Has anyone experienced sleep paralysis before?

[anxious_thoughts]

Hey guys,

I poste about my scary experience earlier. And now I'm even more anxious to go to sleep tonight because I'm worried it will happen again.

Around 5am this morning I woke up and tried getting back to sleep. After about 10 minutes I started drifting to sleep, however, when I tried to wake up I couldn't. For about two seconds my body felt all tingly and I swear I couldn't open my eyes or move in that short time. I finally moved my leg and the tingly stopped and I was back to normal. I finally went back to sleep, around 7 I woke up again because my bf had to get up to go to work. Right before I fully awoke, I swear my tongue was tingling again and it stopped as soon as I was awake.

Does this sound like sleep paralysis? I'm terrified it was such a scary sensation. I have brain tumour anxiety. Worried it's symptom of an actual brain tumour.

Does sleep paralysis happen every single night? I'm so worried

[KayeS]

You were most likely in sleep paralysis. It happens EVERY SINGLE night, usually when you're asleep. But every now and then, it remains when you wake up for a minute or so.

[Sam Winter]

yes its sleep paralysis, i experienced it once in my young childhood and it was horrible! i was breathing but i couldn't move it it was a bad time for 8 year old me but, as hard as it is try and stay calm, it never happened again for me and theres a chance it won't for you, its a horrible thing yes but it isn't dangerous and theres a big chance it won't happen again,
i wish you all the best and that the horrible thing never happens again xx

[anxious_thoughts]

Hello Sam, thank you so much for replying. That makes me feel so much better.

It's really such a terrifying experience that I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy. I wonder if it could be the antibiotics I finished taking on Thursday for my chest infection. That's really the only different thing I have done recently.

I know that some people get it almost every night. So I'm really hoping it doesn't happen again :( it's 9pm here and I have the jitters about going to sleep.

[JeffY]

I get sleep paralysis, I first started to expericence when I was 14, it scared the hell out of me and I thought I was being haunted. I am now 35 and from time to time I still get it, but I'm learned to deal with it. You just have to tell yourself that you will be ok.

[tinae]

I went through it once and, yes, it is horrifying. I never had a repeat episode and chances are neither will you. It's not a sign of anything wrong with you other than anxiety. Last bit of reading I did on it scientists were still saying they don't know why it happens. I doubt it'll happen again, but if it does just remind yourself you are ok. That's the only thing that worked for a friend of mine who had severe SP for about 2 years.

[anxious_thoughts]

JeffY, thank you for replying! What kinds of things do you do that help you deal with it? I'm really anxious about going to sleep tonight. I've really scared myself by researching more into it and reading personal experiences of people saying they have seen demonic entities during sleep paralysis. It's like I'm trying to prepare myself to ensure that I know what I will do if it happens again. God, I really really hope it doesn't happen again. :(

Tinae, thank you for your reply. I'm really glad to see I'm not alone and that some people only have it once and that's it. I hope I'm one of the lucky ones. It's so scary, I don't know how your friend dealt with it for two years. It's 1130pm right now and I'm just having so many irrational thoughts. Im already tired and I'm fearing the moment my head touches the pillow. :(

[Jherron]

I have had many times. I have even woke up unable to move my body but my eyes were open. I could look around the room. Pretty scary stuff. I guess it happens to everybody but they either don't remember or dismiss it as a dream. Some times I know when I'm dreaming and can do some cool stuff. If you aware of your sleep then you might be able to control your dreams as well. I'm not saying this to scare you but I myself have hallucinated during one of these episodes. Once you completely wake out of it everything is fine.

---------- Post added at 23:20 ---------- Previous post was at 23:18 ----------

Here is a verse that has helped me with sleep. I hope it helps.

Proverbs 3:24 King James Version (KJV)
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

[MyNameIsTerry]

JeffY, thank you for replying! What kinds of things do you do that help you deal with it? I'm really anxious about going to sleep tonight. I've really scared myself by researching more into it and reading personal experiences of people saying they have seen demonic entities during sleep paralysis. It's like I'm trying to prepare myself to ensure that I know what I will do if it happens again. God, I really really hope it doesn't happen again. :(



Hi Jenn,

Yes, it is possible to experience things like that and that's how it was perceived in history with demonic entities. These days it's looked at very different.

When you look these things up, have you made the connection to what really happens? There are many phenomena we can experience in the two completely normal stages they occur in - Hypnagogia (falling asleep and within 2 hours of falling asleep) and Hypnopompia (waking). You can have hallucinations (visual or auditory) and guess what, we get threads about schizophrenia, and there are many others like jerks, falling sensations, Tetris effect, flashing lights, exploding head syndrome, etc.

You know what the connection is between them? Human beings. Nothing more. These are completely normal sleep stages and the phenomena are part of them.

Why are you worried about them? Because of your anxiety disorder. Without this you would experience many of these and think "that was weird" and just forget about it. Just like us OCDers and our intrusive thoughts since ALL human beings experience those too, yet don't realise because they haven't got an anxiety disorder pointing them out as a possible threat or bad thing.

Anxiety is known to increase the frequency of these phenomena, and we all know about the jerks when falling asleep and how they are always worse when we are at the worst anxiety stages, so reducing anxiety overall & recovering is the key. Try not to react to them, you will learn not too over time. The more you keep reacting, and the more intense, the more you are telling your subconscious they are too be remembered as fears.

[helenclaire]

I have had this a few times,
Mine seemed to happen when I am extremely tired, the first time was after the birth of my second child.
I would fall asleep then wake about 10 minutes later and not be able to move or talk.
It scared me when it first happened, it was as if my mind was awake but my body wasn't.
I learnt that the more I tried to wake up the worse it was so I would just try and relax and fall back to sleep, then I would wake up fine.
I haven't had it for years now, think it was just a stressful time and lack of sleep that caused it.

[JeffY]

JeffY, thank you for replying! What kinds of things do you do that help you deal with it? I'm really anxious about going to sleep tonight. I've really scared myself by researching more into it and reading personal experiences of people saying they have seen demonic entities during sleep paralysis. It's like I'm trying to prepare myself to ensure that I know what I will do if it happens again. God, I really really hope it doesn't happen again. :(

Tinae, thank you for your reply. I'm really glad to see I'm not alone and that some people only have it once and that's it. I hope I'm one of the lucky ones. It's so scary, I don't know how your friend dealt with it for two years. It's 1130pm right now and I'm just having so many irrational thoughts. Im already tired and I'm fearing the moment my head touches the pillow. :(

I don't have them as much now that I'm an adult, tell you the truth I just got use to them, just keep calm and tell yourself its not real. I can tell some crazy stories about the things I have experienced, just don't worry, it will not damage your health, you will not die from it.

[anxious_thoughts]

Thank you all so much for the advice and insight regarding sleep paralysis.
I'm so happy, although I as very anxious last night and kept waking up because of the fear I did end up falling asleep and I didn't experience it!

I'm going to try to take everyone's advice in case it happens again. Which hopefully is never. Im a little worried about going to sleep tonight as I don't know what to expect.

I was thinking about things I did the night of the experience. I took some Tylenol cold and cough liquid cough syrup and I read the ingredients. There is one drug in which has made people experience sleep paralysis. I wonder if it has something to do with that? The short from name of the drug in the cough syrup is DXM.