Sleep Paralysis has anyone had it?

reply to post by RevelationGeneration



1. I was very young when this started, like 4yo. I has all sorts of weird things happen to me when i was younger.

2. No it doesnt happen now, it's as if i can ignore things and then they dont happen to me anymore.

3. I used to 'dream' that I was floating down the stairs. I cant remember seeing anything though. Oh apart form myself floating down the stairs that is, it was as if i was seeing it from another persons viewpoint.

4. I lifted from the bed and floated about, the one main instance i remember was floating down the stairs and watching my mum sat there watching tv.

5. Didnt last long, about 5/6mins i think

6. Nothing stopped it.

6. Im not religious

7. No

8. No idea

9. It felt euphoric when it was happening but i 'woke up' and i fell onto the stairs.

10. The after effect was i was terrified.

reply to post by Rising Against


maybe people havent been abducted by aliens but instead suffer from hsp which makes much more sense than being abducted. Its B.S. if they say its a demon or alien because its not jesuc christ people take some time to research the subject before you say that its paranormal.

Occasionally when I suffer from sleep paralysis, and am unable to move, I am able to kind of pry myself out of my body, and walk around. Usually this happens with me trying to sit up,or move, but being unable. Eventually I'm able to lift an arm, but realize there is no weight or gravity on it. I am then able to 'peel' the rest of myself out of my body, so to speak.

I don't know if this is astral projection, or lucid dreaming. Though if I really am on the astral plane, I need to apologize to some of those beings for...um...having my way with them, so to speak.

It happened to me twice, while staying with my uncle prior to a move. The first time I was laying down in bed and the second, sitting up. I could have accounted for the first as being what many claim as scientifically explainable but the second I was wide awake which led me to question both experiences and lean toward the side that believes something not quite right is going on. Both were the most terrifying waking moments of my life and I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.

I've heard that my uncle has dabbled in the occult and that his side of the family apparently have more pronounced psychic traits so I assumed it was some kind of attack due to being nearby and perhaps vulnerable but who knows.

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

This is true for me as well, I have only ever had sleep paralysis in my old bedroom in my parents house, never in my Uni flat...interesting!

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
around 22 - living in St Annes in England
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
Happened once
3. What you saw (if anything).
Felt something more than saw anything
4. What happened?
Woke up - felt something was near me - and if I had not been aware of this phenomenon beforehand I have no question I would have been pretty terrified. As it was I just waited for the rest of my body to wake up - which I felt like I was fighting to make it do....but there was still a small bit of my brain that thought there was something in my room
Felt something more than saw anything
5. How long did it last?
Felt like a few minutes - but I suspect it was only seconds
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
Only conciously try and move my arms and legs - then it was gone
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
Not hugely - have a belief in some form of afterlife, Was bought up as a catholic but not a real churchgoer etc.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
No
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Neither really - just felt out of my control.
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
None I could see...just a sense of powerlessness in the event that I fought to stop..

Hope this helps?
This is a completely honest account of what happened - but was over 10 years ago - yet still the memory is strong in my mind of the event so I know it is right.

Regards

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located? It's been happening since I can remember...maybe 2..3 years old. I live in Upstate New York.
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen? I'm 31 years old now, so maybe 28 years. Yes, it still happens.
3. What you saw (if anything). I've had lots of visual hallucinations, but the most common occurence, was the feeling of an evil presence. I couldn't see it, but knew it was there. Such as a form that you can't sense with your eyes, but you can still perceive it. It always felt like death to me. I've also witnessed shadows moving in the corners of my room and various other hallucinations such as animals and bugs.
4. What happened? Nothing really. Intense fear. Feeling like I couldn't move an inch, but I eventually broke free of that and no longer have sleep paralysis but still the hallucinations.
5. How long did it last? The actual sleep paralysis/hypnagogic hallucinations don't usually last long - maybe a minute or two, but sleep episodes in which you're dreaming, can last a while.
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it? Nope, just let it run its course.
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate) Never, but in the last few years I've become a very spiritual person.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say? Not when I was young, but the last couple of years I've experienced "downloads" of information, which I don't know where they come from.
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative. Negative, but I consider the "downloads" to be a very positive and spiritually uplifting experience.
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)Not so much, but after having these instance for 2 weeks straight, you literally feel like you're going crazy.

I feel like I should also mention a few other aspects of my sleep paralysis/hypnagogic hallucinations.

1. Sometimes I get auditory hallucinations with them. I hear one sound in particular - that of a sharp, gong-like tone with an unusually echoey reverberation.

2. Experience pressure in the middle of my forehead or in the base of my skull usually accompanied by a lightheaded sensation or "head rush".

3. Intermittent streaks of blinding white light. Occasionally, I'll get this one I've closed my eyes, but still awake.

4. Paranormal experiences: strange sounds, footsteps walking up stairs when no one is there, etc.

heard about it for years from my sister who is very religious and tbh I always thought she was making this up or just had bad dreams... until it happened to me 6 months ago. it was during the day, I was lying in bed, radio was on and I had no intention to sleep. but obviously it happened and when I woke up I had the feeling that somone else took control over my body. I was paralyzed for approx. 3 minutes and since I was lying on my belly I didn't see or hear anything out of normal... I don't know why but I remembered my sister's advice and being terrified as I was I tried to say "in the name of the light back off". At first I couldn't say a word but then I started to get angry and kept trying and finally I was able to finish the whole sentence. Instantly the paralysis was gone... at first I was scared and suspected something evil. but the more I think about it the more I prefer the scientific explanation that it is just a rare case where your body and your mind are not in sync and the body wakes up later than your brain... maybe it is just wishful thinking but it works perfectly for me...

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


Yes. Only once. About 20 years old in the UK.
Woke up with odd feeling I was not alone. Totally paralized. Eyes open to see shadows only - light & dark.
From one side silent at first what I can only describe as a mechanical whirring sound grew louder - eventually very loud on top of me pressing down but I do not recall physical contact - just pressure holding me down - hard to explain. Was dark over me when happening - like there was something there - as I said just shadows I could not focus. Then noise slowly went towards the same way it entered. I then regained control of my body & it was over. Was very unsettled for days later.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
Between the age of 8 and 12. This has happened to me numerous times, maybe 8 times total.

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
It stopped around 12. It hasn't happened since then, thank god.

3. What you saw (if anything).
Nothing particular, just my bed room at the time. I can sometimes see my body but from a normal perspective since I was able to crack eye lids sometimes.

4. What happened?
It feels as if right before I mentally fall asleep I get "stuck" in this area that's half way between sleep and awake. It's one of the most unpleasant feelings. There is really no way to get out of it. I would be able to crack my eye lids and see my body and the room. I was able to move my arm but it took a lot of "mental strength". I wouldn't be able to move it fast or much at all.

5. How long did it last?
From what it felt like, about 5 mins. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
I was able to mentally wake myself up but it's really tough to do because your mind is asleep so you don't have 100% of your brain. I had to really focus hard to get out of it. Sometimes I would get out of it, go back to sleep and find myself back in it.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
Catholic but never really religious.

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

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
Negative, I was pissed because I just wanted to fall asleep.

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


On a side note. Check out the album El Cielo by the band Dredg. Some of the songs are sleep paralyses related. And the liner notes contain stories of victims.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
I was elementary school aged - not sure exactly, maybe 7. I was located in my bed (midwest USA)

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
This happens every so often, maybe once every 6 months, and then there are times where it is more frequent where I might have a few episodes during a 6 month period.

3. What you saw (if anything).
I have never had any visuals associated with it; except for the one time I floated above myself and looked down at my sleeping body (at age 22)

4. What happened?
What has always been consistent was the feeling of paralysis - sometimes I felt completely paralyzed, sometimes I would feel as if I was being "pulled". Very intense. I never had visuals, but in addition to the paralysis, there were a few some episodes of auditory noises. Once it was the loudest most intense buzzing I have ever heard. Once I heard my front door open (my front door makes a very distinct noise when opened). Once I heard a high pitched noise. Regardless of if auditory sounds were present, I always felt there was a "presence" - one I never saw, but felt. Most often, my emotional response was fear or terror in response to the "presence" and the occasional auditory sounds.

5. How long did it last?
I'm sure moments, minutes at most - but it felt like an eternity.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
I couldn't move (they don't call it sleep paralysis for nothing) so it was sheer will power - I was willing myself to "pull" myself out of it. Usually works. The tough part is that I often fall back into paralysis if I don't keep myself awake for a bit after an episode.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
I've never been associated with an organized religion, but I consider myself spiritual and a student of life.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
Never contacted, but I have felt a presence. Sometimes I interpreted it as a malevolent non-physical presence, or a robber.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
I always felt fear except for the time I was able to get beyond the initial fear I was able to very briefly astral project.

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
When I was younger, the after effect was a great amount of fear (didn't help that I used to watch the TV show "Sightings"). But now the after affect is me getting mad at myself for getting caught up in the fear of the moment because I know if I can fricken relax I might be able to go on one heck of a carpet ride!

Something really scary happened to me about a year ago and it involved sleep paralysis. For a few weeks every few nights I would wake up at about 4am to the noise of helicopters in my back garden. I was starting to get very irritated by this and was wondering what the hell they were doing. One night I went over to the window and to my surprise the helicopter had its search light on but it was pointed up into the sky! I seen the helicopter during the day a few times, they were black and unmarked.

For some reason at this time I would also wake up with a strong mental image of either ETs or their craft and had disturbed dreams which include sleep paralysis. One thing worries me quite a bit, when I go to bed I close my bedroom door slightly but never completely. I woke up 3 times during that period and my bedroom door was shut!
I was seriously thinking about getting a motion triggered night cam and putting it in my room because of this.
Other strange thing, I woke up one morning and there was blood on my pillow, ever since then I have had something in my left ear irritating me. Could be all just a coincidence, maybe the helicopters were stressing me out, anyway rather not think about it too much, creepy!

reply to post by LUXUS

For a few weeks every few nights I would wake up at about 4am to the noise of helicopters in my back garden

Check the news re the helicopters and if there is someone else in the house, wake them up so they can see them too. (I do this to my husband as often as possible to his annoyance whenever I can simply so I know I didn't imagine it.) I actually live directly under the local flight path for the air force base so planes and stuff go over all night and day. The other night though, around 1 am a low flying helicopter was sweeping the neighborhood with a floodlight. It was so low it shook the windows.Turns out they were looking for a young man who had stolen a gun and shot someone. If there is no public record, it may have been military exercises?
As for the blood on your pillow, if you are not partial to nose bleeds or ear infections, perhaps go to your local GP and get it checked out.
During sleep paralysis I have tried to turn my bedside lamp on and it will not turn on. Yet I can wake an hour later to the bedside lamp on. It may be possible that you are closing the door due to a sleepwalking event so a camera will possibly confirm that. Good idea.
I forgot to mention during my own posts in this thread, that as a child I used to sleep walk so I suspect it is another connection to sp.

Originally posted by RevelationGeneration
reply to post by JDARK11

 

Very bad, but i'd recommend taking a pic and making a thread about it as there might be a normal explanation for it. Not everything is demonic, but these things can happen.

Your words, the emphasis is mine. You are right, not everything is demonic. It is silly to just assume that all accounts of sleep paralysis and alien abductions are demons. Actually, I don't see a reason to assume any of them are. When you wake up not being able to move, it is a very frightening experience. Feeling an 'evil' presence, or 'sensing' someone else in the room is a side effect of this. Of course no one is going to sense a benevolent presence and be happy when they wake up frightened, and unable to move.

It's possible a small portion of these experiences may be supernatural in nature, though I am doubtful. The much more reasonable explanation is that's it's a natural phenomena in the brain. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis yourself? Or are you just playing armchair pseudo-scientist? This has been happening to me for 10+ years. That must be a #ing persistent demon.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration

I began experiencing sleep paralysis at around age 16 while in high school in Southern California. It would happen in my own bed as well as other places I fell asleep.

I would experience sleep paralysis quite frequently from ages 16 to 21, and the experiences were most intense at ages 19-20, which was a time I was deeply involved in the Christian church lifestyle. I'm now 32 and I rarely have it happen now. It's been at least 3-4 years.

Normally I would wake up paralyzed but still able to see the room around me in reality. Whatever dream/nightmare I was having at the time of waking would still be going on, the images/people from my dream would be all around me in the room. It was like my dreams were crossing into the real world.

I would wake up paralyzed and be able to see things in reality, like the time on a clock. If the clock said 2:36am when I awoke paralyzed, it would still say 2:36 when I snapped out of it and regained control of my body.While frozen, I could also see if someone else in the house was passing by, and I would try to yell for help but I couldn't. The only thing I could do was blink my eyes and breathe.I also felt that my involuntary breathing was disabled, and I had to actually think and concentrate to breathe. This was the scariest part. There was one occasion when I decided to not think about breathing while paralyzed, and I felt like I was suffocating after a few seconds.

When I was 19, I moved into a house with a group of Christian friends, and I began going to church regularly and striving to live the Christian lifestyle, along with my friends. I was "saved" one Sunday night and my roommates were ecstatic. I lived this lifestyle for about a year before moving out of the house at age 20, and at that point I stopped going to church and striving to live the Christian lifestyle.

In that year of dedication to the Christian faith I started to have much more intense experiences with sleep paralysis. I would wake up paralyzed and see strange, sometimes horrifying entities in my bedroom at the "Christian" house. One time the lion face on the giant blanket covering my window started talking to me (though I couldn't understand what it was saying). Another time a creature entered my room that was my girlfriend from the waist up, but appeared to be a centaur with a beast or animal body from the waist down.

While living at the house I also would wake up on my feet, screaming in either the hall bathroom or my roommate's room across the hall. This would wake up everyone in the house and was particularly scary for my roommate across the hall, who would wake up to me terrified and screaming standing at the foot of his bed. In these instances, I wouldn't be able to remember anything about what I was dreaming about or why I was screaming, and I would have no recollection of ever leaving my bed.

The sleep paralysis incidents would happen for at least 2-3 years after I moved out of that house. There was one more terrifying sighting I had at the place I moved after that house, when I woke up and for a fraction of a second my roommate appeared to shape shift into a giant gear-like creature with tentacles. That was the last time I had a "vision", at age 21.

I saw my doctor and he said I was experiencing cataplexy, and that he had the same problem when he was younger. He said it would eventually go away, and for the most part it has in my adulthood. I had my last experience with "cataplexy" in my late 20s.

When paralyzed, I couldn't do anything but blink my eyes and try to breathe. I always felt that I had to summon an inner strength from deep within to break out of the frozen state. The one time I didn't try to summon the inner strength was the time I felt I was suffocating, which compelled me to summon the strength.

I am no longer religious and haven't been in more than 10 years. At age 32, my beliefs are constantly evolving and changing, but I don't subscribe to any religion.

If something was contacting me, it never said anything I could comprehend, but displayed terrifying visuals . The experience always felt dreadfully negative. I can't sleep in complete darkness to this day.These sleep paralysis episodes were one of the main reasons I stopped going to church and living with my religious friends.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
About 14-16. Northern GA (in bed.) It scared the hell out of me the first time it happened!

2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
Happens every month or so. Always and only if I am sleeping on my back.

3. What you saw (if anything).
I didn't see anything since I was paralyzed and couldn't open my eyes. I sometimes feel presences though. Nameless and shapeless. Usually I sense them as being everywhere around me but without form or shape. Just like... "something" is in the room with me. This is pretty seldom though.

4. What happened?
I snap out of it and roll over and go back to sleep.

5. How long did it last?

30-45 seconds

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
Focus on wiggling my toes and that snaps me out of it.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
I believe in God and am a Christian but I am otherwise secular.

8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
Nope. Sometimes I hear voices saying things in a deep basal tone. I don't know what they say.

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
It was frightening the first couple of times, and now it is a neutral experience.

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

For what it's worth, sometimes I slip into an altered state of conciousness and can feel myself as being weightless and something (some force) is dragging me off of the bed, sometimes off of the floor. This happens to me a few times per month months, and always when I am trying to go to sleep on my side. Never happens when I'm on my back or on my stomach (how I usually sleep.) It usually startles me but sometimes I try to remain calm and see where it takes me. I am just continually dragged and dragged on one direction.

The actual feeling of being dragged somewhere off of my bed is not frightening, but the feeling of being in an altered state is what startles me. The feeling of not being in control startles me although I am nor afraid of anything. After I snap out of it and try to go back to sleep, I can often feel myself going back into that state of conciousness and that makes it hard to sleep... I roll over and calm down and it happens again. It's like... well I can't describe it.

For what it's worth, I firmly believe it's just some biological process we normally don't get to experience. I don't think it's supernatural.

Not a personal experience, but one that was related to me by my brother a good 17years ago. Oddly because we where talking about Alien Abductions and he put forward the Sleep Paralysis idea, I hadn't heard of it at the time.

He woke up in the middle of the night (not sure of what time he mentioned) in his 4th floor loft believing he was seeing a giant demonic lizard man climbing the building outside his studios window and trying to get in and get him and he couldnt move a single muscle in his body. By a giant demonic lizard man I mean 30+ feet tall, king kong style . He said it lasted a few good minutes and absolutely terrified him but he couldn't move or do anything until it ended and he could move again.

He had no adverse effects from the experience, he is non religious and got nothing out of the event besides learning to recognize them. He's had one or two other night terrors before although i don't know the details of them.

Me personally ive never had one, although ive had one or two very vivid dreams where I swear I was awake only to find myself waking up. Nothing like Sleep Paralysis though.

reply to post by Warpthal


Sleep paralysis is not necessarily a pre-symptom of astral projection. Sleep paralysis is a natural mechanism and usually happens to everyone to stop them from acting out their dreams. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way, hence the reason why some people sleepwalk. The fact that most people are aware of sleep paralysis, yet have no recollection of astral projecting is proof of that.

Yes, I have exp. it one time in my life... prolly 18 months ago. It hasn't happened since.

I "woke" up to a loud buzzing sound... it felt like I was being electrocuted... my eyes were open, it was dark, I was trying to move but couldn't. The buzzing got louder as did the sensation...My head felt like it was moving front to back really fast (like the demons in Jacob's Ladder" ) Then I heard "WAKE UP"... and it all stopped Pretty much the weirdest thing that ever happened to me. My neck sore for a few days after...

reply to post by Alpal


I have them from time to time. Usually force myself to wake status and realize that I was in what I call "neverland". Slightly aware of the real world but my dream state is still running in my brain. The awake side of my brain is confused and dreams and reality mix causing breathing difficulties, and anxiety. When I wake fully, I usually find that what I was seeing through my barely open eyes is the real world, but had been mixed with my dream world.