Sleep paralysis

[Kez_miller]

So then the last couple of days (about 4) I've been worrying about my breathing! Being unable to take a deep breath or a deep yawn most of the time but when I do it feels great....so naturally me being me because i have a tight back as well as sore chest I naturally think I'm dying! So last night I was falling asleep only too have what I assume was a dream but yet it felt so real! It was like i had stopped breathing and I shouted my partner but nothing Happened then. I woke up! I we t bk to sleep to wake up (Sunday morning) and instantly have a panic attack over my breathing and also the fact my back near my lungs felt like sum1 had given me a good kick in! So that brings me on to tonight's was just happily falling asleep (not sure how long I was asleep) but I remember very clearly trying to stop people breaking into my home! Then that ended I felt like I couldn't move nor talk or shout and eventually jumped out of it gasping for breath and by heart beating out of my chest! Is this all caused by me over worrying before I sleep....I'm now shaking like a leaf and has took me a out 20minutes just to write this so sorry for Any spelling errors!

[xBettyBoopx]

It does sound like sleep paralysis. I used to get this, I grew out of it, or rather it just left on it's own. I personally don't think that it's anything to do with anxiety but what do I know?!

I went to see a neurologist about this and some strange stuff going on when I was asleep and he gave me a scan which was okay so he said it sounded like sleep paralysis/sleep apnea, but said it wouldn't harm me and that he had it once and although it's frightenening and you think that you won't be able to move, it only last a second or two. The way he explained it was that normally when we sleep, out muscles go into sleep mode too so that we don't act out our dreams. But sometimes our brain wakes up before our body does and then we can't move or even breathe but only for a second.

I hope this helps.

XBettyX

[Em84]

Hi Hun

I've had the same to a certain extent, where in my dreams im shouting but no voice, the worse for me though is i wake in the middle of the night and I'm awake but can't move my body of breath...so long into it I will suddenly jerk and gasp for breath...luckily that's not happened for a few months. I do however get horrible adrenaline rushes as I'm trying to fall asleep which I hate as I love my sleep but it's like trying to fall asleep on a rollercoster.....

I wanted to reply because of what you said about your back, I'm having exact same thing....my back feels so tight and tense at the moment, I wrote a post last week about this......
I spend last night in panic, up at 5 with the same...got a bad tummy and the backs hurting again as well as under ribs

Xx

[Raiiboii]

I've had sleep paralysis too. Sounds exactly how you described it.
I've had it before even having panic attacks so I doubt it's anxiety related. The reason for it is during sleep your brain enters REM sleep, which is like a deep sleep mode. During this your body is shut down, as you're resting and don't need to move.

Sometimes you can wake up while still in an REM state, thus not being able to move, talk etc. Some people even hallucinate.
I know how scary it is, my friend that is care free has mentioned it before as being scared out of his mind by it. The thing is it can happen to anyone and it's VERY unlikely to frequently occur, and by thinking about it, you wont cause it.
So there's no need to worry too much about it happening again, it's unlikely to plague you often at all. :)
Hope that helps. x