Sleep paralysis stories typically involve unusual and frightening experiences. Perhaps you have one or two of these disturbing tales of your own to tell.
If not, I’ll first share one of mine to give you an understanding of what it can be like.
Then we’ll take a closer look at whether sleep paralysis demons or ghosts really exist. Or if science can provide a logical and comforting explanation.
My sleep paralysis experience
Imagine the following scenario: it’s been a long day, you go to bed later than usual and fall asleep quickly through sheer exhaustion.
But instead of waking up peacefully in the morning, you half wake in the middle of the night. And in the darkness of your bedroom, it slowly dawns on you that you can’t move your body…and that someone, or something, is watching you.
A weight pushing on your chest
You feel a weight on your chest, pressing you down and preventing you from sitting up. And not only is your whole body paralyzed, but you can’t so much as move your lips to call out for help.
You’re not sure who or what is pushing on your chest. Even though you seem to be able to move your eyes just a little, it’s too dark to see anyway. Regardless, you just feel that there’s a presence there. Something strange. Something frightening.
This happened to me last year and was a very unsettling experience. Fortunately, there was no demon, ghost or burglar in my bedroom.
After a minute’s panic, the feeling passed. And I was then able to stumble to the bathroom to make sure my face wasn’t decorated with demonic symbols. It was a classic case of sleep paralysis.
What is sleep paralysis?
Recurrent isolated sleep paralysis is classified as a parasomnia, which is a group of sleep disorders involving unwanted behaviors that accompany sleep.
The main symptom is being awake and unable to move your body. It might also be accompanied by hallucinations or dreams/nightmares whilst still awake.
It typically lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes before movement is regained. And although it may feel like it at the time, it’s not believed by medical organizations to be harmful.
What causes it?
The exact reason for why it happens to some people and only on some nights isn’t known. However, scientists do have a theory about what goes on during sleep paralysis.
During the night, you cycle through different sleep stages. When you enter the REM stage of sleep, your brain stops your muscles from moving – known as REM atonia. One explanation for this atonia is that it prevents injury from acting out your dreams in bed.
During sleep paralysis, the atonia starts, or continues, while you’re awake. And during this time, you might also experience what’s known as sleep hallucinations, or dreams while you’re awake.
So your body and brain are temporarily out of sync while transitioning between sleep stages, potentially creating a frightening experience.
As Dr. Michael J. Breus neatly explains:
Sleep scientists believe that sleep paralysis may occur when the transitions in and out of REM sleep and other sleep stages don’t go smoothly.
How many people experience sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis stories like mine are surprisingly common. In 2011, researchers aggregated 35 sleep paralysis studies to find out how many people had experienced it at least once in the past year, finding:
- 7.6% of the general population
- 28.3% of students
- 31.9% of psychiatric patients
And according to the handbook of sleep disorders, it will happen at least once in a lifetime of 40% to 50% of normal subjects, but is “far less common as a chronic complaint”.
Who is more at risk of having sleep paralysis?
Scientists might not know the precise reason only some people have sleep paralysis yet, but there are a growing number of risk factors becoming apparent.
For example, researchers who analyzed 42 studies found several risk factors and associated conditions:
- Sleep problems, changing sleep patterns and shift work.
- Sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and nocturnal leg cramps.
- Stress.
- Some psychiatric groups, particularly those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and panic disorders.
- Substance and medication use.
- Physical illness.
- Personality and anomalous beliefs.
Is there a genetic component to sleep paralysis?
In 2015, British researchers published a study of 862 twins and siblings aged between 22 and 32. They did find some evidence of a genetic role, but only a small one:
In this sample of young adults, sleep paralysis was moderately heritable
Interestingly, they also found other independent risk factors, including:
- Disrupted sleep cycles
- General sleep quality
- Anxiety symptoms
- Exposure to threatening events
Polls – readers’ experience of sleep paralysis
I polled readers of this article for a year to find out what kind of sleep paralysis episodes they had.
Note that it’s likely that many people who search online about it will have had the more frightening episodes, skewing the results.
But they still provide a fascinating insight into what people experience and how they cope.
Poll 1
In poll 1, the most common episode was thinking there was a demon or other being in the room.
Poll 2
Poll 2 shows that many readers find sleep paralysis terrifying. Again, those who search online for it are likely to have found it particularly disturbing.
Poll 3
Poll 3 shows that many readers first experienced sleep paralysis during adolescence.
Poll 4
Poll 4 shows that most readers don’t experience sleep paralysis on a regular basis.
Poll 5
Poll 5 shows some of the ways readers deal with episodes. You’ll find more coping mechanisms below.
The not so scientific explanations for sleep paralysis
Since first writing this article several years ago, there has been an extraordinary number of comments. And the comments show that not everyone accepts the scientific explanation.
Interestingly, some people struggle to accept it even though they consider themselves to be scientifically minded generally. I think these cases highlight just how realistic the experience of sleep paralysis can be; how it can linger in your memory and makes you question what happened for a long time afterward.
The possibility of demons, ghosts, spiritual beings, and aliens all crop up from time to time in the comments too. And while many people accept their experiences as hallucinations or dreams, some people choose to believe another explanation – that those entities are real.
Despite these beliefs, there’s one clear theme: nothing bad ever actually happens, other than being frightened and perhaps losing some sleep after an episode.
Around the world
Cultural beliefs also appear to play a role in how sleep paralysis is perceived by some people.
In Fiji, for example, the demon is sometimes seen as a deceased relative coming back to discuss an important or unfinished matter.
In Chinese folklore, it’s also seen as a ghost rather than a demon or intruder.
Some people in Iran and Pakistan interpret it as demons or spirits taking over your body. This could be due to black magic performed by an enemy.
The common theme is that the entity is usually something to be feared. I’m yet to find a culture which believes it’s a friendly creature!
Sleep paralysis treatment
When to see a doctor
Fortunately, most people don’t experience sleep paralysis very often, and no treatment is usually required.
However, if the following apply to you, it’s a good idea to speak to your doctor:
- It happens regularly.
- You’re anxious about sleep paralysis and going to sleep.
- You don’t get enough sleep.
- You feel very sleepy during the day, sometimes fall asleep suddenly or lose control of your muscles.
What medical treatment is available?
If you see a doctor, they might take the following action:
- Refer you to a sleep specialist to assess if you have another sleep disorder, like narcolepsy.
- Treat any underlying psychiatric condition.
- Discuss any medication or substance use that might be a factor.
- Explain the biological processes involved in sleep paralysis to reassure you.
- Talk to you about developing good sleep habits. This is thought to help reduce the frequency of sleep paralysis.
Readers’ techniques for coping with sleep paralysis
Over the years, many readers have described how they cope with sleep paralysis, and I’ve created a list of the most frequent ideas below.
The first seven in the list are also suggested by sleep experts. The rest are a mix of personal opinions. Please bear in mind that none are guaranteed to work:
- Don’t let yourself become too sleep-deprived.
- Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
- Try to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.
- Try to vigorously flutter your eyelids or move your eyes, as this tends to be an area of the body that’s less affected by the paralysis.
- Focus on wiggling just one finger or a toe.
- Don’t take recreational drugs or drink alcohol in the evening.
- Don’t sleep on your back.
- Stay calm.
- Tell yourself that you’re in control. You can order the experience to stop.
- If you feel a weight on your chest, imagine there’s something friendly causing it.
- Film yourself sleeping so you can see there was nothing in the room.
- Don’t think about what it could be. Your imagination will probably make up something scary in the darkness.
- Organize your bedroom in a way that makes you feel safe and secure.
- Don’t hang dressing gowns, coats, or hats in places that make them look like figures in the dark.
- Sleep with a night light, music, or radio on.
- Remind yourself that nothing bad will happen.
- Imagine your body rolling from side to side in your mind and count each roll. Focus on this and try to grow the capacity for movement from there.
- Count numbers to focus your mind on something else.
- Don’t sleep with a high pillow.
- Keep your eyes shut and try to clear your mind.
- Squeeze your eyes tightly shut if you can control the muscles.
- Keep well hydrated – drink water before going to bed.
- Talk about it to family or friends – they may have experienced it too.
- If you have it once, get out of bed for a while to reset the brain.
- Many people say prayer helps. Some also say that calling on their religious beliefs and commanding what they see to leave helps them.
- Check if any sleeping pills or herbal remedies you’re taking are causing it.
- Use sleep paralysis to lucid dream by relaxing and going with the experience instead of fighting it.
- Once the episode has passed, tell yourself that you overcame it, are not afraid and will always overcome it.
How I recently stopped an episode of sleep paralysis
I successfully used two of the above techniques to stop a recent episode of sleep paralysis.
I woke to find myself in a strange position with my arms crossed on top of my body. And I could literally feel strong hands pinning my wrists to my chest.
I have to admit I was immediately petrified. The whole event was blurry, and I think I was having some dream overlap, but can’t remember exactly what now.
Stay calm and wiggle a finger
Two things sprung to mind after a moment of panic: stay calm and try to wiggle a finger.
The calmness I only managed with moderate success. But I did manage to focus my efforts on moving a finger. It felt quite odd – like my fingers were wiggling in different directions!
Eventually, I felt my arms loosen as well, and soon afterward I was able to shake the whole sensation away as I regained full control.
I then spent a few minutes doing some breathing exercises to ground myself and calm down, and then fell asleep again.
I think just knowing about the finger wiggling technique was enough for me to remember it when the sleep paralysis occurred.
Share your story of sleep paralysis
Have you had sleep paralysis? What happened, and do you have any suggestions to help others deal with it?
Please feel free to share your experience in the comments below.
I do remember most of my dreams since I was a child, from amazing dream to nightmares. Never bothered me. But last night I felt a force hard to ezplain, trying to unite with my body. I refused to let that happened and start praying in my native language then I couldnt articulate so in my head I said Im stronger than this and forced myself to wake up before my body got entirely invaded. It worked I just wanted out of this nightmare. No idea where thats coming from. Im happy in my mariage and at work. I dont know and im not afraid either I feel in control, Im just perplex of that strange dream.
Woke up around 5:00 AM, saw a dark figure enter my room in front of my bed, wanted to leap up and attack it but felt like I weighed a thousand pounds. So I concentrated all the strength I could muster and jumped up and then I shot up and snapped out of it, was terrified after I realized what happened
About a year and a half ago or so, I was at the time an online college Post Baccalaureate student. I woke up in the middle of the night in my bedroom, my eyes open, I cant move a muscle and I immediately hear a demonic voice. I did not think or feel there was anyone on my chest but I felt the voice was coming straight across from me in my closet. It laughed, and said very clearly in a dark and deep evil sounding voice, “The beginning is starting to end”. Totally afraid and paralyzed, finally I gained enough ability to respond to the voice “What? Is this real?” The dark voice replied in laughter “Ahaha, Yeahhhp”. The when i finally was able to move my whole body I sprung out of bed and ran out of my room as fast as I could. When I came back, no one was there. I slept on the couch the remainder of that night. The most unusual and terrifying experience I’ve ever been through. And it was 100% real.
I remember having sleep paralysis all my life growing up. Last night, I went to sleep to one of our guest bedrooms because I was not letting my partner sleep well for several nights due to too much moving around and not finding a comfortable position. I had the worse sleep paralysis of my entire life. I remember seeing this “demon” face next to my left side. He looked like a bat/dog. I felt his claws being inserted on top of my hands and he/it held me down above my chest. I immediately started freaking out and I remember me calling it to stop, stop, stop, stop. I can hear myself speaking in a different tone of voice as if I was strangling. I then started praying and the “demon” said “shut the f**k up” and that freak me out even more. I continued praying and telling it to stop, until I finally was able to move and I was drained in sweat. Literally, I was soaked from head to toe. The first thing I checked were my hands to see if there were any claw marks and there weren’t. I then checked the room and slept the rest of the night with the lights on. Worse experience even, I had never had this entity spoke to me back in the many times I’ve had similar experiences.
I’ve had issues with my sleep and dreaming my entire life so luckily the first time sleep paralysis happened I wasn’t too scared. I had night terrors every night as a child and had to teach myself to lucid dream (without knowing that was what I was doing) to cope with it. I’ve acted things out in my sleep resulting in punching others and even had full on conversations out loud in my sleep. The worst was when a friend was over and I slept talk about a secret and she happened to be awake listening. The first time I had sleep paralysis, or at least realized I had it was a little startling. My mind was awake but my body wouldn’t move. I didn’t initially get the feeling that someone else was there, but eventually I did. I couldn’t open my eyes but I could see it was light out and there was an area where the light was blocked. Presumably a figure. That didn’t worry me though. The fact I couldn’t move and felt pinned down did. The fact that I couldn’t just “wake up,” which has always been my last resort in dreaming if lucid dreaming didn’t help, was the terrifying part. Suddenly I felt the other presence grab my hand. This kind of startled me. I could always tell when I was dreaming or not but this felt more real. I tried to apply what I had learned from my night terrors as a child and tried to calm down. Whatever it was then peacefully whispered in my ear that everything was going to be okay. Since then my sleep paralysis has included nothing but shadows, creepy figures, even the little jigsaws guy on a bike. One time a child was standing behind me and I thought it was my little brother oddly staring at me in my sleep. I even tried to yell out to my brother to get out of my room, but of course couldn’t. I finally was able to move and it was gone and my brother was no where around. But, nothing has scared me since that first voice told me it would be alright. And every time I always wake up just fine. It’s almost like a fun experience that I then get to analyze and pick apart after. If you just calm down. Wiggle a finger and breathe you will be just fine.
I had all three experiences. Demon pinning me down and strangling me to a point I can’t breathe, as well as it being in my room and out-of body experience (however I don’t think out-of body was a dream because I believe I was awake at time). Firstly I was 12 and I had an exam for school tomorrow watching a series I wasn’t preparing for it, so since I’m a perfectionist I got stressed and I didn’t wanna fall asleep. I was doing so a bit too frequently so I just slowly drifted away with my eyes possibly open and I remember before I fell asleep I was telling myself I shouldn’t sleep but prepare for exam tomorrow. As I fell asleep I felt really anxious about a bathroom that was next to my room and I felt like something was there just as I fell asleep. Then a second after I felt sth jump out of that bathroom right on top of me and pin me down so I couldn’t breathe the pain was real and feeling of being choked too and I was terrified, I wanted to shout for help and move the creature away, but with no luck. I felt so helpless and not in control, then as I slowly gave up the struggle the creature disappeared and i woke up automatically turning the light on and checking the bathroom. There was nothing there or in my room. I checked the clock and it was 3:33 which spooked me out so much I couldn’t fall asleep anymore. And then later I saw that number more than one time as well, but recently I have stopped seeing it. I think it,s because during the time I had sleep paralysis and number symbolic I was at a very bad point in my life where everything seemed black and hopeless and now I have people supporting me and I feel much better about my life. Anyways, I concluded my sleep paralysis as my brain trying to forcefully wake me up cuz I wanted to study and I was scared of getting bad grade. My sleep during sleep paralysis lasted from 2:40-3:30 so it was rly short which is why I think I just made myself forcefully wake up because of my fear of getting a bad grade. About the out-of-body experience, I had that while I was awake talking to my mom after school in the kitchen. I was sitting on a chair and she was facing me on opposite chair, I don’t remember much about what we talked about but I think we were having an argument and then I was staring at blank wall across of hear, slowly disconnecting from conversation we were having and I felt myself drift away to somewhere up. Then suddenly I looked down and there was someone talking to my mom, someone else not me, someone smiling again that wasn’t me and I was terrified. It all happened in a matter of seconds, but it felt too long and as I was up there I remember asking these questions: “Who am I? Who is this in my body? Are we really in control of ourselves? What if every day someone else takes over my body and I don’t even notice it? How can I go back?” And I really wished to go back down because being up there floating like a ghost was terrifying and I couldn’t do anything, but watch. Then as I slowly went back I saw an evil smirk coming from my own body that I wasn’t in control of and just like that I went back to myself. Then I looked at my mom and I knew I didn’t talk to her, but she seemed to not have even noticed like someone else was really talking to her and when I asked her she was confused. I traced this back to me having really suicidal and dark thoughts back then as “Why am I here? Why am I alive? Why do I exist and what’s the point?” I still can’t say for certain the meaning of anything of this, but I was never superstitious (that’s not how you spell it) so I tried to explain it with logic and I believe that now that these things stop appearing is because I met someone who I hang out with a lot, I have friends and I’m not dark or suicidal anymore, so I really suggest anyone who has these dreams or out-of body experiences to carefully look at their life and even if they feel there is no hope try to make every day better as there is always a better way to live your life and if that day was the worst and day after that, and day after that there is no way it can be worse than that. Changing my life and having people around me helped me to stop having these dreams so that’s my experience. Having my problems and realizing it’s not that bad and occupying my life with anything else, but these dark thoughts made me stop having them, I don’t know for people who have good lives how they would deal with this, but I believe that these dreams or nightmares come from being unhappy within urself and that’s it for me.
I have had a similar experience i fell asleep and felt like someone was attacking me when woke i heard a distinctive sound like a truck passing my eyes were open and i could not move or speak and i saw and felt this dark figure choking me and slowly the figure faded away. this was on of the most frightening experiences i have had and truly feel this was supernatural.
I’m 38 and have had this happen to me on and off since I was around 19. Seems like lately ( past 2 years ) ! I’ve been experiencing them more and more. I am a Christian and Faithfully have a close connection to my church. I want to believe it’s nothing. In my mind and heart, I feel attacked. The only thing that helps is praying. That’s only if I’m able to talk. Not only have I heard whispers in my ear, seen men and actually have been able to reach out and touch a arm. My eyes are always opened and I can see my room. Even my young son. ( if he’s cuddling with me that night ). Sometimes I didn’t feel threatened. I would just lay there. They’ve got worse lately. I feel attacked. When I pray. It stops. Than I can still feel a presence next to my bed. I feel like I’m going crazy at times. Then am embarrassed to share. I can talk and talk about this. I’m constantly researching it. So again pray “ for me “ is the only thing that helps me and that I believe can help.
saturday 13 october 2018
once again it was around 4 am in the morning and i already knew something is coming i feel it in my spirit and then it starts the fear is so gripping this time i let it go on a little longer then normal and some form of animal jumped on my bed i was powerless to do anything i couldnt move or yell out i freaked out then woke up and this went on and off for 2 hours i cant belive the sun started to come up and i was still have those feeling i truly believe it demonic as i feel as a born again christian nothing more could grip you than the fear of going to hell or demons trying to torment you
Last night, for the first time, I felt awake but couldnt move. There was something on my bed? It was moving about? It was dark, so I couldn’t see anything. I tried to sit up and see what was there, although I was frightened. The experience lasted about a minute? I must of just gone back to sleep, but very much remember it. No one, or any pet was in my house. Feeling a little scared about going to sleep tonight?
I had a similar experience, I felt the mattress dip as if someone sat on the edge of the bed, and I felt hands pushing down on my legs a few times, and felt the mattress dip with each push. They were violent pushes and quite alarming. As if someone was trying to wake me up and get my attention, or just mess with me to frighten me. I tried to talk, but couldn’t. This happened 3 – 4 times recently.
I just had it. I sleep with my mom who has dementia. This is the 3rd time in 6 mos. I awoke to something pulling on my blankets and could not move. I was being pulled out of bed when i finally realized it and cried, MOM..i then woke to her saying, its ok..it felt so real it scared me.
My earliest episode was around three, with visual and auditory hallucinations as well as tactile. I saw wild like creatures that stood like humans and threatened me by snarling and speaking to each other in something I didn’t understand. I experienced paralysis but thought it was caused by fear. At one point I was able to get up and scream for my parents at the baby gate that had up at the stairs but I was thrown back into bed by one of them. And they continued until a different one came in and chased them away. My parents tried to convince me it was a dream but it felt as real as it does typing this out. I experience another horrible one with a wolf like creature on top of me too years later when I was kid, just staring at me and I couldn’t move.
For years I didn’t experience anymore notable ones, but would occasionally feel the vibration, felt like my bed was shaking so fast and hard and id try to ignore it and eventually it would go away. This woyld happen on and off for years. But at
about 14, they came back. I was visiting family out of town and felt extremely tired so I took a nap and had sleep paralysis. I explained what happened to my parents and after we got home I had two more that night. I thought I was dying. I got trapped and confused in my covers, like I was in between my body and covers and panicked, I saw bright lights and thought, well this is it, I’m dying. I prayed…im not religious, but I prayed anyways for it to stop, and eventually it did.
I had another one, where I knew something was coming for me around a year later, I couldn’t move and tried to yell and move my eyes to wake up fully. As soon as it was over that fear was still there and I panicked, locking all my doors and looking out the windows for something, still convinced that something evil was coming for me.
Another year or two later, I saw a face in the darkness with its mouth open yelling but didn’t hear anything, it was nighttime but I was fully awake talking to my boyfriend in bed and was able to move.
That same year I experienced more, one where I was sleeping at his parents and cane out of a dream where a woman was being strangled outside by her car by a man and as I “woke”, all of a sudden I was the one that was being chocked, and felt hands around my neck squeezing, with sleep paralysis to make it even more terrifying.
I’ve had a couple other ones not as terrifying but with the sleep paralysis and intense evil or death coming feelings the past few years but a couple more stand out. I had another dream turned sleep paralysis one where a goat in total darkness was staring at me (but dream, not hallucinating this time) and an intense noise. It felt like the goat was pure evil and it hated me and was trying to kill me. I decided to fight back finally and starting screaming and cussing at it, to show I wasn’t as scared as it wanted me to be (although I was bluffing), but it worked. And I was able to come out of it.
Last year I had a couple bad ones, one I thought someone was on top of my trying to kill me and apparently I was screaming and mistook my fiance for trying to kill me when he was trying to wake me from it. It took me a while to realize what was happening but I remember seeing him but it was like something wasn’t right in him at that moment, his eyes were hateful, but I know that wasn’t really happening.
The grand finale also happened last year, no dreams that I remember, I woke up couldn’t move at first, there was a thing on top of me looking at me, sorta studying me. It was hideous, best I can explain a midget sorta goblin or demon, not much bigger than a toddler, with a very long nose, pointy ears, squinty eyes, naked and very boney with grayish white leathery skin. It was nearly half with some tufts of hair on the side of its head. Very very vivid, not a shadow, and on me, not within the dream. When I could finally move, I turned my eyes away and saw this other thing that I can’t really put into words but even though it wasn’t as detailed and even smaller I knew it was controlling everything, that it was why the other one was on top of me, it was what starts everything. It was pure evil.
My only advise is when you have one episode, get up and don’t go right back into another one. I feel it happens easier if you try to sleep. I’ve also heard people having better luck with tv’s on. I haven’t heard until now of trying to turn it into a better experience, so I will definitely try to see if I can go into lucid dreaming but it’s so frightening I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack and die from this eventually. And what really bothers me is it’s so sporadic, I read the list of causes like stress, sleep deprivation, medications, but I’ve been paying attention to my own and don’t see any significant causes from when I do and when I don’t have them.
I’m agnostic, but experiencing this sort of stuff does make me question everything. Perhaps it can be explained, but if the scientific explanation is simply waking from a certain level of sleep, why is it not more common with people? Why do some people experience it on a regular or semi regular basis and others not at all? Everybody sleeps, everybody has been to a point where stress causes other issues but why not these more often?
Thank you for that. It’s 4 am right now. I’ve just awakened from one of these experiences. Probably my sixth or seventh experience with this. I truly feel it is something demonic. I try to pray and call out to Jesus but it’s like my mouth is too dry to make a sound. I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared. I just want to sleep without this fear.
I’ve had it all my life so I know if I hear or feel something it’s truly happening… It only started bad back In July. Me and my friend at the time were sleeping and felt something beside me moving and I couldn’t wake up so I knew it was sleep paralysis again, I felt (it) which I thought was my friend, Pat my head 3 times before I woke up screaming waking him up (he was facing the other way) and I yelled at him why did he touch my head to which he explained I had awoken him from a nightmare.. I didn’t believe him until same night couple hours later i had it again but this time I heard something (it) walking around in the corner of my room I woke up screaming again. Now it’s October 9th and it happened again. After my new friend left for work I felt something crawl behind me which I thought was him and I couldn’t move or talk so I couldn’t ask what he was doing because he had work and as it began breathing on my neck i started panicking until i woke up and no one was there. It happened again within 2 minutes and I couldn’t wake up but somehow this time I barley pushed whatever was beside me and it bit me. A similar experience as the second one happened again not even a minute later. I freaked out and been awake since, on couch with all lights on
Happened to me last night. I didn’t feel a weight on my chest. I didn’t even think I was awake. I was laying on my side, next to my boyfriend and as I was apparently falling asleep, I thought I heard my boyfriend whisper, “El Diablo, Satan. I know his name.” My entire body began to shake and I couldn’t speak or move or see anything. I was too scared to open my eyes. When I finally did I turned around to ask him if he said anything and then tell him what happened. He said, “No and you were definitely asleep.” The strangest part is that there’s no one that I know that speaks any Spanish or related languages. There is no explaination that science can give me about this experience. This was purely a demonic, spiritual experience. If I didn’t have God in my life, I would be a mess.
I agree. I took a nap today and idk if y’all get vibrations when it happens but I do and when I feel it I can usually wake up well this time it was too late. It was as if I was the demon and I couldn’t talk but when I could my voice was deep dark and evil. My friend told me I was sleeping for two hours. Little did she know I was in a paradox in my own personal hell. Usually I can’t get up but this time I was determined to escape and I walked to my door and it got all Topsy and turvy so I fell and ended up back in my bed. I was faced with all of my fears and a demonic entity if not Satan himself wanted me trapped there and I could wake up. I tried praying, screaming for help, closing my eyes and trying to get up over and over again… I also saw very vile writings on my wall that would be coming and going like a strobe..This was the longest experience I have ever had and I was completely terrified. When I finally woke up I ran outside saw my fiance with our friends and ran back inside, by the time I was gonna run back outside my fiance came in and begged me to tell him what was wrong I broke down crying and freaking out breathing heavily sweating and just hugged him. I don’t wanna go through this anymore. It keeps happening to me more so when I sleep on my back or left side. I’m sick of it how can I fix it or maybe I need to face my darkness and accept it. Idk but I need help and advice. :(
this happened to me on 25/09/2019 i always have really in depth dreams but this was so weird i woke up and could not move then it felt like somebody sat on the bed i could feel the mattress dip then i heard a rustled noise above my head i was alone in the house so quite scary
I thought this article was very helpful and I haven’t had any sleep paralysis but hope to not have it in Jesus name?
Mine started when I was around 13 it always seems to come in the room just before I fall asleep the first time it happened it scared the hell out of me literally that’s what it felt like someone jumped on my chest and took my breath away and there wasn’t any lights on but the room seemed to be getting darker and the shadows started moving around whatever it was had me paralyzed I tried yelling but nothing was coming out and I could see everything in the room so finally when I was able to move a part of my body I think it was my finger I came out of whatever just happened to me and I was so worn out like I just got done fighting for my life well I guess I was I was breathing heavy sweating and my whole body was sore from being so tensed up trying to get out of whatever had me and that started happening every other day so after about a year went by I was still struggling with it but it started slowing down a little and they weren’t lasting as long as the first time and I could wake myself up a little easier by focusing on moving my hand instead of fighting with my whole body and I learned to yell for someone that was in the house if I couldn’t wake myself up but even then I couldn’t wake up or snap out of it until someone touched any part of me it was weird because when I would yell I couldn’t move my lips so if you try and yell without moving your lips that’s what it sounded like and I could see whoever it was coming in to wake me up all the way till they woke me up it’s pretty crazy at first but as the years gone by I’m used of it now I can wake myself up real quick until about a two years ago I’m 40 now I started hearing some pretty wicked things coming in room like things speaking in tongues and whatever it was was always coming from behind me I always knew when it was coming I just felt it’s presence and it would wait until the lights went out and I would just lay down that’s when the shadows would start to come alive any time this has happened to me my eyes would be open and I’m pretty sure I scared it one time it was right when I turned the lights out I felt in the room so I turned around real quick and yelled what the ^&*% whatever it was looked like electricity and the outline of it looked like the Android phone robot thing as it lit up whatever that was stopped bothering me for a little bit and my latest one was last night and this was I think the craziest one out of all the ones I’ve ever had these things felt like they were grabbing my feet and tried to pull me off the bed that’s happened like two times before but this time seemed like it went on forever but this time I kept seeing these little skinny black demon things running around my bed and trying to pull me off the bed or whatever they were trying to do they were like two or two and a half feet tall I kept hearing like whispering as they were holding me down I couldn’t understand them though this one I think scared me and I haven’t been scared for a long time cause they feed on fear I know that and that was on 9/26/2018 and that’s a little part of my story I didn’t know if I was going to tell anyone that would understand but I see it’s happened to alot more people than me I’ll be back to tell some more later about some of the different types of shadows or demons or whatever it is that holds me down in my wide awake dreams I have
This has happened to me since I was 20 years old. It happens to me now almost every night. I have had the feeling of someone holding me down choking me pulling on my fingers my arms lifted then dropped. Blanket wrapped tight against me so I can’t move. Hair lifted pulled back. Breathed on growling sounds. High pitched sounds sounds of fluttering wings. Blanket lifted as if full of air then dissipated. Snakes crawling all over me. I’ve seen it manifest to me when I was praying. I’ve seen it ducking corners and hiding in shadows to remove itself from light. I’ve felt it creeping upon me as though its a cat. It has thumped my bed many times made slamming noises whistling it moves things. Smells very bad. It has thumped on the underneath of my bed. Its even moved like fingers under my body while I’m in my bed. I’m sick and tired of it. I want my life back.
I am 48 years old and at 15 I had n outer body experience and watched myself lay on my bed with a BEAUTIFUL woman sitting beside me rubbing my hair and she kept saying over and over again “My name is Samantha and i need your help.” I tried so hard to ask her what she needed help with but I COULD NOT say a word. I was watching all this from the upper left corner of the ceiling of my room. I never seen a woman so beautiful in my life!! Everything about her was perfect. She had very long semi-curly hair and a gorgeous white gown that looked like it sparkled. Her touch was so gentle and soothing. Everything I watched and seen was exactly the way my bed was set up and I looked so peaceful laying there with her at my side. I cannot put a time frame on how long this lasted but I didn’t care. I was not a least bit frightened or scared. I just wanted to know what this beautiful woman wanted help from me for. I felt paralyzed. I couldn’t talk or move at all, as hard as I tried I couldn’t react to her presence at all. I remember being severely frustrated about this but there was nothing i could do. I do want to say this…I was not using any illegal drugs, I was not on any medication, I wasn’t deprived of sleep, I did not have any mental ailments, and no physical ailments. I was a healthy active 15 year old girl. To this day I still think about this like it was yesterday and wonder who this woman was, why she came to me, and what did she need help with. I never found out. I’ve heard of Angels coming to you with a message but never one asking for help. That is if she was an Angel. Some people I’ve discussed this with said it could have possibly been a demon in disguise. I don’t know and will never find out….I wish I could. Something I will never forget is a woman who came to me and her name was Samantha.
If you read my story and have any comments or suggestions please leave them down below. I appreciate anyone’s input on this bizarre night.
The first time this happened to me I was in college. Sleeping in the top bunk, I had the window cracked and it was winter outside. I remember sleeping on my stomach and the sound of something coming through the window is what woke me. However I couldn’t move and felt immense pressure pushing me down. It said something in my ear in a different language. Remembering it sounding like a language the devil would posses. It all eventually passes and I was too terrified to sleep. I was 20. The second time I was in Grandma’s attic and my father had long since told me it was haunted since his Grandpa died there. I was sleeping in a room by myself on Thanksgiving and swore I went to sleep with the light on being that I was already a little freaked. Woke up in the middle of the night, light off, unable to move with the sound of violen music playing in the background. I remember tears running uncontrollably down my face. When I was finally able to move, it took a while but I finally worked up the courage to run to find the light switch. I spent the remainder of the night downstairs. I was probably 23. I never told my father about this but when he reclaimed his experience in this attic he said “yeah, they hold you down”. I dropped my fork at the dinner table and finally told him my story. Just last night, I am now 37 and it hasn’t happened since, I woke up feeling like my head was being pushed into my night stand. I was laying on my side and couldn’t move. I was barely breathing and trying to reach for my husband but couldn’t. I kept trying to scream his name and nothing came out. It happened again a few minutes later and then I woke up. It was storming out with a lot of lightning. I curled up next to him the remainder of the night but didn’t sleep much. My left shoulder was actually sore from what I thought was the pressure of pushing. I’m freaked out that this demon is following me and then I found this page. Strange that when this happens, we all have such similar experiences. Relieved to know that it is probably SP.
Was in such deep sleep i was dreaming about my sister and her friend talking to me about something. All of a sudden this force came over me – my whole body was so cold and felt like tingles throughout my body, pins needles. I couldn’t move and in my dream someone said look there’s spirit. woke up after it like nothing happened
This is the second time I have ever had this and I fell asleep for about 5 minutes and I woke up and couldn’t move at all this happened about 6 times in 5 minutes and I could hear my fan going in and out like I could hear it and then I couldn’t then I could and feel my head being compressed felt like it was going to explode I kept falling asleep and a minute later I would wake up and can’t move scary stuff
I was an avid lucid dreamer when I was younger, but the hypnagogic hallucinations were getting out of hand, so I stopped doing it as much.
These last few months, I’ve been having morning hypnagogic episodes with a demon who takes on the form of someone I know and just lashes out at me. Yelling and screaming. Sometimes I manage to get a real word out and say “shut up and sleep” but it takes a loooot of mustered up will power to do it.
This morning it took on the form of a woman friend of mine who I am intimate with. It tried to egg me on about saying bad things about her, but when I refused it got angry and began chastising me per usual. I opened my eyes enough to catch a glimpse of it in my bathroom doorway, and it appeared to be a blurry mess of black scratchy tendrils. It was fast! It attempted to throw something at me and I felt pressure on my body like air from an airgun. Suddenly, the voice changed into a deep buzzy sound and became faint as if it was disturbed that I saw its true form. Creepy as hell.
6 times in 2 months. Still no lucid dreams though. I better get some at least.
Last Night @ 3:26am I was in bed dead sleep laying on my side. When something was squeezing me. I couldn’t breathe nor move. I was so scared. My eyes were opened. I don’t know where I got the strength to say “Lord please!” then it just disappeared and now im in pain. Feels like my ribs are broke.
I’ve had SP for years until I realize that, only when I sleep naked this happens to me. Lol…. so for about a year I slept with my clothes on and never had a sleep paralysis until last night I decided to sleep naked again. It was the worst experience ever. I was alone in my room when I realized that I couldn’t move, and it felt like someone was touching me sexually. I could hear myself chanting something 3 times that I didn’t understand. I felt like something was holding me down. I couldn’t even lift a finger. I opened my eyes for the first time in years and i saw a translucent figure on top of me, As though I was being bound for sex. I felt every thing that was happening to me for real…. But it wasn’t a real person because I could see right through the figure that was on top of me. At that point I wasn’t scared I knew I had to wake up. Then I heard myself chanting the same thing again 3 times, but I didn’t understand what I was saying….. But when I think about it now, it sounded like I was saying “let me go”. Then I woke up put on some clothes and vowed to myself that I will sleep in clothes for the rest of my life. Lol!! it’s funny to me because I don’t know if it’s a dream or a spirit just waiting for me to sleep naked so it can steal a my cookie.
I woke last night during a nightmare where someone had held of my wrists trying to pull me…when I woke I was lying on my back with my fists clenched in front of me trying to pull them back towards me, I could feel the tightness around my wrists just like the grip the person had on me in my nightmare…it was very frightening and the feeling of them holding my wrists took a few seconds to go.
I’ve had sleep paralysis for years now. But my latest was 2 days ago and it was the worst experience I’ve had so far. I was I bed and I could felt like someone was walking around my room. All of sudden it got quiet, and in a matter of time there was loud screaming. I thought I was going to go deaf, and in the matter of seconds they grabbed both my feet and dragged me fast across my room and threw me up against my wall and the screaming was stil there and it hurt my ears so much. When I woke up I could still feel the touch on both my feet, it felt so real!
At first, I had this about a dozen times a year. It quickly grew to be every night and several times in a night. I was terrified every time.
Mine would happen about 20 minutes after looking at the clock. I mean, I would look at the clock, fully awake, and about 20 minutes later I was (almost violently) shaking my husband awake because I had several experiences.
I would be in a dream where I woke up in my bed and hear a noise. I would try to wake my husband to go check the house. In my dream, it would be pretty difficult to wake him even though in reality, he was a pretty light sleeper and could wake up almost instantly. There would be more noises as I tried (ever so quietly) to wake my husband. He would finally become groggy conscious and get up to go check what was causing the noises. He would leave the room into the dark. I would wait for his return. I waited and waited. Finally, I would call to him. No response. I would call louder. No response. Maybe I would call a third time, either way, I would hear noises. Someone walking… toward my bedroom door. “Andrew?” I would say again. Then someone stepped into my bedroom…not my husband. I could never see the face of said intruder as he quietly walked to my bedside to kill me. I would try to move but was paralyzed. I would try to scream but to no avail. I would finally wake up in my bed…unknowingly in another dream. The dream would begin again. I would hear a noise and try to wake my husband…
Some nights, I would only wake in my bed (in a dream) three times… Some nights it would be 7, 8 or even 9 times before I actually woke up. And only about 20 minutes after being wide awake looking at the clock.
The experiences were so real that it got to the point where I was no longer sure if I was asleep or dreaming. I would have to touch things and people and ask if I was sleeping or awake. I was afraid to go to sleep. I didn’t know what was going on.
I entered into therapy hoping for some explanation or antidote for what was happening to me. I didn’t hear the term “sleep paralysis” until 10 years after they stopped. I learned in therapy to control my dreams. It wasn’t easy but I finally got to that place.
When I would go into the first dream of the night, I would change it to something funny, like my brother playing tricks on me. Still, the feeling of terror was there, even after my brother jumped out and said something (in my dream).
Eventually, the dreams, and paralysis, decreased until finally, they happened no longer. It has been at least a dozen years since I experienced sleep paralysis but I am still very interested in the subject. After all, it consumed my life for years. Truly it was the most traumatizing experiences of my life. But it can be overcome!
I had a dream that someone was dragging me on my back by my feet and all I could see was these shadows that were in hoods standing over me just watching and I could like feel my legs being touched and lifted up as if I was awake. It was kinda of like sleep paralysis but I was actually in the dream but could physically feel it as if I was awake and it was happening for real. Then I woke up to sleep paralysis. At first I didn’t know it was sleep paralysis. I thought I was actually awake. All I heard was a class room chair being dragged across my bedroom floor and at that moment I started to freak out and turn my lamp on bc I thought it was a ghost but I couldn’t move. Then I realized it was sleep paralysis so I just kept my eyes closed bc I knew what my brain was ab to make me see would make me even more scared. So I just started to try and wake myself up by rubbing my tongue on the roof of my mouth which usually works and did. After that every time I try to go back to sleep I feel myself drifting into sleep paralysis again.
This is when I get up and calm myself down and watch something happy on my phone and try a different sleep position that’s not on my back.
I think I’m having these types of sleep paralysis where I hear a classroom chair moving and scrubbing the ground is because I have the most anxiety at school.
Hello Mr,Green,
First I would like to thank you for addressing this issue, especially with the polls and statistics.
Having comments left by others to compare is very helpful, it’s good to know I’m not alone..
I’ve experienced SPD now for 37 years. They begin just as I turned 13.(I remember that one very well.) These episodes happen several times a year, tho there was maybe 4-5 years (consecutively), that they stopped..the last one happened within the last hour..
Some have been so profoundly disturbing,that I would come out angry, ready to fight, grabbing my smudge pot and compelling the bad energies to leave, from East to West within my house, with forceful authority! (Scaring the hell out my my lover(s) lol…
Once or twice, a loud bang came from an unknown source within the house as I was completing the prayers and ceremony.(.Can Science explained that?? And no,I hadn’t bumped into anything, and nothing had moved.)
I find a couple of things here very interesting, such as
1. These “episodes” beginning at the age of 13…seems to be a bit more than coincidence, in that beginning age doesn’t differentiate. It may begin at a later age, but not before.
2.the reference to “shadow people”
A term I learned watching ghost hunters series, when in an episode of the investigation of an abandoned mental institution, produced a picture capturing an image much too familiar to me, rendered me to tears, because now,I had a name for it..and because up until that moment, I thought no one believed me, now, someone out there has seen it too,There is something about it we instinctively feel threatened by, .Before this I could only describe it as a silhouette of a person..or something.. unfriendly
Hell, I’ve even battled the little cartoon devil’s with pitch forks stabbing me everywhere.. sound funny now tho it wasn’t at the time .That one landed me in my parents bed at the age of 23..sending my poor father to the guest room..
3. These SP experiences,seem to center around times in my life where a lot of stress, or heavy, negative energy has been building..and at times just before the onset of it…I’ve also has premonition dreams that were integrated with SP D .(I won’t get into describing those episodes..)
The fact remains that in most all these experiences shared here, are all onset of negativity, energies either from within the family unit,or directed towards one , or one’s family unity.Common factor= negatives…
The different ways to gain some control while in the state of SP concentrate profoundly on positive thought, positive intent actions.
Prevention of such episodes,are not always realistic,to assume that proper diet, sleep, and attitude, or a certain type of life style be the cause, when those factors may not be the only ones to consider.
With that thought in mind,I will simply leave these questions that I am left with still having read your article…
I actually FEEL the touch of another being, shaking my toes
Or rubbing my back, helping me sit up(when I dream awaking from SP)my partner has heard my cry for help and has awaken me not)
And feel the stroking my hair or arm, the piercing my skin,.cold..
I actually HEAR, a voice,a growl,a language I don’t know but understand…I am not a diagnosed, nor a “missed’ diagnosed schizophrenic!!
Although in your paragraphs concerning the faculties experiencing dream state hallucinations,seem to cover these sensations, my experience is while awake enough to be aware of my surroundings,awake enough to see with eyes half open,and while able to force “hel ee” (help me) through my lips without moving my mouth,alarming my partner to wake me. This I learned to do over the years.
I hope my harrowing experiences prove to be useful to someone somewhere,I hope to learn more from others,and I hope to see that you continue research on the matter should you find it incomplete through the comments made here..or of on your own accord. Thanks for reading this through..
Muhd.
5 Am
So I just came to after an SP episode. This one was the worst yet, I fell asleep next to my fiancé, feeling and seeing someone in my room. I’m fighting and screaming for her, I can’t breathe, or put out a sound, when it passes I realize I had woken up on my living room couch, after falling asleep in my own bed. But before it passed I saw 6 people around me, and a women yelling hello, whoever she was helped me snap out of it, this dream lasted 1 1/2 hours and I slept walked.
I cannot find any information about being wide awake in my livingroom and being paralyzed, unable to scream or move, feeling evil inside me and surrounding me with a very dark feeling of doom. As soon as I could physically move I ran upstairs to my bedroom. I am not a person who scares easily. I even felt cold while this happened. It only happened one time. But I was not asleep or under the influence of anything. It was pure evil that went into me and surrounded me. I have never been able to find out what happened or why. The only information out there is sleep paralysis and about dreams. I was wide awake and not expecting this.
Hi Donna
You should mention this to your doctor/physician.
Regards
Ethan
Hello Donna,
Many don’t know this but sleep paralysis can happen when you are wide awake too, depending on how relaxed you are. The brain will shut down your ability to move, thinking it’s sleeping. I personally think the feeling of doom (terror) goes hand-and-hand with the sensation of being paralyzed. Even once I could control my dreams and turn them in a funny direction, the feeling of terror remained just the same. All I could do is know that it wasn’t real, like a dream.
I hope you have found peace since then.
I’ve had two incidents of sleep paralysis, both occurring when I was very anxious.
The first time it happened, I was in my late teens. My family had just moved to a new house. My bedroom was the “teen” bedroom in the basement. We had just learned from our new neighbour that the previous family of the house had a young adult son who had committed suicide in the house. I woke in the night with the following symptoms: I was paralyzed on one side of my body. I felt very scared and had a vague feeling of someone being in the room. I eventually brought myself to full waking by using the right side of my body. I used my right hand to force my left (paralyzed) eye to open, thus waking myself out of sleep and out of paralysis.
The second time was when I was a young mother, alone at home with my two young children. There had been news of a rapist entering houses not far from where I lived. I woke to find myself paralyzed, and saw the shadow of a man in my bedroom doorway. Scary experience. I don’t actually remember how I snapped out of it.
I tend to experience sleep paralysis once a week. My boyfriend leaves for an early flight every Monday morning around 5am. I believe that his movement is enough to wake me up, but not enough to wake me all the way up. Sometimes I wake up enough to say goodbye and immediately go back to sleep because I still feel very tired. Once I start to fall back to sleep, after he is gone, I experience a pressure/weight in the room or come over my body. I always sleep on my stomach with my face in my pillow so when I start to feel the weight on my body I begin to panic and feel like I am suffocating. I never sleep on my back because I have had a few scary out of body experiences. This started happening about a year ago pretty regularly and I have sort of learned to deal with it. Some experiences are scarier than others. Just last week, I felt that same pressure and convinced myself that my boyfriend came back home because his flight had been cancelled, I realized it wasn’t real when I woke up to my alarm a few hours later and he wasn’t there. This morning however, I felt that same pressure, almost like someone was crawling into my bed and it terrified me to the point I had to turn my tv on and was able to go back to sleep after about 30 minutes. I always try to tell myself it isn’t real and try to move my fingers, arms, and legs until strange pressure feeling goes away. If that doesn’t work I turn on my tv or music for background noise.
Hiya, I found this read very interesting and informative.
I work shifts and overnights at my job. I was on a overnight shift at work and had gone to bed. I woke up with the feeling that felt exactly like a very very heavy person was laying full length on my body. I was sleeping face upright to the ceiling. I was not really scared, as since being a child and growing up, I have had some strange experience. But I was alarmed as there was no one I could see on top of me. This lasted what felt for about 5 minutes, but probably was less. I did prey and ask for it to go away, in my head. The feeling stared to lessen and I in hailed out a huge gasp air, I hadn’t even realised I wasn’t breathing, but I could not expand my lungs to breath in because of the weight on top of me… As soon as it went. I started to settle back down and then I felt it starting again. I immediately started praying and asking it to go as I had before. And it quickly started to lessen the weight off my body, like it was getting lighter then gone.
After reading what you wrote it makes sense to me, because I am on call through the night, and I get very little sleep and even then it’s broken sleep. So usually I get tops 4 hours. And I can be on a 13hour shift then overnight then up early next morning and finish the shift at 3pm that day. So being tired through long shifts, then little sleep, causing stress, then up early doing the next shift tired. I definitely feel it’s not a demon anymore. Thank you.
My most recent episode was last night. I wanted to go through a door but once I got to the entrance someone pulled down on my right arm while another pushed on my back and everything became too dark to see. I know if I fight either I’ll start moving in slow motion and wake up paralyzed while feeling gradually increasing pressure on my back and arm or I’ll stay asleep and the pressure will increase quickly to the point of genuine pain and the dream will get more intense (more dark beings, choking, pressure on my chest and legs, maybe a creepy face etc).
So I stopped, closed my eyes and started repeating EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Statements like, “ I release and let go of all anger, hatred, anxiety, frustration….I allow and accept love, kindness, pleasure, delight….” As I said them the pressure released and I woke up normally.
I’ve found that it doesn’t matter what I say or imagine as long as it’s positive and I stop panicking. I’ve chanted “nam myoho renge kyo”, sang “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, “My Favorite Things” and “Call Me Al”, tried to imagine petrichor (Dr. Who) and focused on a toddlers serious explanation of hair bow placement, they all worked (a family member calls out to Jesus and that works for them). What I reference has more to do with recent experience than anything (despite attempts for calmness, I DO panick slightly and grasp for any happy thought). This episode happened while I was going to sleep, so I actually woke up. If it happens while in deep sleep, I stay asleep. I’ve shrunk into the ground and floated into another dream, walked through a door into a bright room, the sun suddenly comes out and lights the world or I “wake-up” in my bed and find that I’m still dreaming (however if I panic here it gets dark again). My paralysis and terrors usually has to do with darkness, the name of the game is not to let it get to dark…semi-lucid dreaming is kind-of the norm…as is waking at 3am (when it’s genuinely just dark).
I’ve been experiencing dream issues for about 25 years. I’ve found people in my family and co-workers with similar issues but they don’t talk about it (when I get them to talk they get really uncomfortable). But talking with them offered me coping techniques that I believe help. Don’t go to bed hungry, dehydrated, drunk or full, don’t allow myself to be sleep deprived, learn to drop daily stress for the night (que sera sera), don’t sleep on my back or stomach if I am exhausted, stressed, medicated, drunk or full/hungry (I normally sleep on my back) and approach the episodes with curiosity.
The last one is for the hallucinations, when I challenge the “old hag”, “shadow people” and “intruders” by calmly trying to talk to them or “lighting” to the room to see what I’m looking at, I get avoided and ultimately find that I was in a dream within a dream. I’ve woken up as many as six times from dreams within dreams and paralysis is almost guaranteed sometimes concurrently. Once they’re gone and the noise stops (whispers, doors and drawers opening etc), I focus on moving a finger or toe and that seems to do the trick. Once I can move, to verify if I’m awake I look for a full moon (old dream clue), try to turn on a light or make fire, light only comes from positive emotion in my dreams (singing is easiest).
I don’t know what to think of it, I don’t believe in demons and I have enjoyable regular dreams frequently. I suppose I believe that it may be my body’s way of trying to cope emotionally and feeding fear/misery makes it stronger, so I have to feed it pleasantries/joy to starve it, like a hungry thought form. I don’t like it and it would be nice if it stopped happening, but I’ve learned to accept it as a norm. I know it’s influenced by my emotional state, during my divorce it became an almost daily occurrence for several months and getting over my head in debt was worse. I lived on sleeping pills for almost 10 years (since I was like 12) to ensure good coma dreamless sleep just to avoid them…but they were so much more intense when I fell asleep without pills, I woke up groggy and it took a lot of effort to completely withdraw from pills and overcome insomnia.
I don’t have any answers to what or why and I know it can be terrifying at first. None-the-less, from experience, what works for me is to become calm and focus on a pleasantry, whether prayer, singing, imagery, affirmation or chanting whatever, just find a way to inject something pleasant. Hope this helps.
I was lying here and it was like something was standing over my body. I saw a black dark light leaning over me and my body seemed paralyzed. It was like I couldn’t move. I tried then I started saying to myself “In the mighty name of Jesus”. I said it twice then I could move my arms and my body. That really scared me. It was as if something was trying to take my body. Now I’m afraid to go back to sleep, I’ve never had anything like this ever happen to me before. Im really scared.
nikki i dont want to scare you but i had what i thought was sleep paralysis for years but it progressively got worse.i would wake up chanting jesus name over and over.i felt intruders in my room could see demons hover above my body.felt violated while i was sleeping.one night after falling asleep and feeling paralyzed with fear after feeling like i couldnt breathe and black things over me i woke up cryign and crying for god to help me.i was not a bad person i had joined a new religion so wondered if it was because of that or being baptized.needless to say after begging god to take this away from me i never had another instance of this again.i believe it is just more than sleep paralysis.we are vulnerable when we sleep and i feel i was being attacked.this is my true story and i thank god every day for helping me with this.
Tonight was one of the scariest nights of my life. i was in bed watching tv next to my wife, i cant tell you if i was dreaming or awake. i was watching tv and i looked into the hall of my home only to see a black figure and it was like i blinked and it was on top of me . i screamed and was trying to get my wife behind me. Putting myself in between whatever the black thing was and my wife . in an instant it was gone and i was frightened my wife got up and went to the bathroom, the door was cracked enough for me to see her face and it changed and was blackened distorted looking. i was still frightened by the first event and when seeing her face like that i backed away and turned my head . When i looked back at her she was normal. i was still afraid so i went from room to room turning on all the lights when i made my way to my children’s room i seen our two dogs shivering on the bunk bed with my two children, who were just waking up to the commotion. i told both of my children and wife to get into my room and i walked thru the house. it felt like someone was watching me and when i went back to my bedroom where my family was, i sat in the bed with them and started to feel like something was choking me as i tried to scream in agony and disbelief i couldn’t it felt like i was seriously being strangled. when that feeling was over i told my wife and kids to get in the car as we ran outside the dogs ran outside with us as if they were also scared. my wife drove us down the road as she was also on the phone with police. we saw the police officers and pulled over . sitting at the side of the road talking with officers i asked if they would go check my home . they thought i was having a panic attack and recommended having an emt come out to check me out. i obliged and was seen by an emt blood pressure was thru the roof but i was not forced to go to a hospital by officers or EMT. we went back to the house and before doing so i asked if the police officer would accompany us. he followed us to the house my wife went in and grabbed our wallets and personal belongings and we went to the local hospital so i could be checked out. This was a very unreal situation for me as i dont believe in the paranormal. im also not sure why or what it was i was seeing or being touched by but i was being choked and had been awake for several minutes beforehand.
I have had these before. They’ve been positive and scary. I am going thru some emotional stuff right now and I fell asleep and experienced an episode. I haven’t had one in years. I do remember praying to God before I fell asleep. I saw some weird things in my eyes like I was about to go into a dream state. The next thing I noticed is a figure getting in my bed. And started holding me like I was being comforted. But during the dream I realized I was having a sleep paralysis episode and started to panic even though the presence wasn’t or didn’t feel handle. I remember trying to yell for help too. I even tried smoking and looking at my phone. I finally woke up, started crying and then thought, whatever or whoever was there, was protecting me and trying to calm my heart. I’ve got depression and what I’m going through, got to it. I was even praying before I drifted off into this dream. It was definitely a different experience but not evil, even though I felt scared once I realized what was going on.