidemic. A region that has had no HSPs reported may all of a sudden be innundated by sleepers suffering from HSP. Though this is relatively new research it seems regions stay infected for upwards to three years, with the most common being only a few months. There is of yet no explanation for this.

HSP also seems to run in families, but a hereditary connection is still to be found. A great deal of research is currently being conducted in Canada and Europe.

The most striking difference between HSP and CSP are the horrifying hallucinations that accompany the paralysis. The source of the hallucination has often been attributed to the hypnagogic state (the state between wakefulness and sleep.) An individual usually awakens either because they hear something or they feel something. The thing to remember is this occurs outside of a dream sequence/plot. The individual is wide awake yet paralysed like in CSP. Moments after the person is awoke they are startled by a terrifying visual hallucination. Almost inevitably, this hallucination takes on a stereotypical form. It is usually a vision of a small malevolent creature that straddles the victim. The creature then either compresses the chest or attemps to strangulate the victim. Most victims report that the creature is actively trying to kill them.

The visual hallucination has been variously interpreted throughout time and in different cultures as being: indigestion ("hippocrites" for the Hellenic Greeks), guilt for the Romans and the Egyptians, witchcraft for the Mexicans and Yoruba people, demons for Medieval Europe, djinn for the Arabs, vampires for Europeans, Hag for the Irish and Scottish, spectral foxes for the Japanese, cats for the Chinese, ancestral ghosts for South-East Asians, etc. Despite the various interpretations, the descriptions of the hallucinations are remarkably similar. There are hudreds of folk remedies to avoid HSP. But the most common is to not sleep on your back. Almost all attacks have been reported by people sleeping on their backs.

(Source)

HSP is terrifying to say the least, and quite frankly It's just plain weird. But, It can be avoided. If you relax for one thing, which is harder to do than you imagine, then it can be avoided and even be turned into a positive experience, something many people report. This suggests to me It's not exactly an abduction for example as the situation with-in the hallucination can be changed if you so with to change it. Sure, some may claim It's really demonic, or alien in nature, and that's particularly due to the weird nature of it, and it very well may be there's no denying that, but I just highly doubt it. It's caused in the same way CSP is caused, It's just a more extreme form of it really.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts on the subject. I know It's not exactly what you asked for at the beginning of the thread but It's an alternative view to the one you seem to possess so I hope It's at least considered. I just felt as though It was worth sharing for you and others to ponder over.

Iv experienced this twice, last time I woke and there was a middle aged
Man and a boy sitting in the room, pretty scary when you can't move, I'm not
Convinced it has anything to do with aliens though

I do not really post very much but will tell you of an occurrence that happened when i lived in the borders of Scotland about 15 years ago.

I remember looking out of the bedroom window, my bedroom was on the second floor, the sky was really clear, my curtains were opened and the was window closed.

I was lying in my bed just looking at the stars and nodding off, i looked at my window and the window was now ajar, i remember thinking how did that open! I looked to my left and there was a hooded figure standing next to my bed looking down on me, i did not feel alarmed or scared, i looked back at the window and it was closed then looked to my left and the figure was gone.

When i woke up the next day i told my dad, he said that during the night he felt like he could not move in bed, like something was pinning him down.

It was probably the strangest thing that has ever but happened to me, although nothing like that has ever happened since.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

About 18 I think. I lived in student accomodation at uni in the UK

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

On and off for 13 years, doesn't happen often just usually when I'm also suffering from insomnia... when I fall asleep I then develop sleep paralysis

3. What you saw (if anything).

It used to be a dark figure standing next to my bed "watching over me". About 3 years ago to changed to bright light flooding the room with no figure and a high pitched noise like a radio being tuned in.

4. What happened?

I couldn't see anything as couldn't open my eyes, but knew the figure was there and could kind of see it even though my eyes were glued shut or even I had my back turned. Usually I panicked, tried to ask who it was and what it wanted, but couldn't speak... generally crapped my pants until I suddenly broke free and woke up.

Same with the lights and sounds


5. How long did it last?

It feels like a few minutes maybe more, but in reality is probably just a matter of seconds

6. Was you able to do anything to stop it?

No, although if I relax I come out of it a lot quicker

7. Are you a religious person?

No

8. Was you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?

I heard a voice once but couldn't make it out, was a whispering sound... in reality it was probably just the noise of my wife breathing next to me that my brain interpreted incorrectly as whispering

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.

Negative

10. Was you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

No, just a bit freaked out

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


Yup.
About three times in the last 10 years. Only if I sleep on the floor.
Didn't see anything. Just felt like being watched.
Nothing. Paralysis is kinda like that.
About 2 minutes.
I don't know. Just wake up all the way and it stops.
Yes
Nope
Negative
Nope

My husband and I were just discussing it tonight, we originally started talking about astral projection and somehow got on this topic. I'll answer your questions as best as I can.


1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
Its happened to me as far back as I can remember. It happens so often to me that I tend to think nothing of it anymore. I am located in Oklahoma, and I've moved around between several states and it happens no matter where I live.

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
My earliest memory of it happening was when I was about 4, and it happens as often as every 3 months.


3. What you saw (if anything).
I usually see myself laying in bed, only once did I see a dark figure in my room.


4. What happened?
It usually starts when I become aware that I am sleeping, but fully aware. I feel heavy like something is sitting on me, but drowsy like something injected me with a tranquilizer. It never hurts, I'm just numb and heavy. Then when I realize I can't move, I begin to scream. The screaming starts in my head, and I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.


5. How long did it last?
When it happens, time is irrelevant. As far as I can tell, some nights its very short and I wake up with a gasp, others are more difficult for me.


6. Was you able to do anything to stop it?
Usually two things will happen. 1.My fight or flight mode kicks in and I sometimes mentally shake myself enough to wake up. When/if I wake up from it, I feel incredibly heavy, and almost unable to shake the drowsiness off. If this occurs, I end up falling back to sleep, only for the even to repeat itself. 2. if I just relax and let it happen, I'll drift off into a very very deep sleep.

7. Are you a religious person?
I consider myself Spiritual, but not overly religious.

8. Was you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
Never contacted by anything during sleep paralysis, but I have had many sleep phenomena occur in my lifetime. I have also seen many UFOs but never any extraterrestrials.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Mostly negative, I have read before that If I allow the feelings to take me over, I'll ease into a wonderful experience, but usually I just end up screaming in my head with no sound coming out.

10. Was you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
I don't think I would know, since its happened for so long in my life. My husband is used to me waking him up in the middle of the night, with some weird statement...like, "There is a man sitting on the television", or I'll think I'm dying, and I'll urge him to call an ambulance, but then I sort of regain consciousness and I look at him and ask him what happened, I vaguely remember saying it but it just seemed like a really vivid dream.

Have had it three or four times in my life. Only once did I experience what felt like a "presence" in the room, but I experienced it has a burglar who was trying to steal my things, not as an alien.

Most cases do not involve an "alien encounter," this is an erroneous statement. Most "aliens" is just one manifestation of the experience of a presence nearby to those suffering sleep paralysis. Thinking some sort of person or "being" is in the room with them is fairly common, but they aren't necessarily "usually" aliens.

1. first time I was in middle school - either 7th or 8th grade. I lived in suburban Baltimore at the time, where I grew up. Was in bed in my family's town house.
2. last experience was about 10 or 11 years ago (I am 39 now)
3. most times I saw nothing, it was mostly a feeling and a weird sort of internal, almost physical pain (very profound) and I couldn't move for what felt a long time. Only in one instance did I sense or see a presence and I thought it was a man robbing my apartment in Los Angeles - I was very scared he'd try to kill me.
4. (see #3)
5. felt like a minute or two in the case with the "robber". In the cases where I felt a kind of pain it seemed to go on and on and on. Time kind of lost meaning in those instances - very bad feeling when in that much pain.
6. no
7. agnostic, or some might classify me as a "weak atheist" (look it up)
8. nope
9. always negative
10. nope, just relieved when it was over in each case.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


I have had sleep paralysis a few times and will be speaking from experience.

It started when I was probably about 12 or thereabouts. And occured quite frequently. I always found the episodes very disturbing and was always freaked out about it. At that stage I was you young and gullible and also a very devout christian and was of the opinion that it was a demon trying to possess me, it was never accompanied by anything remotely alien like.

It happened quite frequently up untill about the age of 16 or thereabouts but became less and less frequent.

I have since learned what sleep paralysis is and it has nothing to do with alien abduction.

Sleep paralysis is merely the precursor to an out of body experience, If one is able to relax and stay calm when the process begins you can push yourself out of your body and astral travel.

As stated earlier this has not happened as frequently as when I was younger even though I wish it would. However I was able to astral travel, albeit only for a few seconds, a year ago.

I was reading up on it again and that same night I started experiencing sleep paralysis, total paralysis of the body accompanied by fear and a rushing sound, however I tried to stay calm and after a few seconds was thrust sideways out of my body. I found myself looking at my body lying on the bed. Unfortunately with astral travelling as soon as one becomes too excited or frightened you are immediately sucked back into you your body, and I woke very excited and elated about the experience.

I have since been trying to induce it again but have been unsuccesfull, I think this is because I am living quite a stressfull life right now and it tends to only happen when one is stress free.

If you want my advice, if you experience sleep paralysis try to remain calm ( i know how difficult it is considering how strange and scary it is ) imagine yourself floating out of your body. If you do happen to finally break free try to not look at your body since that usually excites you too much and you are sucked back into your body. Try some exploring and have fun, visit the places you have always wanted to visit. Remember there is nothing to fear except fear itself. This is very important do not be afraid.

Furthermore, do some research on astral travelling and you will inevitably find the asnwers you are looking for regarding sleep paralysis.

Sorry if you were expecting a more alien based approach, but this is my personal experience of sleep paralysis and OBE`s.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions. There are also a few other threads on the site dealing with sleep paralysis and astral travelling, just do a search. Good Luck.

www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Peace, love and respect.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


1. How old were you when it first happened / which area were you located?
26, Mid-Missouri, USA

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
It only happened once.


3. What you saw (if anything).
The blackest black I have ever seen, like an absence of anything, oozing up the wall, then out towards me. It was like if you poured deep-black slime down a board, then held the board horizontal facing down, so that the slime drips off in long strings.

4. What happened?
I had a loud ringing in my ears, then suddenly couldn't move at all, and saw the above.

5. How long did it last?
Only a few minutes, but seemed like an enternity.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
No, it stopped on its own.

7. Are you a religious person?
No.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
No.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Horribly negative; I have never experienced that kind of terror/horror. I didn't even know the true meaning of horror until that experience - the absolute helplessness of being completely paralyzed while something terrifying creeps toward you creates an absolute terror that is unlike any other experience. Words can't express the feeling of panic and dread. I felt that whatever it was, was pure evil and that if it touched me I would surely die.

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
I was very shaken, but also very relieved. I had never heard of sleep paralysis, but by strange coincidence, or perhaps synchronicity - I saw a show about this very subject only a few weeks later. I thought it was bizarre to see the show and hear about it for the first time so soon after it happened to me. Even before seeing the show though, I had no doubts that it was a natural phenomenon, and that I hadn't actually been attacked by an evil force.

In almost every sentence of your OP, you were going for the word "were", not "was."

Do you mind going back into your post and editing the english . Instead of starting the question with was you , start it with were you . was is incorrect used in this manner .

sorry its annoying me .
I see someone else has become annoyed at the same time . above and got in before me.

At one point i had it every time i went to sleep.

Three that i remember being particularly bad:

I felt hands on my legs pulling me down.

Felt something sitting on my chest holding me down, mouth filled with some kind of rusty taste, in my mind it was blood. Actually that was the first experience i ever had.

Another was when i heard vertical blinds rattling like someone was shaking them really fast. They were the blinds on my window.

Those were years apart and the other were just your ordinary run of the mill cannot move paralysis.

Oh another strange part of every time, i can remember, is the only part of my body that can move is my neck meaning i can turn my head but can't open my eyes and for some reason my jaw vibrates and honestly i can't do that on my own or while awake.

Ask me anything you want.

Sorry for not including this:

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?

I was around 17. Mine happened at three different locations and all were where i lived. First place it happened was a very strange house. So for me they occurred in three different houses and two different states.

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?

It lasted for a little over ten years and now i think they are basically gone.

3. What you saw (if anything).

I didn't see anything. In fact i cannot open my eyes.

4. What happened?

Pretty much what i explained above except i leave one part of one time it happened out and never wrote it down or told anyone.

Basically like others have said and since i found the internet i would say the experiences are very similar.

When people say out of body experience it does feel like you are leaving your body but in my case i fought it so if it was one i didn't want that to happen. Hard to explain though.

5. How long did it last?

Hard to say but they last for minutes and i have had one after another in the same night where i wake up from them go back to sleep and they just happen again within seconds or minutes of falling asleep but then you are like in between sleep and awake so i won't say i was actually sleeping. It isn't a dream as far as i am concerned.

6. Was you able to do anything to stop it?

I think that the struggle to break free stops it.

I said something and stopped it like turning on a switch. So there i was trying to scream but said one word and stopped it immediately. This was when i felt the hands, more like an animal paws with claws, pulling me down. Felt so real that i still vaguely remember the claws going into my skin.

7. Are you a religious person?

Yes and no.

8. Was you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?

Mostly audible, never saw anything.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.

Definitely nothing positive and the word terror accurately describes it.

10. Was you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)

I had no other effects. Since i was young when they began i just accepted it but it effected my sleep for many years. When i was young and didn't go on the internet i had no other explanation than to see them as....well i don't want to say it but it isn't good and that is an understatement.

Reading about other peoples experiences has helped me immensely.

First to see that i am not unique or cursed in some way. The really frightening part is that you always, or at least for me, feel as though something else or someone else is there with you but it isn't good.

Honestly, at this point i would say they wereare psychological. One way i tested that out is telling myself i am going to have one and sure enough i would have one.

hi RevelationGeneration,

im gonna give your quesitons a go, it seems like no one fully answers all your questions, il keep my answers brief and simple, ive experianced sleep paralysis.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
Its happened twice in the last two years

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
Its probably happened once or twice when i was a kid, and because its happened early this year then i have to say its still happening

3. What you saw (if anything).
I didint see anything but i did experiance what felt like someone sitting on my chest making my body unable to move.

4. What happened?
Every time its happened ive been laying in bed and then i sleep and wake up with a feeling that theirs someone pushing down on my chest and ive been screaming out "HEEEELLLPPPPP" repeatedly and nothing comes out of my mouth

5. How long did it last?
it felt like 5 or so minutes

6. Was you able to do anything to stop it?
Nothing at all, the times its happened to me all ive done is blackout out of fear and rewake up shortly after

7. Are you a religious person?
Yes

8. Was you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
I dont think so

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Definitly negative and quite scary, not somthing i like experiencing

10. Was you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
Yes i felt afraid and shaken up and since it happened when i was a kid i never wanted to feel it again but unfortanetly i have, i did feel different in myself... kind of like something was missing, that feeling usually goes away after a few days.

I hope that helps.