Sleep Paralysis has anyone had it?

reply to post by NocturnalPhantom

I think most of the claims on here are just made up.

Just because something did not happen to you or it is not in your field of experience does not mean it is made up. You have pretty much just accused a good majority of sufferers of sleep paralysis that have posted in the thread of being liars. It is difficult enough to share strange experiences with other people whether they be the things you see out of the corner of a conscious eye, dreams, paralysis or something you have difficulty describing because it is so foreign to your own understanding.
The very fact that it happens to so many people across the globe would at least suggest that something else is going on other than just a state of paralysis with no other residuals.

It could be an induced state to encourage subliminal suggestion, it could be a path or gateway to other dimensions or realities it could be a number of things. Yes it could even be simply a visual reaction in the brain of the person suffering the sleep paralysis. They may all differ slightly yet the fear element remains. It could even be that the heart stops or skips a beat or the sleeper may stop breathing momentarily and the brain works hard to kick start things again and that is why most or a good portion of sufferers experience fear. My guess is that the OP was trying to establish some parameters hence the number of questions relating to what people experienced, their ages, backgrounds, beliefs, time frame for the event etc.

After reading a lot of the responders posts I was surprised that the time frame for a lot of the experiences seem to amount to no more than a few minutes which could also correlate to dreams and waking during rem sleep. Considering some ancient civilizations could not distinguish between the waking and dream world and thought the later to be an extension of our own reality, I think your statement above holds no water.

To end : “I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?”
Chuang Tzu

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?
It's been happening all my life. Usually before I attempt an OBE, or invoke a lucid dream.
3. What you saw (if anything).
I used to see spooky figures when I was scared, but now that I know it's a normal process I no longer freak myself out.
4. What happened?
I would lay their paralyzed until I woke up. Once I understood what was happening I learned to astral project, and now I can invoke a lucid dream.
5. How long did it last?
a few seconds.
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
I would generally just struggle until I woke up.
7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
I believe in god.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say?
I don't think so.
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
It used to be negative when I didn't understand it. Now I welcome it, as I know it's just the door way to another level of consciousness
10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
No

It's demons. Plain and simple. There have been different names for this all throughout history, from all different civilizations, but the experience is always been described the same. for hundreds of years.
They are demons and the only way to free yourself is to call out the name of Jesus Christ.
Trust me. I have years of experience with this going back to my childhood in Salem,Massachusetts in, what I thought was a haunted house. God Bless.

Originally posted by turk182
It's demons. Plain and simple. There have been different names for this all throughout history, from all different civilizations, but the experience is always been described the same. for hundreds of years.
They are demons and the only way to free yourself is to call out the name of Jesus Christ.
Trust me. I have years of experience with this going back to my childhood in Salem,Massachusetts in, what I thought was a haunted house. God Bless.

No I'm sorry, sleep paralysis isn't caused by Demons...

I was in grade school the first time it happened. Other than the fact that I felt like I was wide awake but I couldn't open my eyes, move or talk, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on. I was in the suburbs of Detroit. I didn't see anything unusual. Nothing unusual took place.

It still happens on occasion but not very often.

Hello. I very rarely post on this website, but I found this thread rather intriguing because of experiences I have had, and I am choosing to post my information thinking that you will help decipher what could have happened here.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located? I was asleep within my bed room. I was between the ages of 12-14 years of age.
2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen? It has happened on 3 occasions that I can recall. It has not happened in 2 years.
3. What you saw (if anything).
2001-2004 Event: I remember waking up and speaking with someone. I am unsure who or about what. I remember not being able to move any limbs, but I did not feel threatened, just scared. The next morning I could not recall anything or remember how I fell back to sleep.
2007 Summer: I woke up again, not being able to move any limbs. Had trouble breathing, calmed myself down and fell back to sleep. It wasn't a good or bad feeling. It was kind of like, I need to go back to sleep.
October 2009: Same issues as before. Could not move or feel limbs. I remember speaking with someone, could not recall the conversation. I remember a face in a decent amount of detail, I could not get the picture out of my head for a few days. The "person" had a darker skin tone, dark eyes, a slice or cut between the right eye, and had a negative presence about him. I awoke the next day somewhat frightened.

5. How long did it last? The First and Last Instance, I could not recall. I fell asleep and woke up with only a brief recollection. I would say 5-10 minutes on the last event.
6. Were you able to do anything to stop it? All I know is I awoke the next day on 2 cases, and fell back to sleep during another account.
7. Are you a religious person? Sometime around the first event, I was told by my parents to try to pick a religion. I was briefly studying Protestant and Catholic religions. I did not decide on one. I believe that there is a higher spiritual power, but I do not be leave in affiliation's with modern religions.
8. Were you contacted by something, if so what did it/they say? Yes. No recollection.
9. Did the experience feel positive / negative. 1 Negative, 1 Neutral, 1 50/50
10. Were you left with any after effects? Read Below:

The October 2009 Incident was rather breathtaking. Roughly 2 days after the event, around Halloween of 2009, I was attending a Halloween Party. For some reason, I drank myself into alcohol poisoning and to the point where I was not breathing for an upwards of 5-6 minutes. I awoke, and was rushed to the ER by means of Ambulance. As I was in the hospital, I have a documented medical report of what I said in the ER. When the doctor was drawing my blood to perform a Blood Alcohol Level test, I ripped the needle and shoved him against the wall, and told him he could not have my blood because I was recently abducted by aliens. I continued to speak in "gibberish", and then spoke about an unbreakable sin, which I was going to hell for. Briefly after the last sentence, I was sedated for pushing the Nurse/Doctor. I woke up the next day, given a speech by doctor's and my parent's about what I said. They laughed off the whole alien talk, and asked me about the unbreakable sin. I did not have an answer for them. Doctor's shortly entered the room, and offered mental help. I denied, and went on my way.

I have no reason to lie on this story, although you all are skeptics, and will try to decipher and disprove these two events. If I knew an artist, I would contribute a picture of what I saw, because it is still fresh in my mind today. Although these two occasions, a few days apart, may or may not be connected, I like to think they are not, but maybe you guys can help me to decide. It could be the alcohol talking, but the alcohol could also be releasing my subconscious in my opinion. Who knows, it is an interesting story, and I already know you will deny my accounts to the grave because I will not nor will I ever post medical records over a website. But, I can assure you, they are documented.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration



it's a phenomenon i was always intrigued by, and did not experience it until VERY recently. i am in my early 20s, and i woke up in the middle of the night and could not move, the whole experience lasted less than 15 seconds as i rapidly fell back asleep but i distinctly remember trying to reach over to touch my girlfriend but could not.. i felt very real terror for the few seconds of memory i have of it.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


Maybe I've had it, maybe not. You didn't actually say what it was, so I wouldn't know.

No ET encounters though, so no doubt you aren't interested in my account.

When I was young I suffered from night terrors. These are much worse than nightmares. But I don't recall them. Everyone in my house recalls me having them though. I had them into my late teens, but less often as the years went by.

This happened when i was about 8 or 9(1998-1999) I live in New Zealand I was asleep in bed with my two older brothers in the room when i was lifted to sitting position in my bed something was holding me by the arms at the shoulders I opened my eyes but thats all I could do Im not sure if i was jus sacred petrified or what but the being or alien was invisble but still able to see it like the predator it was just looking at me as if it were studying me.I could hear this wierd sound or drone coming from it.. sounded like yuris mind control off red alert 2.. after it was looking at me it lasted about 5 seconds it just dropped me back into bed and i fell straight to sleep again..

Woke up in the morning running around waking up everyone and giving them bats or clubs for weapons saying that aliens are here and tried to abduct me..jumped into bed with my mom n dad but everyone just assumed I had a bad dream and had been watching too much ex-files and outer limits or that sci - fi stuff that Ive always been curious about..

Eventually just forgot about overtime and moved on never has that happened again but for some reason I always make sure theres no gaps in my curtains before bed as one of them has a rip..I wake up the odd time in the middle of the night with the feeling somethings watching me or is near I just close my eyes go back to sleep..must be paranoid.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


I've never posted on here before, but this is a thread that caught my attention immediately.

1. I was 20, so three years ago. I was living in Nebraska

2. It happens randomly, the last episode I experienced was probably 6 or so months ago.

3-4. I was laying on my side, when I woke up. Or I think I woke up. It was that weird in-between phase. I heard what sounded like a buzzing, or like a static-machinery type noise. It's obviously hard to explain. I couldn't move, and it scared the hell out of me. (I've learned to relax a little more whenever it happened after the first episode.) I couldn't move a single muscle in my body, it was what I imagined being paralyzed is like, I suppose. I was trying to scream, I can honestly say that I thought I was dying. I could only move my eyes. Somewhere in a dark corner of my peripheral, I could see . . . I don't know, darkened figures. That was probably the scariest part, it was less seeing them, and more sensing them in the room.

5. This lasted approximately 3-4 minutes, but it's nearly impossible to really gauge the time, because I just drifted back into sleeping.

6. I was absolutely helpless during the entire episode.

7. I was raised evangelical christian. (yeah, i know) I know now the difference between religion and spirituality, if that makes sense. I don't consider myself religious. "People are my religion, because I believe in them." let's put it that way.

8. There was no real contact with these "entities" or whatever they were. Just an overwhelming feeling of dread.

9. Negative. Well, the first one. Subsequent episodes have enabled me some sort of comfort with the whole ordeal. I'm less freaked out and more inquisitive as to why this is happening. It has since become somewhat enlightening I guess. I'm just not as afraid as I was. Just curious.

10. There were no real after affects, accept the ones I had to deal with internally. I remember waking up the morning after the first one and thinking "What the hell was THAT?"

I've been very interested in the dream world for as long as I can remember. Things like this just fascinate me. So even though it's something that I don't quite understand for the time being, it is something that I want to learn more about. I've done a lot of research into it since this started happening to me, and I've turned up a lot of interesting things.

I hope this helps.

Also, there's a really good album by Dredg called el cielo. It's a concept album about sleep paralysis. That's not a plug or anything, just sayin'.

Peace be the journey.

-bearplane

A couple years ago, I remember this very vividley.. waking up suddenly, breathing hard, not being able to move, and hearing a woman whisper "Austin, hurry up" in my right ear.. very close.. After I heard that whisper I could move.. I frantically moved to see if someone was in my bed even though I knew there wasn't... I still can't explain that feeling to this day... very interesting..

Originally posted 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.

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)

1.) 25 I think, northeast US (sorry, I don't give more specifics on here)
2.) Only happened once
3.) Nothing
4.) IIRC, I was having a nightmare of some kind and became conscious, and struggled to open my eyes. This was actually during the daytime, I was mostly sleeping during the day at that point. Although I was conscious and able to lift my eyelids enough to see my bedroom, my body felt like it had lead weights attached to everything and I was unable to move anything else. Through sheer willpower and forcing myself to move, I was slowly able to break out of it. I was afraid at the time that some kind of alien visitation would happen/was happening, but I attribute it to fear alone. There was nothing seen, heard or otherwise experienced, other than the fear of it.
5.) Several minutes
6.) Yes, see #4
7.) I consider myself a doubting christian or open-minded agnostic
8.) Nothing
9.) Negative, mainly just scary
10.) Extreme grogginess and lethargia.

1. I was 3 or 4 years old when I experienced my first bout with sleep paralysis.
2. This was one part of a spate of sleep issues I had during childhood. I had night terrors and sleep walking as well. I gradually grew out of them until I was about 12 years old and I haven't had them since. I'll be 30 this year.
3. I remember waking up and seeing a blue, shimmering, almost liquid-like light in my room. I was completely unable to move, and when I tried to call for my parents all that came out was whispers. I remember looking at the lamp shade on the lamp at the foot of my bed and being terrified of something I saw there but I don't recall actually seeing anything. It was one of those dream logic things that don't make sense. Fear of an inanimate object just because of how it looks (too blue, oddly shaped, etc.)
4. I experienced paralysis and the inability to speak, as well as what felt like difficulty breathing. Then it suddenly stopped, and as though a weight were lifted off of me, I got up and ran into my parents' bedroom terrified. I slept the rest of the night in their room.
5. Difficult to gauge time when sleeping. I'd estimate 30 seconds at most.
6. No. I finally just woke up.
7. I was at that time. My family was Catholic. I'm agnostic today.
8. Not that I'm aware of. I felt a presence at the foot of my bed near the lamp shade I was terrified of, but beyond that nothing I can recall.
9. At the time, horrific. But I was a little kid having a nightmare, so that's not unusual.
10. Just the usual "post-night terror" feeling that sufferers will understand but have difficulty articulating. It's like a tense delirium that makes you feel very strange and then you become abruptly exhausted and just have to fall back asleep as if you're out on your feet. If I recall correctly, it's related to a serotonin imbalance that develops during sleep.

I have experienced it multiple times in the last 10 years or so. Seems to occur to me when I become aware that I am dreaming and attempt to wake up. I usually experience multiple layers of dreaming while attempting to wake up. It's the final layer before waking is where it can be a bit scary, your mind is aware of your body but your body wont respond. Needless to say I was terrified the first time around but I have trained myself to repeat the phrase "I am awake" when I become lucid, each repetition of the mantra takes me to the next layer until I am physically awake where I can actually hear myself say it the final time.

Sorry about the lack of alien abductions, demonic presence ect. It's a rather mundane experience to me at this point. The dreams on the other hand are anything but mundane but I prefer to keep that to myself. Best of luck to you with your research.

Originally posted 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.

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)

1. I was 24 and I live in arctic canada
2. It happened only once that I am absolutely 100% sure of... the second one that I may have experienced was when I was a young child (not sure if it was a nightmare or sleep paralysis).
3. The last time, I didn't see anything, I just felt like my body weighed 1 million tons and that my arms and legs were "asleep" and tingling... I couldn't move them at all and talking was not possible either. In my childhood I remember being stuck in bed, seeing things all around my bed, they looked like beings but I couldn't tell what they were... They looked like my stuffed animals but they weren't... Eyes were looking at me but I couldn't tell who's they were...
4.See above...
5. Not sure, for the last one, nor the first one...
6. Nothing
7. Nope, don't believe in anything...
8. I was not contacted, or at least I was not aware of being contacted.
9. They both felt weird, but the first was probably the most scary one. The last one was more of an "oh crap I can't move or talk" moment... I was trying my hardest to move and I could feel myself lifting my arms off the bed just 1mm but I couldn't get it up any more than that...I was really trying hard...
10. Not that I noticed...

I have experienced what i believe to have been sleep paralysis twice and they were very different.

The first experience was around when i was 16. I remember "waking up" at night, facing the wall next to my bed with my back towards my room. I felt a dark and tall figure standing behind me, next to my bed. I could not move nor make any sounds. Every time i tried to move, i not only couldn't, but i also felt pain.

I felt like the figure was nothing to be terrified of, but that i needed to treat it with respect, as it was something more powerful than me. It also communicated with me, i don't know how, but i just knew. It explained that if i don't try to move and do what he says everything would be OK.

Then things got weird. It sounds ridiculous, but it wanted me to do things for it... like doing quests on a computer game or something like that. An when i agreed, i would "fall asleep" again, and i dreamed of being in various places in my home town and doing these things for him. I can't really remember what these things were. Later it felt like i had been running errands for him.

When he asked me to do something, i was back in my room, paralyzed and when i agreed, i kind of felt like falling asleep and doing what it had asked me to do in a dream. After repeating about three of those cycles i remember deciding enough is enough and forced myself to turn over in my bed to see what that thing was. I screamed in my head, and managed to turn over despite the pain. And the moment i had turned over, the feeling of being paralyzed disappeared and no one was standing next to my bed. I believe i had really woken up when i managed to turn over. I remember being awake for some time, feeling scared and then falling asleep since i felt exhausted.

What i find interesting was the illusion of a dream within a dream when i went on these so called "quests" for him.

Now, when the previous experience left me rather terrified the next one was a positive experience. I remember "waking up" at night the same way, facing the wall with my back towards the room, lying in my bed. This time the situation was familiar to me so i forced myself to turn over right away and when i did, i saw a face next to my bed. It looked like an old man with blonde hair and a beard was squatting, his face looked calm and peaceful. Nevertheless i was frightened by actually seeing something and i punched the face, twice and it really felt like i had hit something not just air. The third punch, thought, hit nothing and the face had disappeared. I guess i really woke up in the middle of throwing the third punch.

Why this experience was positive is because of the feeling i had after really waking up. I knew what had happened wasn't real but i still felt powerful, like nothing could harm me since i managed to "defeat" the "squatting man".

And no, I am not a religious person. I'd say i believe in the power of consciousness.

I have experienced it, but it had nothing to do with aliens. So therefore i wont comment on this thread and help you out with your research. As you have already a closed mind of these encounters and where they orginate from.

1. How old was you when it first happened / which area was you located?
I was 16. I'm 32 now, and althoughI still occasionally have SP, it is NEVER like it was when I was 16. I was living in Olympia, Washington USA.


2. How long has it been going on/does it still happen?
Still occasionally happens but not like the first time.

3. What you saw (if anything).
I saw flashing light, but couldn't turn my head to see what was causing it. I also heard a wind or whirring sound.

4. What happened?
I awoke flat on back, there was definitely something going on in my room that I couldn't explain, and not being able to move was weird and terrifying. I could only move my eyeballs, but struggled to get my mouth open and scream. What can out was horse and as faint as a whisper. At that point I felt totally helpless and remember thinking whatever this is it's got me, I'm at it's mercy.

5. How long did it last?
Not long, ten seconds or so.

6. Were you able to do anything to stop it?
No, it abruptly just ended. I sat up and had no idea WTF had just happened.

7. Are you a religious person? (elaborate)
No, and I never have been. However, I've had a fascination with the alien/UFO topic since childhood.

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

9. Did the experience feel positive / negative.
indifferent...it makes for a cool story, but it wasn't fun when it was happening.

10. Were you left with any after effects? (Feeling sick or different in yourself)
I felt full of energy, like something really amazing had happened to me even though I had no explanation for it.


I've recounted the tale a few times on ATS. If you want the whole story then let me know.

LS206.

reply to post by RevelationGeneration


Interestingly enough a couple of co-workers and I were discussing weird things that have happened to us a few months back and I related to one of the most strange and frightening things I had experienced. It was about five years ago now and my wife and I were living in an old house.

My wife claims to have experienced so very unusual things in the house and on several occasions I experienced things I still cant explain. Anyhow, I had gone to bed very early (about 9) on this particular night as I was feeling really poorly. I don't normally go to be before 4 am since I work second shift, so this was a rarity for me. At some point that night, before my wife came to bed, I woke up. I was staring into my closet, fully awake and completely unable to move. The sense of dread and out and out terror I felt can not be described. I've had people who were quite literally holding a gun in my face threatening to kill me and it didn't even come close to this. There was something in the closet, I don't know what it was, nor do I care but IT was the source of this terror. The only thought I had was that IT was going to come out of the closet and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it.

Whatever it was, I caught a flash of it as it came at me from the closet and how that scream never got past my throat I will never know. My throat hurt for three days after that. All of a sudden I could move and breathe again and that feeling of terror was gone. It probably lasted all of ten or twenty seconds but as far as I am concerned it felt like forever. I was fully awake and aware I just couldn't do ANYTHING! I have never felt so un-manned (for lack of a more precise term) as I did in that ten or twenty seconds.

After relating this story to my co-workers one told me that I had been visited by the old hag. I started searching the internet about the legend of the old hag and came across a few site talking about sleep paralasys (sp?) but I clicked away because it wasn't what I was looking for. Even as I was typing this out I was getting chills and that fingernails on the chalkboard shivers just recalling that. It happened when I was telling my friend about the episode. I think maybe that is what convinced him. He said he knew what I was feeling so I assume something similar happened to him also although he refused to explain what he meant by he understood.

Well thats the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Hope this helps.

1. I was 38ish and I live in Illinois
2. Just the one time as far as I can recall (I've killed a lot of brain cells through the years.)
3. my closet was pitch black but I could see something even darker moving around in it.
4. see related experience above.
5. see related experience above.
6. no
7. I believe in God, I don't believe in religion.
8. no
9. Terrifyingly negative. Maus80 your answer to #9 was exactly what I felt.
10. I wanted to vomit but managed to refrain. (I'm pretty sure the wife would have been upset with that.)

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

no it isnt.....

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

what kind of research? id check your sources

this phenomena has and is being studied properly with experiements and no aliens are involved.

My Ex girlfriend used to get them.. i have all the research i need to know its nothing to do with aliens