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.
This is a great article- thank you! I have recently been having some terrifying experiences with sleep paralysis along with exceptionally vivid dreams. They are so vivid that I sometimes have a hard time distinguishing them from reality immediately afterwards. What’s strange is that I have not had dreams like that since childhood, and for the past 1.5 years since my father died I have barely remembered my dreams at all. I am not on any new medications or take anything that would have such a side effect. Last night was one of the scariest sleep paralysis experiences I have had. I was having a dream that my ex boyfriend was in my apartment with me and we were watching tv and he said something that upset me and I was crying. When I started to wake up I couldn’t move my arms or legs, couldn’t breathe and I was lying on my side facing my night table, but the table was in the wrong position as to how I was laying as it seemed above me while the area to my right seemed black and felt like there was an uncomfortable presence. Once I was able to start moving my fingers I started to come out of it, and while I did I literally saw the position of my night table move and almost reorient to where it was supposed to be. It took me a few minutes to grasp reality again and that yes, I live alone and no my ex boyfriend was not there with me. Not sure if that makes any sense, but it was a weird and terrifying experience and needless to say I have been up since 3 in the morning!
Hi Elizabeth
Thanks for your comment, and for the compliment about the article. It’s always much appreciated. Your experience sounds like quite a classic case of sleep paralysis, and it’s understandable that it left you feeling scared and unable to sleep again.
Sometimes there’s no real way to work out why your dreams have suddenly become more vivid, or why sleep paralysis has been happening all of a sudden. Sometimes we just go through phases I think, and whilst we can guess why it might be – stress, anxirty, medication, lifestyle choices etc, it’s not easy to pinpoint a cause.
So I think it’s sometimes a case of trying to ride it out, and stay positive about your sleep. Try and remember a couple of the techniques from the article if it happens again. Do calming, relaxing things before bed and try not to allow yourself to get worked up about the possibility of it happening again. I know it’s easier said than done, but I think it’s important to stay in control of your feelings about going to sleep and stay as optimistic about each night as it comes.
Regards
Ethan
Ethan, I found your post very helpful. Thank you so much for sharing and responding to readers so quickly. I’ve been experiencing these for less than two years now (I just turned 40 – married, quit my research job two years ago to raise my children because my husband travels a lot for business). I find these episodes happen when I have a lot on my mind and don’t feel like I’m being productive enough, and when I’m alone and sleeping on my back. I panicked at first and thought I was being possessed and prayed really hard about it after it’d passed, but then started to calm down and move one finger so I felt more in control. I’ve had about five of these experiences and I totally feel mine are triggered by stress. I’ve also used the technique I did when I had those feelings of falling while asleep and telling myself, “Angela, this is not real. You can wake up from this. You have control over this.” This helps but it is such a totally terrifying experience. My children are young and I actually heard, “Mama, mama!” last night. And I couldn’t respond to them or get up to see if they were ok because I couldn’t move, but I felt they weren’t my children because they sounded so distant. Very strange.
Hi Angela
Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad you found the post helpful. I enjoy reading and responding to comments, and I think they are very interesting to read, as well as helpful for other readers.
I think your assessment of stress being a trigger is very likely to be correct. It’s known to be a factor in many different sleep problems, so it doesn’t surprise me that sleep paralysis happens more when you’re under stress.
Perhaps then you can use it as a kind of warning system. If you have an episode of sleep paralysis, maybe think about how you could take some action to deal with the stress in your life. Do some nice things for yourself, have some pampering time and do things you find enjoyable and relaxing. And if you can, step off the gas a little until it passes.
Regards
Ethan
I’m terrified. I’ve lived in this house with my boyfriend for six months. 3 times (1 just now) I thought I was definitely awake as the bedroom looked exactly the same and I could see my boyfriend sleeping. I don’t remeber falling asleep as I was in the same position. I became aware of something in the room by my side of the bed that frightened me, perhaps a shadow. I wasn’t/didn’t think I was paralysed because I was screaming at my boyfriend for help and even hitting him to wake him up. Then I felt a very hard poke in the ribs. I hit my boyfriend very hard and the next thing he was awake, but said he hadn’t poked me nor had I hit him. I don’t want to go back to sleep. What is this? I want it to be sleep paralysis, but I don’t understand the absolute certainty that I was fighting and screaming for help. I have autism so am very logical so even though it felt like a demon or ghost, how can it be? I’m on the verge of seeing my doctor or calling a priest.
Hi Katy
Thank you for your comment, and I’m sorry to hear this experience has left you confused. And I can completely understand why, as is the case with many previous readers who just can’t quite make sense of what happened to them.
I’m wondering too whether or not your experience was sleep paralysis. In pretty much all cases, people are quite sure they are unable to physically move. And the screaming and fighting part also doesn’t sounds like sleep paralysis.
So that leaves me with two possible explanations:
1) You had a nightmare, which just happened to be based in your bedroom, and shared some similarities to sleep paralysis, but not enough for it to actually be that.
2) You had a false awakening. I wrote about that very recently, and it seems to be like that could be a better explanation. Have a read of this article about false awakenings, and see if it fits your experiences any better.
The main thing is to try not to worry about it too much. I personally don’t believe in demons or ghosts, but do believe in the amazing power of the human brain to conjure up very vivid and bizarre experiences. Believing that makes it all much easier to deal with when it happens!
Regards
Ethan
For 6 years of my life I was convinced I saw a ghost when I was 14, but recently someone mentioned to me the concept of sleep paralysis, and when I told them about my ‘ghost sighting’, they were very intrigued.
Here’s what happened:
All I remember is one summer I had a very terrible time with sleeping, and having nightmares. A few times I even thought I saw the same ghost in my room. I was so convinced it was a ghost of a recently passed family member. I remember sleeping on my side, and all of the sudden being awake, but not being able to move at all. I could see out of the corner of my eye a black figure standing on the other side of my room staring at me. It scared the crap out of me! I panicked, and then eventually just went back to bed I guess. Over the next few weeks, similar things happened. Each time I’d wake up unable to move and I’d sense this person in the room with me. I perceived it as a female, and she kept getting closer with each episode. She was on the edge of my bed, beside my night stand, and the last time I ever experienced this she had her face right in front of mine, just staring at me. So creepy!
Hi Cait,
Thanks for your comment, and it does sound to me very much like sleep paralysis from what you describe. It’s amazing how many people do spend many years thinking that what they saw or experienced might have a paranormal explanation. It must be a relief to find out that it was probably sleep paralysis all along. It is understandable though that you would seek other explanations for it considering how vivid and real moments like this can seem.
Regards
Ethan
I have had a few paralysis and I’m only 21. The first one was when I was about 9. I got and made it all the way to the back door before I noticed I couldn’t speak, after standing there for a few minutes I wasn’t able to move after. The second time I was lying in my bed when I heard my bedroom door open, I couldn’t move for a while, then I opened my eyes and realized I was sleeping. The most recent one I had was this morning, there was this tall shadow in my room trying to uncover me, I simple turned to the other side and said to myself it isn’t real and started breathing calmly. I have lucid dreams often and most times I can control whatever it is that’s going on. I don’t lack sleep or anything like that, so I’m just a little confuse to why I expressing these things so often.
Hi Whitney
Thanks for your comment. As with many readers, it’s a little difficult to work out whether it’s actually sleep paralysis that you”re describing. For example if you walked to the door, then it’s clearly not paralysis. Neither is it if you managed to turn your body to the other side. So I’m wondering whether you’re describing either false awakenings or just very vivid or lucid dreams.
For it to be sleep paralysis, you need to either be falling asleep or waking up, but definitely still consciously awake, but feel your body paralyzed. And then often there are hallucinations which come along, though not necessarily. If you can get up and walk, or turn over in bed, then it’s not sleep paralysis. Having heard that, do you think perhaps you were dreaming during these episodes?
Regards
Ethan
I have the same “dream/experience” every single time just recently it changed slightly and was a bit scarier… I have never had this problem till age 27-28. It always happens when I’m first falling asleep and I feel like I’m awake because I’m thinking to myself and trying to wake myself up but most times this “thing” won’t let me. I’m always laying on my back and feel like I am being lifted up by something but can never see what it is. I try to sway side to side and wriggle away from it but the harder I try the harder it holds on to me. I try to scream and yell and I have even tried to yell out prayers to “save” myself but it makes it angry and my voice gets taken away. Just last night it got worse it was the same dream but this time it started spinning me around it circles and I swore I could feel my feet tingle (like when your foot falls asleep) from it holding onto me with a squeezing grip! I would think to myself OK I’m going to sit up in bed now to stop this and wake up but each time I thought I was sitting myself up it would push my chest down and lift me up and spin me again. So I usually just lay there and let it *&%$ with me (pardon my language) till its done and eventually I wake up, feeling wide awake and scared as %$&£. I did start to research and realize I had a terrible day yesterday and last night had an episode. So I am starting to understand that this maybe my demons. I struggle terribly with depression and anxiety so I am well aware I don’t have a strong state of mind but I’m still scared and sick and tired of this. I believe in science and psychology and want to learn more and hear a strong opinion from someone other than Google articles that just get me worked up and scared. I really look forward to your reply! Thank you in advance!
Hi Raychel
Thank you for your comment. Sorry to hear you’re having difficulty with this at the moment. I can understand why it’s scary and you want it to stop. Hopefully you will have found some useful tips in the article, especially in the reader’s tips section which contains some very useful and effective techniques for dealing with sleep paralysis.
I’m not sure whether it is sleep paralysis or nightmares from what you describe. You do say you’re dreaming a lot, so I’m wondering if you’re like many people having dreams of being held down. Or are you definitely awake in bed, and then having those feelings? They are two very different experiences to have, and understanding whether it is sleep paralysis or a nightmare of being held down will help you to further understand what it is.
Regards
Ethan
I’ve had about 5-7 episodes of this ‘sleep paralysis’. The 1st as a 19 yr old which was more than 20 years ago. Nothing really jumps out about things going on in my life at the particular time. I can’t move and feel as though there is something sitting on my chest. I have real sensations of hearing and feeling presences in the room. Some have felt malevolent, others have not. The room goes cold and there may be lights, things buzzing or whirring, the presence may lie on me. At first my response was sheer terror. Now I get mad, order them out and away from me and pray. Always happens on my back so I make a point of not going to sleep on my back. I’ve also clawed my way out of it when I feel it coming on. I believe the explanation is both scientific and spiritual.
Hi Angel
Thanks for your comment. It’s interesting that your response has evolved over time; I think this is something which many people experience. It’s understandable that the first few times you experience sleep paralysis, the most likely reaction is fear. But with repeat experience, the knowledge that nothing bad actually ever happens other than annoyance and sleep disturbance, the less scary it becomes.
Regards
Ethan
Hi, my names Kasjan and im 12. I had weird dreams recently. This was most common. I was running but something behind me was catching up. I try to cross the road but i trip in the middle of it and cant move. I feel like something is pushing me down. 2 cars pass by and narrowly miss me. When the third car passes i wake up only being able to move my head
Today it happened in the morning and i could briefly see,
I do not know what this means and i’d be very thankful if you helped me.
Regards Kasjan
Hi Kasjan
Thanks for your comment. I think there are two things going on here for you:
1) Not being able to move your body when waking up sounds like it might be sleep paralysis. Although frightening at times, there’s nothing to really worry about. If it happens again, try to use the advice in this article.
2) The bad dream of being in the road. Some say dreams help us practice scary things, such as falling over in the middle of a busy road. Again it’s probably nothing you need to worry about.
Regards
Ethan
I am now 67 and have had maybe 25 or so episodes of sleep paralysis over the years. The first few in my 20s and 30s, I guess, I woke to find I couldn’t move. I didn’t have a feeling of being weighed down and not being able to breathe. I learned about sleep paralysis and was happy to accept the explanation.
Nowadays, I get occasionally night terrors – what today I have learned are hypnagogic hallucinations – maybe every couple of months.In these, I dream I am in a situation where I am being attacked or am in danger and I try to shout for help. Because of the sleep paralysis, I can’t shout properly and a moaning noise comes out. I then wake up and realise what has happened.
This happened just last night and I remember thinking in the middle of the dream that I couldn’t shout because because of the paralysis but still carrying on trying. I could hear the moaning and eventually woke up to find my worried cat trying to comfort me! My husband was away
The night terrors, as I call them, only happen as I am falling asleep and I think are short-lived. They always have a similar theme where I feel threatened and shout ‘Help. Help’ though none is forthcoming. My husband has just told me that he has heard me moaning on other occasions. I believe that the terrors always wake me but perhaps not.
Either the brief sleep or the distress sometimes keeps me awake and I take a while to get back to sleep. Last night I just went straight back to sleep.
It is my opinion that people who believe they have been abducted by aliens or some such have, in fact, had hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis.
Hi Jennifer
Thanks for your comment. I remember a while back reading a research article which suggested that sleep paralysis was a probable explanation for many alien abduction and demonic visitation stories.
It’s interesting what you say about those dreams about being attacked or in danger. One theory for why we dream is that we rehearse scary situations such as being chased.
It also sounds like you have some awareness of the fact that you’re dreaming. Have you ever managed to have a lucid dream and take control of your dreams?
Regards
Ethan
I’ve experienced this a few times the strangest being when I was about 23, went to my boyfriends after having some family problems. We were watching TV in the early evening, (trying to explain this so you can understand) I laid on the bed beside him and drifted off to sleep, I don’t know how much time had passed . So I suddenly wake up, I can see my bf watching TV but he is unaware I am awake since the TV is the opposite direction & that’s where he is looking. I am aware I am awake but I cannot move, I don’t feel pressure on me but I am completely paralyzed, and I hear and feel someone walk to the edge of the bed and stay there, like a presence. I’m trying to scream to my bf to help me but my voice won’t come out. I try to move my fingers with every once or strength I have eventually after a few moments its gone and I can move again. I know it was a demon, trying to mess with me cuz of the negative things going on in my life at the time.
Hi Kay
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear there are negative things going on in your life. Personally, I think it sounds like a very classic case of sleep paralysis. What you choose to believe is up to you of course, but my advice would be to not dwell on the possibility of yet another negative thing going on.
I hope life picks up for you again soon and the negativity fades.
Regards
Ethan
Hi.. I’m 14.. I haven’t had an experience like this buy I’m getting prepared if I do so thanks for the tips.. But I have an experience and I dont know what it was…
I was outside my house in my neighborhood.. It was all dark.. I was with my cousin.. I was running towards my house but the darkness was following us.. I ran into my backyard and flew into my window.. and saw myself sleeping with my brother at my side.. so i jumped near my body… I saw a really bright flash then woke up.. I have no clue what happened.. I wasn’t scared just confused
Hi Luis
Thanks for your comment. Hopefully, you won’t need the tips! Not everyone experiences sleep paralysis.
I think you’re describing a dream there. One of the most common dreams people have is that of being chased. Some scientists say it’s a way that we practice what we would do if we really chased, since it’s not something we can practice during the day – at least not without people thinking we’re being very weird! Even though we wouldn’t be chased by darkness, maybe it’s just your brain creating something to have some practice at being chased.
Take care
Ethan
My first experience was when I was around 11 years old, I was feeling like someone is trying to strangle me but I couldn’t move or speak.
Then later after 2 years it happened again twice at the same time around 5 a.m. just on a different day. It was kinda the same I saw something black and tall and it had devilish laughter and it said that no one could save me and I couldn’t move and talk and it was in my room, then it stopped. and now again 4 years later, yesterday I had a pretty normal dream and than there was my grandma and my friend and my friend had asthma and I needed to give her an asthma inhaler but my grandma couldn’t get it and she said to me to get it and then I said ok and then somehow I was then in my room I thought the dream is over and couldn’t move and speak and felt like someone is here. And now again I just tried to fall asleep and as soon I closed my eyes it happened again I couldn’t say anything or move, felt like someone is very close to me then I woke up and again tried to sleep and the dream kinda continued and then I was somehow in my room and there was like a devil on me and it tried to take my soul or something like it was sucking me out of my body and Again I couldn’t move or speak but I still tried. and when I finally was able to move my hand I could actually touch the Devil’s body and feel it then It ended and then I was so scared and felt like someone actually touched my face and neck and I am still feeling it. it is so scary and I am scared to go back to sleep. And every single time when I know for sure I am awake I have like numb fingers and legs.
Hi Ivy
Thank your for sharing your sleep paralysis stories with us. It’s slightly unclear from your comment whether it was sleep paralysis on each occasion. I suspect it might be a combination of some bad dreams and then sleep paralysis.
I can understand why you’re scared by these experiences. I do think it’s a good thing though to try not to allow it to take away your sleep. Have you spoken to your family about it? You might find that it helps a bit to talk to them, and you might even find that one of them has experienced it too.
Hopefully you read the section with reader’s tips for dealing with sleep paralysis, and some of them really are good, such as trying to stay calm and wiggle a finger or toe.
I would also suggest if it happens and you wake up scared, turn a light on and do something which makes you happy, laugh or calm down. Maybe read something funny for example. And then maybe sleep with a low light and some music on so you can relax, feel safe and fall asleep again.
Take care
Ethan
It’s happened to me a few times in my life, but twice in the last 2 days. The first time I just felt scared because I felt like I was suffocating because my breathing was so slow. The second time I felt like someone had their arm around my shoulder (Like hugging me from behind). I kept hearing my name, so I tried to respond but couldn’t. Both times I got out of it by focusing on moving my fingers and controlling my breathing.
Hi Kristen
Thank you for your comment. I can understand why it was scary – I think waking up and feeling like you’re being suffocated is one of the more unpleasant physical sensations which can come with sleep paralysis.
Well done for coming up with the idea of focusing on the breathing and wiggling a finger. They are both good techniques for dealing with sleep paralysis.
Regards
Ethan
I’ve had about 3 of these? I’m 19.
I had my first one when I was around 17, I noticed that a lot of people have some kind of hallucination, but I don’t, I wake up paralysed, unable to move, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary or hear anything odd, I don’t think I can actually hear anything when I am paralysed. I’ve never been in the same room as someone, and I’ve never had one whilst watching TV etc as I don’t really watch TV in my room.
But why is it that I can’t hear anything? It’s like, whilst I’m paralysed, I’m deaf too!! I don’t get it, can you tell me why??
Hi Amie
Thank for your comment. Not everyone experiences hallucinations, even though its seems more common to do so.
I’m not sure about the hearing thing. I guess the first, and most obvious, question is whether or not there actually is any sound to hear during an episode? Otherwise I guess it could be that the part of your brain to do with hearing is still waking up, a little like your paralyzed body.
Regards
Ethan
i just had my first sleep paralysis experience last night and it was truly terrifying. I was peacefully sleeping but I was awoken around four in the morning because I had to pee?? So after I went to the bathroom I fell back asleep. I believe it happened while I was beginning to wake up.
At first it started out as a dream, but then things began to look and feel vivid. I could not move any part of my body. There was a women(?) and I only assume it was because I didn’t get to see her.
I could not even open my eyes. They would flutter open occasionally but I didn’t want to see what was, at the time, shaking me up and down, screaming incoherent things, and choking me. The weird thing was that while she(?) was choking me I didn’t quite feel like I was being choked. And I was unnaturally calm during the whole thing. I mean, I was beyond terrified, but my mind was completely blank and I just went with it.
There were a few things that made me question whether or not it was sleep paralysis. At the end of the whole ordeal she yelled “wake up,” and then my eyes opened. I was too scared to move, but soon turned over to focus my eyes on something around my room. My phone radio was on so I let it calm me down.
Although it felt VERY real, could it have been a nightmare? Or was it sleep paralysis? I’m honestly not sure. One thing that comes to mind when I think of her is the name Rosie and I’m not sure why.
Hi Jenna
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your sleep paralysis story. I think sometimes it’s quite difficult to be absolutely sure whether or not it was sleep paralysis or a nightmare. And to be honest, you may never quite be sure unless you have more episodes (which you hopefully won’t!) and therefore start to learn just how conscious or asleep you actually are.
Having said that, what you describe does sound a lot like sleep paralysis to me, even with the shouting ‘wake up’ part at the end. I guess a key question is did you at some point become aware that you were lying in your bed, conscious but paralyzed? Or did you wake up and then have a memory come to you of the whole event? Can you remember lying in bed thinking you were awake but unable to move and experiencing hallucinations? That might help you to determine whether it was sleep paralysis or a nightmare.
Regards
Ethan
Hi!
I have an extremely unpleasant story to share. I was standing at my living room and looking outside from the window. I was not laying on my bed, like usual people do. Instead, I was standing. Then, a little black-eyed child walked from a distance, not in our garden, behind the fence. Not closer to me, but just away. He then stopped and we stared each other for a couple of minutes. Then, he said: “You’re scared, aren’t you?” and left me there, frozen.
Since I have not had any dreams like this before, I had also no idea how to deal with it. It’s the creepiest dream I’ve ever had.
Do you know to get rid of the belief that your living room and garden are cursed?
Thanks :)
Hi H.
Thanks for your comment. I think that what would be more helpful for you is to look at my article about stopping nightmares, as this is what it seems like you had, rather than sleep paralysis.
It’s very common to have nightmares – some say we have them almost every night, but just don’t remember them. So to my mind, the way to stop believing your place is cursed is to understand the fact that we just have a lot of nightmares. And the content of the nightmares often reflects our real world, our worries and fears. Have a look at that link and you might find some useful ideas for coping with your nightmares.
Regards
Ethan
Hi my names Trevor,
I’m unfortunately a pro at having SP encounters. Many different ones, not scary, scary, long, very-long,short. But of course all are short just time goes by slow in the SP.
First start happening from MDMA abuse. First time it happened, very scary, little did I know it was nothing compared to the ones that would come. Just basic SP, everything in my room was going on accordingly, even the T.V, Lord of the Rings was still playing, could hear my mom yelling, but I thought it was real the first time, now I know it was all an illusion, in my mind.
After about 2 demonic ones that were decently scary, that awoken me from heavy shaking, there was this one that changed everything. MDMA weekend, night after day of no MDMA comes, and I fall to sleep. No T.V or lights on when I fell asleep like a dumbo, I hear my door open gently, gently as in the presence wanted me to hear the “silent squeakiness of it”, then pounding running to my bed, like a earth quake, a forceful presence started shaking me, with my blankets, then in his demonic voice he said, “STOP SMOKING HEROIN”. Scariest Demonic voice you could ever think of. Stopped doing MDMA and HEROIN, after that night.
SP stopped for a while, just some of the basic ones where nothing too crazy is going down, just weird voice, and thoughts of a possible presence.
Started using Adderall/Xanax, Adderall being another serotonin drainer. Every night after my prescription ended, it was a guaranteed SP. Some normal if I didn’t abuse my script at all, but this one…. This one was the scariest at the time. I woke up in a different spot then I was, but I didn’t know at the time, which is weird because I usually remember, since it’s happened so much. I had no shirt on in this SP and I felt something lightly touching my chest. I decided to open my eyes and it was a girl, not scary looking, but it seems, from what I read in “Astral Recall” that if your ugly, you look even uglier, and if your good looking, you look even better. But it could be the other way around. She looked like a human but there was something about it her that enhanced her in a way, which probably meant she was in the lower realms or an astral recaller. Her touches weren’t that pleasant, it was kinda rough. I’m a pretty decent looking guy, with a decent body, so someone tell me what that was. But, that SP goes on, I move to the couch, where I wasn’t sleeping, but for some reason I didn’t remember the sleeping on floor SP, with the lady. It lasted longer than normal so I freaked out and started moving everything. Then BOOM, astral recalled for the first time, like a roller coaster, went standing up position, straight out of my head. I got a look at my kitchen with two grayish girls talking, one looked at me, then instantly got ported down to another SP.
Now today, a couple months after that last paragraph, I witnessed the weirdest, most inexplicable one. I exp. the SP but something was different with this one. I honestly felt like this was it for me. Didn’t recognize anything at first, didn’t really feel my body at all, in a sense of not being paralyzed, but just not there. After a few seconds I got into the reg SP cycle, heard noises but called in my guardians angels, and said a prayer, and the voices didn’t get any deeper or closer. After that though, I forcefully wiggled by body because it was another really scary one, and I think I could of Astral Recalled, but got scared and after that, what happen was inexplicable. I went back into SP, and when I opened my eyes, all I saw was the most demonic face ever, closed my eyes, prayed again, opened them into a different less scary demonic face, after that I kept praying and wiggling, and finally got out. Most weirdest SP ever… Don’t know the mechanics of that one. I believe since I forcefully made my body wiggle and almost astral-recalled, but called it off, that beings or other astral-recallers feel that, and go to you. The demonic faces could be evil souls stuck in the lower realms, or astrallers trying to have a joke on me and choosing a form of a demon,(just like maybe one of my deceased family members chose a demonic voice to get me off heroine). Or it could just be demonic faces I’ve seen in movies and they are just logged in my mind with me not knowing, who knows. But it was scary. I wish I had the guts to Astral Recall, but it would be the cheating way because of drugs.
If there is one thing I can recommend, is that you stay calm, pray to your guardians angels, and pray to your God/Lord/Deceased family members. The wiggling sometimes helps, but it takes time, it actually makes me more anxious, so I just stay calm and pray. Most of these recommendations were from above, good post man, thank you.
Hi Trevor,
Thank you for sharing your very interesting story. And I’m glad you enjoyed the original article. I think I struggled at times to understand exactly what you’re describing in your experiences. The blurring of sleep paralysis, dreaming and what you describe as astral projection/recall is a little confusing, though most definitely interesting.
The main thing in my mind though is that it’s great that you managed to stop taking those drugs, as they were probably having quite an impact on the sleep disruption you were experiencing. And it’s also good that you’ve developed your own way of dealing with these episodes. I completely agree that trying to stay calm is an excellent way to deal with it, and also that wiggling a finger doesn’t always come easily or quickly, even when it does work.
All the best
Ethan
This is the 2nd time that this had happened to me in my life. The first time wasn’t as bad as I thought just knowing I couldn’t move that’s all. On the other hand just a few minutes ago I woke up from the worst nightmare yet.
Knowing I could not move my body I thought it was all over. What’s really crazy is that I was dreaming, something random but all of a sudden I heard this really high pitched noise, so bad I wanted to cover ears and then it happened I was in sleep paralysis. It was like my dream had shift to reality I was in my room it was so dark and I said to myself so many times that this isn’t going to last long so I’ll try to wait it out in my head. My heart dropped when I saw the door opened in my room it was a really tall person he/she was at least 6ft 5 and since it was so dark couldn’t see who it was. It was staring at me dead in the eye I was so scared of my life I thought I was gonna die in all seriousness. The only thing I was able to do was look away I don’t know why but, then I tried so hard to focus on my fingers trying to move them and was literally screaming for help but in Spanish for some reason I don’t why I was saying “ayúdame”. Also let me remind you that in real time it was only a few minutes that had felt like hours in my mind. I started praying really hard while in my state of mind hoping this was all dream. Yet nothing, as if I was trapped in a room with someone looking at me so I decided that took turn my head right at the person and then I snapped back to reality I saw my little brother waking me up saying that I was “heavily breathing and moaning” that I was scaring him so he woke me up. At that moment I gave him a hug I was so thankful for what he did if anything I would have lost my mind right there and then.
Hi Kevin
Thank you for your comment and for sharing this experience. I can completely understand why it left you feeling so distressed. I’m not sure though if it was sleep paralysis that you experienced. You say that you were woken up by your brother, and that it was like the dream shifted to reality. This makes me wonder whether in fact you were dreaming about being paralyzed in the bedroom with all this scary stuff happening still while asleep. If that’s the case you might find it helpful to look at the article about false awakenings, which is when you dream about waking up, but are in fact still asleep. And also the article about nightmares.
If on the other hand you were definitely awake, lying in bed paralyzed but conscious of the hallucination of the man, then it would be sleep paralysis probably.
Regards
Ethan
I have it many times a month. But it tends to come in cycles. The usual dark figure (figures). Always one on my chest, often 4 others holding my arms and legs. The one on my chest strangles me and “pushes” me down through my bed, the floor and eventually the ground and sometimes to a place mixed of dirt and flames….hell?
I actually see that layers of mattress, box spring, floor, ground and earth passing through my field of vision. And the overwhelming feeling of dread, terror and evil. But, there is a smell that comes with “them”, its indescribable….rot, sewage, death..if evil has a smell..it’s so strong I can taste it in my mouth and upon waking the taste lingers, for days afterward if I think of the episode, the taste comes to memory.
I’ve noticed that certain anti-depressants and chocolate can make things worse, along with melatonin supplements.
Hi Brian
Thank you for sharing your sleep paralysis experience. It almost sounds from what you describe as an out-of-body type experience. You don’t mention paralysis at any point during your comment. Are you certain you’re conscious during these episodes? Or are they happening while you’re asleep and dreaming?
It’s good that you’ve worked out things which can make it worse or not, so you can decide whether to continue taking/eating them or not. Sometimes we have to weight up the pros and cons of the choices we make and their impact on our sleep.
Regards
Ethan
My incident happened early in the morning, it was cold, I was sleeping in the living room on a futon, covered from head to toe with a quilt. I was laying face up with my head resting on a pillow. I tried to sit up and felt as if I was being held down. I attempted to force myself to sit up. But I felt as if someone was holding me down. As I was forcing to get up I heard a sound like uhhaaaaaa. It was so scary that I got goose bumps from head to toe. After I relaxed, I was able to sit up and get out of bed.
Hi Ed
Thanks for your comment. That sounds like it could well be sleep paralysis. It’s an unpleasant experience the first time it happens and you realize you can’t move. Well, it’s unpleasant most times for the majority of people unfortunately!
Hopefully this will have been a one-off for you. If it happens again try the techniques, such as wiggling a toe or finger, listed in the article.
Regards
Ethan
Also, regarding to my last comment to help others on how I snapped out of it each time, I just fought like hell. Usually wakes me right up!
Hi again,
It does sound like you are dreaming during these episodes then. Are you aware that you’re dreaming each time? If so, it sounds a lot like lucid dreaming. Have a look at the link I left you about false awakenings for a bit more about that.
Ethan
Hello. I have read the blog above and agree with both sides, scientific and also demonic entitys and etc. But in nothing have I found one word of the spirit or entity talking to someone in sleep paralysis. Or would that also link into the scientific theory of a deep REM sleep? Causing shortness of breath and hallucinations? You see I have little understanding.
I guess I’ll just share my experience.
One night when I was playing games on my phone I had fallen asleep without knowing it. In my dream I was still playing the same game I had complete control over my body. But then I suddenly felt the room grow an eerie feeling, I had goose bumps everywhere! The room lighting had even changed, it was sort of an incandescent blue, but it filled me with gloom. Like something sad had happened there. I shrugged it all off though because, well I’m scared of the dark to be honest. (No shame.)
But I looked into my closet and in my closet was four sets of feet, legs and all… I suddenly grew very frightened and then when I started to feel paralysis slip up through my feet and all the way up to my neck where I was gasping for air, gasping for words, but choking on them. I slightly tilted my head to as far as I could make it go to lay my eyes on something truly horrific.. :/
The girl,.. The girl with the cold touch, the touch that made my body cringe and convulse with every touch to my chest she would say “you’re coming with me” or “we have to go now.”
But my body was not budging. Thank God for that. My experience may seem a bit extreme but hey that’s what happened. Any thoughts on this? Because I’ve looked into all scientific theories and also religious theories of the sleep paralysis state.
Anyways, thanks.
Hi Tonya
Thanks for your comment. I think many previous readers have also spoken about entities speaking to them during sleep paralysis or dreams too. You might need to scroll through the other pages of older comments to find some which match your story, but I think there are some.
But what you describe makes me think that you didn’t have sleep paralysis, but a dream of being paralyzed whilst seeing this girl and being in the bedroom. This is quite a common confusion people make, and it’s important to determine which it was so you can understand it better.
If you were definitely conscious and felt paralyzed in bed whilst seeing these things, it’s sleep paralysis.
If you fell asleep and were dreaming of being in your bedroom, it’s a bad dream or nightmare. And if you dreamed that you woke up in your bedroom, but were actually still asleep, it could be a false awakening.
I hope that helps a little.
Regards
Ethan
Interesting article, I experienced regular sleep paralysis events as a teenager in the 13-19 years category with some occasional events into my 20’s (I’m mid 40’s now).
I’d experience these both going to sleep and waking up in the morning too. Whilst I never experienced the feeling of a shadowy presence’ or ‘demon’, I was constantly aware of a feeling of being trapped within my own body, aware of external sounds like passing traffic or general sounds around the house if others were up and about, the tv or radio etc etc. I’d also be aware of a sound a bit like rushing water, especially around my head, which I presumed to be the sound of blood pumping round my body.
It was very difficult to snap out of, eventually after what would feel like several minutes, I’d burst to life, normally gasping for air and extremely agitated. Nothing like that has happened to me for over 20 years now, I presumed it to be down to the pressure and life changes of adolescence. My nephew just turned 13 recently, I hope it doesn’t run in the family…
Hi Allen
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your story. I think many people have a similar pattern, whereby they experience it a handful of times when younger, then never again. And I’m not sure why that is either to be honest!
In terms of running in the family, I’m not sure either if there is any solid evidence one way or the other. But I think it’s such a common thing for people to experience even just once or twice, it might just be a case of pot-luck. You could always bring up your experience one day and see if he says with relief that he’s had it too. I know lots of kids keep quiet about it because they don’t want their family thinking they’re crazy.
Regards
Ethan
Hi Ethan,
Thanks for the reply, I’m not sure if I’ve just forgotten most of what I went through, or have blanked it out somehow or just reading other people’s testimonies has reminded me of more of the detail detail, but…
I read your other piece about the ‘false awakening’ thing and remember that I used to get that a hell of a lot too. The sleep paralysis was bad enough, desperately trying to ‘wake up’ for real but so many times I used to wake up into what seemed like a normal situation, but with some odd hints of surrealism that made me wonder what the heck was going on ? Just silly things like something on the bedside table that wasn’t there the night before or a slightly strange view out the window, maybe something in the distance, a building or such that wasn’t normally in view. And then BOOM ! I would wake up, in bed again, but somehow feeling more attached to reality and frantically checking everything around me was as it ought to be. But as you have written, on the odd occasion, this cycle of thinking I was awake, and really wakening up could sometimes take 2 or 3 cycles before touching base with actually being awake. I remember being quite confused as to which ‘zone’ I was actually in, and sometimes hours after I’d gone to school or college or whatever at that time, I’d still wonder if I was having a surreal experience or an actual one ? Quite scary !
To get back onto the paralysis topic of this article/thread, it started about two days before my 13th birthday as a once in a while experience and gradually intensified into my mid-teens to being something that would happen pretty much nightly, both going into and out of sleep. As I mentioned earlier there were never any sensations of strange spirits or being attacked, on the contrary it felt like being all alone,trapped underground, or in a tight void, extremely claustrophobic and unable to escape. To this day I am a claustrophobic and fear being in lifts or small places on my own.
There were a couple of strange and spooky paranormal experiences around those years and certainly around the most intense period of my sleeping disorders, and happened whilst I was in bed or within the same flat we lived in at the time, but they don’t really fit with any of the classic sleep paralysis examples I’ve read about. I’ll stick with the assumption that growing up, both physically and emotionally managed to play some clever ‘Jedi’ mind tricks on me…
Hi Allen,
Good to hear from you again. I think you’re right in that our minds are particularly good at playing tricks on us. And it could well be that growing up we are more susceptible to this, part due to our imagination and lack of experience in life generally I suppose.
It’s a shame that you have been left with claustrophobia, though I can understand why nightly episodes of sleep paralysis like that would have some lasting memory.
Your story about the false awakenings is particulary interesting since I wrote that article very recently. It would be great if you have a minute to pop back over to that article and share your story in more detail. I know other readers would find it interesting and helpful to know that others have had experiences like that.
Regards
Ethan
I believe Einstein when he says E=MC^2. I trust when environmental scientists tell me that there is global warming. I’ve read that doctors say sleep paralysis is simply just an interruption in the REM sleep cycle but… to this day I cannot help but believe there is a spiritual reason for my sleep paralysis.
I was in 7th grade the first time it happened for me- so about 13. It was quite memorable because while I was trying to fall asleep I felt an overwhelming pressure on my chest, heard a loud ringing in my ear, and could not move. I truly thought it was a kind of evil I had never been aware of. When I shook myself out of it I ran downstairs to my mother in a panic. She told me she used to get the same experience when she was in college. In her motherly way she convinced me with no reasoning that it was not evil I was experiencing, but a gift. I found that oddly comforting lol
Now that I am 22, my sleep paralysis varies from consecutive nights to every couple of weeks. You could say I’m a regular. Unlike other people’s experiences I have read, I have never experienced a pressure on my chest except for that first time. To this day, it all starts with me falling asleep as my thoughts of the previous day start turning into images of my normal mundane life and I start to dream. The images become more vivid and my ears begin to ring like the sound of sitting alone quietly in a parked car. You know, like a loud piercing silence? You understand. So, that ringing gets louder as the pitch goes higher and my teeth start to chatter involuntarily. I am way past the thought, “Here we go again.” -_-
Now, the vibrations of my body are going up and my soul is being lifted to start doing some astral projection or whatever BUT here’s where I always start resisting. Because, after all these years I still cannot resist the fear. I violently twitch like a mad woman and wiggle my toes. That is the best and quickest way out of it (an incessant twitch of the head and a wiggle of the toes). The first time my boyfriend saw me doing this he thought I was having a seizure (Though needless to say, he’s never witnessed a seizure before…) Sometimes I can get a weird low guttural distressful moan from my vocal chords if I’m lucky and he can relieve me of my possession lol
To clarify, I do not believe I am being overtaken by an evil being or entity during my sleep paralysis episodes. Our souls are always attached to the body by an unbreakable chord. Also, I have never seen anything around me while I am stuck in my body (probably because I am so focused on getting out of it that I’m not really looking around) but sometimes I do feel a presence. I really wish I could calm myself enough to follow through with astral projection (or out of body experiences) because I have read people can go on some really cool journeys.
I don’t know what I do to cause sleep paralysis because it happens when I’m rested and also when I’m really tired. I have never explored getting help medically, spiritually, or psychologically. I just research online and read books on cultural interpretations of sleep paralysis which I find INCREDIBLY FASCINATING. It’s comforting to know this phenomenon as been documented and awed over for thousands of years.
Thank you taking the time to read your dose of crazy for the week! Good luck to you all.
Hi Maya
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your sleep paralysis experiences. I can understand that mental battle between wanting to believe science and the fact that it feels so other-worldly at times. Many people have the same trouble with coming to terms with what is actually going on.
I think that staying calm is probably the secret to being able to go with it, and perhaps have some additional experiences rather than the point where you break out of it. Perhaps even just by thinking about it a bit more and reading this article and the comments, you might find some way to not resist so much. It’s not always easy though in the middle of such strange experiences!
Regards
Ethan
Last year I was napping on my side on the couch and I could still hear the TV in the background. I started hearing this extremely high pitched buzz in my left ear and I tried to move my head and open my eyes, but I couldn’t move anything except my feet in circles.
I tried screaming out to my father who was in the kitchen but my mouth wouldn’t open and I started to become terrified that aliens were abducting me.
It would have lasted only under a minute until I sprang up from the couch. I was almost in tears and babbling like a baby because I was absolutely petrified at what I just experienced. I was 19 then and it was like I was a child all over again, it was only until I fully woke up that I realized that nothing happened and I became really embarrassed.
I thought nothing of it until a few weeks ago I felt/heard the same high pitched noise in my ear again one early morning. This time, I knew what was happening so I wasn’t scared, just felt very uncomfortable like aliens were watching me or something.
This experience made me remember another experience I had, when I was 18, I was sleeping and I heard a high pitched noise in my left ear, and I remember thinking ‘YES, aliens have finally come to heal me! Thankyou.’
(I have a scar on my eyebrow that I didn’t like back then, and i thought aliens had come to heal it lol)
Anyway, that is 3 cases of sleep paralysis that I remember and they all began with an annoying, almost painful high pitch buzz sound. Is hearing that noise normal??
Hi Danuil
Thank you for sharing your sleep paralysis stories. It’s interesting that you thought aliens were coming to abduct you, and that it was connected to something going on for you at the time.
I think that many people hear noises at the time when they get sleep paralysis. It’s probably related to the types of hallucinations which accompany the paralysis.
Hopefully you’ll have found something in the article which can help you should it happen again.
Regards
Ethan
My father (Papa) passed two years ago of cancer….You know how you long to be comforted after a death? Well, one night I was sleeping and I felt as though someone was holding one of my hands, and I said out loud “Papa; if that is you hold my other hand” and sure enough my other hand was squeezed. It was as if Papa had come to comfort me;
Several times I have also experienced the sensation of what feels like someone lying down in the bed next to me. I’ll reach out and there’s nothing there. I may first wonder that my grand daughter has crawled into bed with me…and it feels as though the spirit, the movement of the mattress is someone that wants to be close to me. I’ve had these feelings happen to me for at least the past 10 years….never a threatening thought ……
Hi Tamara
Thank you for your comment. I’m not sure if your experiences fall into the category of sleep paralysis from what you describe though, as you don’t at any point mention that you were paralyzed in the bed and unable to move whilst experiencing these sensations. Was this the case? Or did you just experience them whilst lying in bed normally?
Regards
Ethan
I’ve seen ghosts and demons as a kid. I’ve had an Exorcism already. One time I had sleep paralysis, and as I was fighting to get my head upright it felt like someone pushed my face back on right side of my face. Afterwards the strangling got so intense I started to get dark in my eyes. My breathing slowed down so fast after I thought I would’ve died. I’ve had sleep paralysis on many different ages of my life, but that particular experience which happened to days in a row as a matter of fact doesn’t make me feel like its science at all.
Hi there
Thanks for your comment. I can understand why you might question the scientific explanation when it can feel so real. But I do think it’s important to remember that your brain has an incredible ability to create hallucinations which are very vivid. And these can be both visual and physical.
Regards
Ethan
I had this happen to me this morning, my husband had gotten up at 4:30 for work and I couldn’t get back to sleep. Next thing I knew I was laid in my bed and I felt the mattress move and then something holding me and not being able to move! I was trying to scream for my kids but nothing came out. It’s really really freaked me out! I’m most concerned about feeling the mattress shift like someone was sitting on it too? Is that a common thing also?
Hi Rachael,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, feeling your mattress, bed or bedding moving is quite a common experience during sleep paralysis. I can appreciate how real it feels, and how scary that then seems. But it does sounds exactly like sleep paralysis. Try to take a few tips from the article and see if they help if it happens again, especially the one about trying to stay calm and wiggle a finger or toe.
Regards
Ethan
I believe it is both a spiritual and a medical condition and I have found a way to make it stop, permanently. I’ll talk about my spiritual condition first.
This is my story:
I had sleeping paralysis for many years, when I was teenager from like 11 or 12 till i’m like 24 or 25. And I have found a way to make it stop completely, although I recently had an small episode (now I’m 30 and I kinda stopped what I was doing to avoid it from happening).
When I was younger I was an atheist. I used to listen to black metal bands like Deicide, Cradle of Filth and Slipknot (I still listen but less and I dont worship them anymore).. and have bands of the same style. I was an asshole, a bully, a cheater, aggressive and abusive. I was always wearing black and having evil thoughts all the time. I did all kinds of drugs.. very abusive with cigarettes and alcohol. And, of course, all my friends were all like me.
In my sleeping paralysis episodes, I suddenly “woke up”, in my old apartment, next to my bed looking to my own body or next to my bedroom door, where there was this long corridor that took to other rooms of the house.
For sometime, it was just me trying to lay over my body to “get back”.. to (really) wake up. And for (what it seemed to be) hours I tried to wake up and couldn’t; I tried to scream for help, for my parents.. anyone, I could never make a sound.
Once, I “woke up” half controlling my body (actually I had 1% of control); I could see my ear real close, like three inches away from my face for hours. And I could barely breathe. Those times I was around 13 to 16.
So, I started trying everything to avoid it, like sleeping with music on. I remember sleeping with my headphones on, listening to The Great Southern Trendkill, from Pantera, on the loop. That would avoid me getting into deep sleep. But It only worked for a couple weeks.
When I got a little older, some kind of spirit began to pull me (my soul) off my body. And It was very strong. Although I’ve never actually looked at it, I know it was black. Like a Sasquatch or a gorilla. It was terrifying and I always had to “physically” fight to break free from his grips and run back to my body. (This made me notice that I could move when I was.. totally detached from my body. However, when I was still attached or semi-attached to my body I could not move).
The last time I’ve “seen” this entity, I suddenly “woke up” facing my bedroom door and I could not open it, because my hand were just going through it. I could not grab anything in the physical world. All of the sudden, the “gorilla” (the entity) grabbed me from behind, trapping my arms, slightly above my elbows. And It was overwhelmingly strong.
I was like ‘this is it’ I’m tired of this. So I’ve filled myself with all my fury and my evilness, yielded at him (in spiritual world) that I was even worse than him and it was I that was going to chew his brains out. So, I ran backwards with everything I had (I have a huge brawling experience and I was very used to turn as evil as a mad pitbull longing for a neck to tear apart) and slammed him against the wall in the end of the corridor. I think he was feeding on my fear. And I was not afraid anymore. I really really wanted to chew his brains out. I was madly evil against it.
(It is important to say that I DO NOT RECOMMEND you to do this at all. NEVER)
I don’t know exactly how or why, but eventually, I got tired of being pissed and aggressive all the time. And I envied the happy and kind people, like hippies and spiritual people. I used to think they were idiots and ignorant, but they were happy and the troubled one was me, so.. maybe I was stupid and ignorant.
And I decided to change and try to be a good person. So, I went to this Body Talk specialist, witch was also a very known medium. And as soon as I got into his office, and shook his hand, he was shocked and started crying. Then he asked my parents to wait outside. He gathered himself together, took a deep breath and, basically, told me I had a legion of “evil” (actually he used the word “lost”) spirits with me.. of behind me. He said it was hundreds. That they would stick with me because I had some sort of medium ability too. The healing sort. So they probably believed I would help them in their suffering. So, from there on, I go from time to time to the.. Spiritualism Center to.. deliver them. He said that I could learn how to deliver them myself, but I never wanted to. And he also taught me some pray but Ive never did it. But you should just obey whoever knows more than you.
So, I started changing everything about me. Most importantly MY THOUGHTS and FEELINGS. Just watched them and denied them. And “prayed” ‘God, if you’re there, help get rid of those thoughts.
I also dropped all the heavy drugs I was doing. Just kept cigarettes (but trying to quit), alcohol and marijuana.
I was now 19. I had just got rid of a brutal depression that made me not move more than my eyes for days.. eventually (can’t remember exactly how) I met this beautiful sport/philosophy that saved my life called Parkour. It was 2004. And luckily, Ive met a bunch of people doing it in my city.
So I started hanging out with them. The training was VERY HARD. But I wanted to change so much that I gave everything I had. I was doing great and I could physically, mentally and spiritually feel the huge difference. So, Ive finally stopped all drugs, drinking and smoking pot socially (apparently and luckily I was not as affected by addictions as many of my friends whose still on drugs). That was the first part of the change.
Secondly, I was now.. 21.. the Parkour “head coach” started training Taekwondo, and Ive followed him; he started training Jiu-Jitsu and Ive followed him; he started training MMA and Ive followed him. (I did Judo and Karate when I was a kid and stopped a couple years before the Sleeping Paralysis started). Those martial arts were fundamental to my mental strengthening.
Thirdly, even though I wanted to change. Somethings are just within you. I wasn’t picking fights anymore, but I wasn’t avoiding them either.. if anyone wanted to test my chin, I was happy to deliver the answer. And I had this girlfriend that I really really loved. I was 25. She eventually broke up with me because I was (still a little) violent. (I was raised like that, my parents beated me unnecessarily and overwhelmingly many times a day, so dont judge me. I was raised in fear and violence). So, I was devastated when this girl left me. It was easily the worst part of my life, and I was already hit by a car and bit by the Brazil’s most venomous snake (jararaca). So, I was depressed, but training those martial arts was what kept me together. I was used to have sex twice a day and now I could not think of approaching another woman. I totally love her. That lasted for two years. Ive thought I was losing the battle.. the Sleeping Paralysis episodes, that was then very rare, started to be frequent again.. I used to win all competitions.. I was undefeated and I started losing, which only made depression even worse. But Jiu-Jitsu is about never giving up. And by then, training was like.. hell. lol!
So, when I was about to kill myself, my uncle, that was highly ranked in some kind of cult, called (here in Brazil) UDV (União do Vegetal=Vegetal’s Union). That one that you drink a tea and have “experiences”. Im not supposed to talk about it, but I’ll try to keep a low profile: basically you drink this tea and get into.. another realm.. or realms.
My first time, I was hearing a buzz on my ear, that went through the whole place, where there was many people, and in every breath I took, I could feel my soul being pulled off my body (just like those Sleeping Paralysis episodes) but now it was slowly and could (try to) control it, by trying to physically stay in control of my breathing. I was scared to die, but.. it wasnt panic, like Sleeping Paralysis. It was a silly fear. I could feel someone very very lovely holding my hand and (like the Sasquatch/Gorilla from earlier) I couldnt see him/her, I know it was made of light; yellow bright light. And “it” took me away into two or three different (or not) spiritual realms. The first realm was like a spaceship.. of just a room with a ultra technological video machine that could play the “movie” of my whole life. And this entity, would show me every bad thing I did, and make me feel all the pain Ive caused. Although it was terrible, I felt a weird sense of total gratefulness and humbleness towards this entity. Then he/she took me to other realm (I guess), to show me how silly I was to judge people. In this realm, although I could perceive weather “people” (in this realm everything was made of green light. Even the people) were fat/skinny, old/young, male/female; that totally and absolutely wouldn’t matter. I’ve leaned a lot. A lot. It was like more than a lifetime of spiritual knowledge in a download to my head. It seemed I was there for like two or three days. When I got back and woke up (witch the master conducting the cult that decides) two or three hours had passed. I kept going to this cult for about a year, but the following sessions of the tea were not so rich as the first, (described above) so I’ve stopped going.
Fourthly, after that I did many researches and leaned to meditate and to be good and happy. Basically, I’ve learned how to.. be mentally and spiritually strong. And once you learn that, you become unreachable for evil/lost spirits.
My last Sleeping Paralysis episode was like a year ago, now Im 30, and I just couldnt move for maybe one minute or two. I believe it was because I was being too promiscuous. Messing with girls’ feelings.. being with a different girl every day.. started feeling some weird and very strong pain in my leg (which didnt make any sense, because I did now ten years of Taekwondo). So my cousin was starting this Body Talk office and he gave me a free consultation. He told me I should stop promiscuity (and he didnt know I was having that lifestyle). So, Ive stopped seeing so many girls.. and the pain stopped.
As a medical condition, when I sleep facing up, I swallow my tongue, and it suffocates me. Thats when/how the Sleeping Paralysis happen.
I went to many doctors.. did five surgeries in nose and throat.. many many tests.. all useless, but one in the nose (my nose used to be.. like a closet. now its like a hangar).
So, if I sleep facing up, its like 90% chance of having a Sleeping Paralysis again. Then I always sleep beside. I rather my left side.
This is it. I really hope this helps you, because it almost took my life many times.
Hi Yuri
Thank you for your fascinating comment and for sharing your very personal story. It’s particularly interesting because of the difference in culture from where I come from (England) and yourself (Brazil). The approach to spiritual matters is very different. I know a bit about the tea ceremony for example, and know that it is revered as being a doorway to the spiritual realms in many cultures in your continent.
It’s great that you managed to find your own path from what sounds like a very bad place to have been through to a much better place. The journey from being into drugs and generally unhappy to being sporty and more self-aware is not an easy one, so well done for doing your best to get through it.
I don’t want to comment any more as the cultural perspective make it almost pointless for me to give my own views about what you have been through.
I’m sure other readers will find your story fascinating, and hopefully inspiring to some other young readers who have been having difficulty in their lives.
Regards
Ethan
I’m 21 years old and have experienced this about 6 or 7 times seemingly at random over the last 3 years. My first experience was truly horrifying and left me stunned and shaken all day. I was lying on my side in bed having a sleep in and my girlfriend at the time had her back to me when my eyes opened and I immediately panicked because I couldn’t move and couldn’t breathe, plus had a giant weight on my chest, seconds after waking up, I felt an evil presence in the room followed by a snarling behind me. I was trying to scream out to wake my girlfriend up but to no avail. I could see a massive werewolf like creature leaning over me and growling in my ear, I could literally feel it’s hot breath on my cheek and neck. After about 30 seconds or so I’d managed to wake up my girlfriend by wiggling my toe against her foot, she rolled over and was shocked at my horrified face, shook me and I was suddenly free. I breathed so heavily afterwards and thanked her so much for freeing me. All of my episodes have been this terrifying and along these lines
Hi Daniel
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your story. I can completely understand why that was terrifying, and I’m sure your other episodes similarly were.
It’s interesting what you said about having a horrified face when your girlfriend saw you. Did she tell you that you looked scared whilst being frozen? I wonder if that’s a common occurrence for partner’s to find people looking frightened if they do catch them in the moment of sleep paralysis.
I hope you find some useful tips here, and if it happens again they help you out.
Regards
Ethan
Hi Ethan, when I was maybe 11 years old I experienced three nights in a row when I opened my eyes at night i saw a woman in a white gown, long black hair and i can barely see her face. I have no voice but I can open my mouth, I can’t move and can’t breath. I told my mom after the third night cause it’s creeping me out. So what she did is spray holy water in my room. Take Note, my room had couple of lights turned on at that time. Then, after that I never saw her again when I opened my eyes after I wake up in the middle in the night.
Then, when I turned 16, I woke up at noon time I saw a 4feet tall man with a long nose, wrinkled face just like a dwarf, light camouflage colored skin, he’s kinda fat, I couldn’t talk and tried to get up but i fell asleep.
Lastly, I was 23, i experienced a couple of times waking up that my room light is color red with decorations, and outside the window i know that there’s some creepy creatures watching me. I saw them. But still I fell asleep again.
All of that, I am fully aware of what I saw. I tried to get up and wanted to prove that it was real. But why is it that every time i resist it would make me more sleepy.
Hi Kenneth
Thanks for your comment. I think that when you go through sleep paralysis when waking up, which is what it could have been, it”s often the case that you don’t really wake up, but fall asleep again. Some people do wake up in a panicked state, but others drift in and out of sleep. As they transition through the sleep stages and wakefulness, the hallucinations then creep in. If it happens again, try to remember some of the tips from the article.
Regards
Ethan
I have had sleep paralysis episodes throughout the last decade and a half, it probably happens two or three times a year. Until now I always thought it was my mother’s spirit taking over my body. She died almost 15 years ago. i am not a spiritual or religious person, but because this is what I felt it was, I just assumed that was what was happening. My brother has mentioned to me he has suffered from sleep paralysis in the past and I never made the connection that this is what was happening to me. I have always coped in episodes by telling myself that she will eventually stop, and I try to stay patient until it passes so thankfully I don’t panic. But I certainly don’t enjoy it! I had an episode last night and in my “dream” my husband warned me that “she” was here. Then I felt that heavy crushing feeling wash over me. I asked him about it today and has no recollection and I have been researching like a mad dog all day! It’s so comforting to know what it is! Thanks for the amazing tips – I Will be sure to give it a try!
Hi Nat
Thanks for your comment. I can’t imagine what that must have been like, thinking it was your mother all those times. It’s amazing that you managed to stay so calm!
It’s good that you have someone to talk to about this in your brother, as sometimes getting this stuff out of your head and into words can make a big difference to how it feels.
I’m glad you found the tips useful – hopefully they will help if it happens again.
Regards
Ethan
Hi I’m 17 and I’m not sure when was the first time I had a sleep paralysis… I know it was probably beginnings of this year or at the end of last year… I mostly can’t pin point exactly when it started because it was something awful I wished and even tried to forget it for a long time…
I’ve had them countless times so far, don’t have an exact number, but I have 3 episodes vividly engraved in my mind. The first and the oldest I can remember, I was dreaming at first, that I was in a sleeping bag in my parents room, they and my little brother were all sleeping in the bed and I was on the floor in a sleeping bag and looking under my parents bed, I have no idea what I’ve seen tbh, all I can say is that it was not good, it was something really REALLY BAD, so suddenly I “wake up” but I’m paralyzed, I can’t move or speak, and that’s when I realize I have a feeling I’m not alone. I tried my best to scream from the top of my lungs but no sound would come out, I could move my eyes and look around but it was too dark so even if there was someone or something there I wouldn’t be able to see it,… eventually I regained movement but still was very upset after that…
Sometime has passed after that one, and since last week i’ve been having them non-stop. Of course all of them freak me the hell out, and I believe I don’t remember some of them because of bad of a mental state they put me into, the fear and terror is so bad and excessive that I end up forgetting what makes me feel that scared and can only remember being trapped and not alone…
The last 2 were the worse though… one of them I heard the front door of the house opening, I recognized the sound of the keys and knew it were my mother’s, I was conscious of what time it was reason why I got confused to why she was opening the door at that time, so I went to see what was happening and instead of my mother there was someone short with a brown robe with their back towards me, they turned and it had no face, just pitch black, … so once again open my eyes, realized I was in my room and there’s someone there… last and worst, I was dreaming with a white short haired woman with pale skin and some sort of white marks like tattoos in her face, she was strange and I didn’t feel like I could completely trust in her but nice though, so I wake up but this time I’m not only ‘awake’, paralyzed and with the feeling like I’m not alone,… this time I could swear something or someone touched me, I panicked like never before, but eventually wake up. The problem is that I’m starting to be afraid to fall asleep, yesterday I was sleepy and should have gone to bed but I’m still awake because of how frightened and terrified of ever going through something like that ever again…
AH! Btw I’ve been using a tick to wake up in the past months and as wake me up 100% of the time even in those 3 horrifying times, which is wiggle my tongue and press or rub it along my whole mouth… I can only move my tongue, however the itchiness ends up waking me up somehow…
Hi Ana,
Thank you for your comment and for sharing your sleep paralysis stories in such detail with us. I can completely understand why those experiences were very frightening and have left you worrying about going to sleep.
I think it’s really important though to try not to let these kind of things control you. You have to decide to take control of it! I know it might sound hard, but there are two things you can do:
1) increase your list of techniques to do if it happens again. The tongue one is great, but if you look at the list you might find others which also help.
2) tell yourself that you’ll be fine, no matter what happens. Refuse to allow it to stop you getting into your comfy bed, relaxing and going to sleep. And even if it does happen, get up and so something relaxing for 20 mins, even watching or reading something funny for example, then go back to bed.
I know it might sounds easy when I say it. But it’s your sleep, your bed and your brain:-) so it’s worth trying to re-claim them and not allow yourself to fear going to bed.
And on a final note, sometimes it’s helpful to talk to someone about it and get it out of your own head. Have you spoken to family or friends about it? You might find someone who has also experienced it.
Regards
Ethan
I am 18 years old and I believe that I experienced sleep paralysis for the first time the other night. I had woken up around 3 am and was tossing and turning for a few hours unable to fully fall back asleep. About 2 and a half hours later I felt my fingers begin to tingle and all of a sudden I felt the sensation take over my body. While this was happening, I heard the voices of men and women talking in a large crowd. I also heard a woman cheerfully laughing. I tried moving my body but I had no power to do so. After I regained feeling, I turned to my side and saw my bedroom door open and shut. My breathing was very deep and my body was shaking from fear. I was so terrified that I shut my eyes as hard as I could until my breathing calmed down and was able to run to my mom and explain everything that just happened. At the time, I thought it was my recently deceased grandmother visiting me but after researching I believe that I had sleep paralysis. I don’t think that I felt a strong evil presence but I definitely felt like someone was there. Since this has happened I have been on edge and confused as to why this happened to me.
Hi Ana
Thanks for your comment. It does indeed sound like sleep paralysis from what you describe. Sometimes people have hallucinations, which although vivid and unexpected, don’t always have the feeling of evil. That doesn’t make it any less scary though, as it’s quite a powerful experience very often.
As to why it happened, well there’s probably no way to work that out exactly. Sometimes it just happens to people randomly at some point during their life. Hopefully this will be a one-off for you, and if it’s not you’ll have a better idea for dealing with it if you remember some of the ideas in the article.
Regards
Ethan
This article has made me feel much better! I’m 22 and have had 2 episodes of sleep paralysis in my life. The first was when I was about 12 and I felt awake in my bed but completely unable to move or open my eyes, then I felt an overwhelming fear that something was in the room with me, and could hear loud stomping noises towards my bed, I eventually woke myself up after failed attempts at screaming finally let out a small yelp and snapped out of it.
The second happened to me tonight, but it was very different. I was dreaming already, a normal quite vivid dream, all of a sudden I was aware I was in my bed and I could hear loud chatting/laughing in my ears to the point I remember thinking my family must be awake and all talking outside my room, but then I felt something pulling me out of my bed by my hair, I thought I was about to fall on the floor but my body went completely tingly and I began floating around my bed but still felt like someone was pulling me, and the noises were still ringing in my ears, it was absolutely terrifying, I managed to start telling myself it was only a dream and was telling myself over and over to wake up and eventually I did. I’m glad to read this and know I’m not going mad!
Hi Stacey
Thanks for your comment. The first experience sounds very much like sleep paralysis, as you clearly state you felt awake in your bed but unable to move. The second is a bit more hazy though – were you dreaming about this? Or like the first time, had you woken up in your bed, and then the floating thing happened?
Regards
Ethan
This is my documentation of sleep paralysis incident that occurred for the 3rd time… I happen to sleep in the same room with my mom and this happens only when I am sleeping alone in my room…
Date : 06-08-2015
Time : 12:26pm IST
It happened again. This was the 3rd time in 3 years. I was again unable to move my body no matter how much I tried. It happened about an hour ago and I am still breathing heavily and I know my heart is pounding. Every little noise is making me jump.
I slept at around 2am yesterday night. I woke up at 8am in the morning but my sleep was incomplete. Mother left at around 9am and it was around 10am when I just closed my eyes for a while to get rid of the headache. There were many random dreams. I woke up. I went to my father’s room to ask my grandmother as to who was sitting on the chair in my room while I was asleep. She panicked and came in to see. I didn’t panic. I had seen an armor sitting on the chair and was pretty sure it had no human inside it. Of course this was a dream. This was the last dream I had before it happened.
I opened my eyes. I had not realized what was happening. But suddenly I did. All that no-air feeling. I was breathing heavily and I couldn’t move my hands. So I knew I was having a sleep paralysis again. But this time I had already studied about it. I knew that all I might see would be nothing but hallucinations. I was confident that it would end in a few seconds and I would be awake. I was sleeping on my right side and there is this showcase glass on head of my bed in which I could see the reflection of the window. And then I saw that the light from the window was darkening. I saw a man’s shadow or a demon like black thing (I do not know what it was) and it was moving towards me and it sat on the chair. I knew it had begun. But I was aware that I was dreaming. All I had to do was wake myself up. But I didn’t know how. That thing now came near my head and I could see darkness near my forehead. I closed my eyes in horror. It was pressing my forehead with its thumb and I could hear a demonic voice near me. I tried to resist by moving my head. I couldn’t. It was painful but I felt the fear more than the pain. I was taking God’s name for a thousand times. It stopped. Now after a little bit of gap during which I just prayed to God that my grandmother should come and wake me up, it came and slept with its head on the cushion behind me. Just like my mother. And it started telling me that this wasn’t a dream and that previously also it had tried to scare me by taking my mother’s shape. It said that it wanted me to realize that it was a real entity. To prove that it came near my back and exhaled breath which I felt on my skin. But in my mind I was up for a fight. I wanted to scream out that this is my house and my room so you better leave it now. People say that horror movies have a bad influence on our dreams. But because I have seen “Insidious” I believe in the fact that I am stronger because I am a real entity having a physical form of my own. I held that belief from the time it began to scare me. Only if I could move my body I was ready to fight. No matter how scared I was. Then it started telling me stories about random things. I was not concentrating on all that. Once it felt like it took my left elbow and tried to eat it. All I focused on was to get up. To wake myself up. This is all a dream. A nightmare. Nothing is real. You have to wake yourself up.
It felt like almost half an hour after which I could again feel the air around. And I woke up. I was not scared to get out of bed like previous times. Because I was aware of what sleep paralysis was. I walked outside my room and asked for a cup of tea. I didn’t tell anything to my grandmother because I knew that she would be scared. Now I am sitting in my room with lights switched on. Curtains of the window are open. My door which remains locked is open today. My forehead feels a little odd I don’t know why. No matter how many scientific explanations there are, all I can say is that nobody will ever know how it really feels to experience this unless someone actually does. I just wish nobody has to experience this. Not even my worst enemies. I need some help now and the people who have experienced this are the only ones who can help me. I do not know whether its related to anything spiritual or not and honestly I don’t want to know. I just want it to stop forever.
Hi again,
Sorry I didn’t see your second comment until I had replied to the first. Thanks for sharing in such detail your story. I am slightly confused though as to whether this was sleep paralysis or a nightmare. Do you think you were actually conscious and awake in bed but seeing all these things? Or were you asleep and dreaming? If it’s the second, then you might find it helpful to look at the article about stopping nightmares.
Regards
Ethan
I was awake because I could hear my grandmother in the other room. She was watching TV. My dreams are very vivid in general.. maybe that is one of the reasons why this experience was also too vivid. I am pretty sure that I was awake.
Ok, in that case it sounds like you might find it helpful to use some of the techniques in this article. If it happens again, try to remember some of these ideas to help you snap out of it sooner.
Ethan
I have had sleep paralysis twice before today’s terrible experience. The first experience was very scary since I didn’t know about sleep paralysis then. But today I saw some demonic dark entity. It tried pressing my forehead. I continued telling myself that this is just sleep paralysis. But the creature mocked me and scared me. I wasn’t sleeping on my back. I tried to resist with my mind. I woke up after a long time. Its really scary. I wish it never happens again.
Hi Megholova
Thank you for sharing your sleep paralysis story. I can understand why you felt so scared, seeing an entity like that. The main thing is to remember that it’s not real, and take some tips from this article so you can try and break out of it next time if it’s particularly scary.
Regards
Ethan
I’ve experienced this a lot of times and I can’t tell if its a biological or spiritual issue. I am literally confused. In turn, I’m already used to it (though I don’t like it) it really freaks me out, especially when I try to go with it. It makes me feel like I’m gonna die. What happens when you let it pull you down?
Hi Kvn
Thanks for your comment. My personal opinion would be that it’s a purely biological issue as your brain and body go through some confusion whilst falling asleep or waking up. I don’t think anything would happen if you let it pull you down, by which I’m assuming you mean go with it. The experience might last a bit longer and be a bit scarier, or equally it might not. The main thing though is that I think you can choose how you want to see the whole thing. And by deciding to try and remain calm and get out of it by wiggling a finger for example, then it will limit the amount you allow it to upset you in the long run.
Regards
Ethan
I have had two instances of sleep paralysis around the age of 60,but as a young boy I rode my bike in my pyjamas at around 4am, and when my father caught me nearing a busy road I never thought anything was wrong(sleepwalking/riding in pyjamas) Not sure of the signifigance of this, except to say that sleep is a weird thing! Forward 55 years and I had two identical sleep paralysis incidents. Both terrifying! Both times I woke in early morning light, could not move a muscle,and beside my bed, staring at me was The Reaper! Skeleton with black hood.Scary scary dude! Cant remember seeing a scythe, but that would not have made him any scarier! We stared at each other and I wanted to look away but couldn’t. I live alone and don’t scare easily, but I was a bit nervous and shaken after this experience! When it happened again about a year later, i had the idea of leaving the radio on all night to act like a reality anchor or a lifeline. It has been a few years now and no return visits so far. Hope he doesn’t read these columns!
Hi Ian
Thank your for sharing your sleep paralysis stories, and you’re absolutely right – sleep can indeed be full of strange episodes. I imagine you’re right about not needing any accessories to make that particular image any scarier! It’s good that you haven’t had any repeats of that. Perhaps the lifeline idea worked, or it could just have been a rare event which is the case with many people.
All the best
Ethan
This happened to me just last night. I was having a social exchange with someone – a small argument about personal beliefs followed by a daring claim on my part. Suddenly I felt a full blown presence in the room with the weight on my chest. My instinct was to call out to God despite not being able to. I popped awake, but I didn’t feel any fear or anything. I went back to sleep a short time later. It’s amazing to me that sleep paralysis is strongly associated with a presence in the room – but I felt the presence FIRST, then the weight on my chest. Unless my short term memory reversed them to make sense of it – but it certainly doesn’t seem that way to me.
Hi Craig
Thanks for your comment. Am I right in thinking you were dreaming, then woke up with the presence and the pressure on the chest? I think that people experience those two things in either order. I haven’t really looked into it deeply to see which one occurs first more often though, and I doubt that it makes much difference.
Regards
Ethan
Hi. Uhm, Ive been experiencing these weird things in my sleep for the past 3 years. Its only now that i’ve figured out what it is (thanks to my workmate). I was actually wondering what’s really going on, I don’t believe in ghosts or in supernatural beings, but it really feels like it in times like this. It’s just really weird, because in my dream, I know that I am just dreaming and that I have to wake myself up. Its just that, I can’t move myself or even mumble a word. This happens to me often, and everytime I experience this, I just stay calm and don’t panic and try to move even just my fingers (and it really works) I don’t know how, but I then wake up from my sleep. The feeling that you might die if you wont fight it is what drives me to force myself to wake up. This is just a bad thing, really. Thanks to this informative site, this really helps. At least now I know the cure and preventions. :)
Hi there
Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad you found the site informative and helpful. I’m not sure whether you’re describing sleep paralysis or a dream though. It’s sometimes confusing for people, but if you’re paralyzed whilst still asleep and dreaming, it’s not sleep paralysis. It’s a dream, or more likely a nightmare. Have a look at that article too, and you might also find some helpful tips.
Regards
Ethan