Sleep Paralysis

[kat (1)]

I am not sure if this topic has already been started and I have only been able to give about 25 percent of myself searching for it to be honest. However, I have been personally experiencing episodes of Sleep Paralysis or so what I have read to be labeled as such, since I was about 10 years old. Early this morning I experienced the most intense one of my life and I feel like it was different from the rest. I thought at first it was a dream but I was not fully asleep during this event...anyhow, it went like this...

Everything was several shades of grey and I was in a place, that almost looked like what I would imagine could be the sewer system, I was with three people whose sexes where not made clear so I imagine it was not significant. It was as if we were trying to get out of something together, or travel somewhere as a team, or get away from something...and for some reason coins were a key piece in this whatever, vision, dream, hallucination..IDK..so anyway..

We are traveling in this underground, grey area and their is fog or smog or some type of heavy grey substance following us, gaining on us...we find a tunnel and enter the tunnel and think we will be able to exit the tunnel at the other end and free ourselves of this heavy fog, however, at the other end of this tunnel, their is a man that enters, who appears to be a familiar person to us, and who greets us and treats us like he is a friend that wants to travel with us, as we begin to feel the doom of the fog behind us vastly approaching we are now trapped because the man at the other end of the tunnel who thinks he is a friend and who in his mind thinks he is good and apart of us, well he is actually the one who has brought the fog or smog the entire time...and he is the one we fear most...he appears to be naive about his destruction though and continues to stand at the other end of this tunnel as if he thinks he is a ray of sunshine, all the while we are suffocating at the end of the tunnel that he is further away from...now while this "vision" is occuring in dreamland, I am consciously saying to myself you are not sleeping so it's okay to move, it is okay to breathe, and leave this "tunnel"....being that I am familiar with sleep paralysis I know that it not real, however I can't snap out of it what so ever, so I am really choking at this point in real life, when I finally do wake up, I am still gasping for air and my heart is pounding. I think I know what it was about. I was curious if anyone else has had any strange occurances with sleep paralysis and wanted to share..

Edited February 4, 2012 by kat

[Marblez]

Not an unfamiliar occurrence to me, I have Narcolepsy and it goes with the territory. It really scared me at first but I have found my own ways to defeat it. I hope you do too.

[Class-Punk]

I don't have any experiences with it I'd consider notable. I do consider Sleep Paralysis similar to Savikalpa Samadhi, since there's a lack of bodily movement or bodily awareness; the main difference being that Sleep Paralysis is focused on thought, whereas Samadhi or 'meditative consciousness' is more focused on the nervous system.

[Marblez]

I don't have any experiences with it I'd consider notable. I do consider Sleep Paralysis similar to Savikalpa Samadhi, since there's a lack of bodily movement or bodily awareness; the main difference being that Sleep Paralysis is focused on thought, whereas Samadhi or 'meditative consciousness' is more focused on the nervous system.

Ever seen a dog lying down and moviing it's legs as if it was running? The common understanding is that the human brain emits a chemical which stops humans from acting out in their sleep the way an animal does. However, when the right conditions exist and the conscious mind is ready to awaken but the body is still under the effects, sleep paralysis is the result. An inability to move, yet still aware of your surroundings. This usually happens at the beginning or end of sleep.

That sucks on it's own. When this happens, you can scream, yell kick, punch, do everyhting you want to do, but your body does not actually move until there is outside stimuli or the attack is over. My husband will feel the slightest tap from my hand and groan from me, when in my perception, I am violently shaking him screaming "WAKE ME UP!!". The best way I have found to counter this if I cannot get his attention is to just relax and allow myself to go back to sleep. Sounds easy enough, right? If only that were the end of it.

The real fun starts when you add hypnopompic and hypnogogic hallucinations into the mix. Imagine if you will, you are just about to go to sleep. You are still awake but your dreams start anyway. Your body unable to move from your toes to your fingertips, unable to fight, barely able to breathe against a ghastly nightmare that just walked into your bedroom and grabs your throuat so tightly you can feel it's fingerprints on your skin. Your attempts to scream seem real, you can hear your inner voice as loud as can be but alas it is not audible to anyone else. Or you are about to wake up and your bosses voice comes in shouting from a bullhorn outside your bedroom window. 'Wakey, wakey, it's time to rise and shine, you don't want to be late for work, again'. Once you give in and just go back to sleep to wake up more completely, you find that it was all a dream and your alarm has yet to sound.

All in all, once you know how to beat it, it is fairly controllable, but it is sure comforting to have my husband beside me when it happens.

[Marblez]

being that I am familiar with sleep paralysis I know that it not real, however I can't snap out of it what so ever, so I am really choking at this point in real life, when I finally do wake up, I am still gasping for air and my heart is pounding.

2nd best advice, settle yourself on the fact that it is just a dream and decide to go limp and fall back asleep.

Best advice, available upon request - but it's a long story.

[Class-Punk]

Ever seen a dog lying down and moviing it's legs as if it was running? The common understanding is that the human brain emits a chemical which stops humans from acting out in their sleep the way an animal does. However, when the right conditions exist and the conscious mind is ready to awaken but the body is still under the effects, sleep paralysis is the result. An inability to move, yet still aware of your surroundings. This usually happens at the beginning or end of sleep.

I'd have to take back the first sentence of my last post.. considering meditation, I've had interesting sleep paralysis experiences I could count, but I overlooked and labelled them as Kundalini phenomena (synonmous with "Chi" and "Life Force" even though I realize that these terms are all abstract and subjective). When I started doing Kundalini techniques I wanted to progress as fast as possible by raising as much energy up my spine as possible, which I've learned isn't the traditional way its done.

In between daunting positive experiences, sometimes I would wake up while unable to move, while still feeling some bliss, I had the frightening experience of the left and right hemispheres of my brain alternate in short tremors; this didn't go on that long thankfully. I would have facial twitches on a daily basis, mainly my ears twitching. After the tremors or seizures, more frequently I woke up consciously paralyzed with the terrifying feeling of my entire self perpetually collapsing through my head which seemed to be made worse by the uncontrollable ear twitching (its kind of funny). I had some experiences where I felt like I slipped out of the top of my head thoughtlessly and my nervous system registered my body as emptiness, the first one had the most bliss but was also the scariest.

Over time I learned to surrender to the process. The facial movements are usually absent now but it depends on my caffeine intake and attention of thought versus to physical reality, I no longer have any Sleep Paralysis experiences.

In my bias, I tend to think meditation (not necessarily Kundalini yoga/KAP technique based) could potentially stop sleep paralysis from happening; since its what started and stopped those experiences for me, though they were nervous system based instead of dreams.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Coffeenated

[kat (1)]

Thanks you guys for your insight, the man at the end of the tunnel was the man I was dating. The coins signified the developement of my pyschic ability trying to warn of me of being hurt/jilted by someone I was dating. This vision happened 5 days before he was shot. I also dreamed about me visiting him in a hospital a couple days after this vision and, I in fact was the person he ran to and had take the hospital and sat with him for hours holding his hand while they stitched up his face. (sorry about the gorry details) There was alot more premonitions that I can't even think about because when I do it drives me crazier than what this experience has already done. Thanks for your support. I feel guilty because had I been better at channeling what I was seeing prior this actually happening, I feel I could have stopped it.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Thanks you guys for your insight, the man at the end of the tunnel was the man I was dating. The coins signified the developement of my pyschic ability trying to warn of me of being hurt/jilted by someone I was dating. This vision happened 5 days before he was shot. I also dreamed about me visiting him in a hospital a couple days after this vision and, I in fact was the person he ran to and had take the hospital and sat with him for hours holding his hand while they stitched up his face. (sorry about the gorry details) There was alot more premonitions that I can't even think about because when I do it drives me crazier than what this experience has already done. Thanks for your support. I feel guilty because had I been better at channeling what I was seeing prior this actually happening, I feel I could have stopped it.

Yikes, somehow I didnt see this until just now.

All i can think is.. no no NO its not your fault!

Well and :grouphug !!!

[EagleRose]

It actually takes years to fully develop your skills, if at all. Since psychic premonitions run in our family, we developed it at a very young age. Still doesn't make it any less terrifying when seeing the weird stuff.

[kat (1)]

http://www.m.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis

I just had another episode, this one I remember I was actually dreaming and my brain came out of REM sleep while still in the dreamdream, normally I know where I am and if anyone is in the apartment to hear me. So here's how this one went:

I'm in a house, sick in the dream. My mom was in another room in this big house in this dream, here is were the dream and my real life met:

I didn't know I was dreaming but I know I am expecting Angel home from work right now, I remember thinking Angel will be home soon and she will hear me muttering "help", but I couldn't breath and I remember in the dream thinking OK, get yourself out of the sleep position you are in so you can have an open space for oxygen as I was kinda sleeping in a fetal position, so I am in the dream, in a bed I have never seen in a room I never been in, there were other people in the house in this dream and I remember thinking come on, you can get louder with the help scream, they will hear you, than I felt someone come lay beside me in the dream and I was relieved but still noone heard me. I remember moving a bit and it was like a gradual ability to get my body back in sync with my brain and finally, I was able to wake up out of this state and pulled myself out from the blanket and sat up and I am still terrified. 

This started in childhood and it ended from age 14 ish all up until the time I started posting here about it. I will be changing my sleep environment around. That damn doctor when I reported it he should have sent me for a sleep study. Maybe the new doctor will.

Thankfully, I can whimper for help but alone doesn't help. I wake up so panicky. This is the second episode this year. I am glad this is not a regular thing. Holy crap 

[kat (1)]

Damn, did I just describe some Nightmare On Elm Street shit? 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2015 by kat

[kat (1)]

Another one. I don't know why they happened so close, I took a hour nap if that. I remember being awake in the dream fighting telling myself you gotta get up, you gotta get up, get up, go to the gym, get online, do something I was thinking about this in the dream. I have got to have a sleep study. These are getting more odd..my body is actually sore. The best way to describe it is, rather than being held down, which is what normally happens, I was being pulled back, and I was pulling away, like a, tug of war. My arms are like tired like right now,  This is weirder and weirder than ever. Maybe it's just that the pain meds I am on are causing the increase in episodes. Holy crap this is starting to scare me bad.

Edited September 14, 2015 by kat

[Corvus]

I've only had it a couple times. Fortunately for me, I was not dreaming at the time. I had fallen asleep on the couch and "woke" up...I was tense like a board my head pressed hard against the arm of the couch. I felt like I could not breathe, but if I could just move my head I would be ok and able to breathe. Naturally, I could not move whatsoever. It probably only lasted a handful of seconds, but it felt like forever. Very unsettling experience for sure!

[kat (1)]

I've only had it a couple times. Fortunately for me, I was not dreaming at the time. I had fallen asleep on the couch and "woke" up...I was tense like a board my head pressed hard against the arm of the couch. I felt like I could not breathe, but if I could just move my head I would be ok and able to breathe. Naturally, I could not move whatsoever. It probably only lasted a handful of seconds, but it felt like forever. Very unsettling experience for sure!

YES! That is how mine used to be, except I slept facedown!

[Corvus]

YES! That is how mine used to be, except I slept facedown!

Christ I cant imagine that type of hell!

[kat (1)]

[Corvus]

that is both sexy and mmarginally terrifying

[kat (1)]

On 2/7/2012 at 11:32 PM, Marblez said:

 

 

2nd best advice, settle yourself on the fact that it is just a dream and decide to go limp and fall back asleep.

 

Best advice, available upon request - but it's a long story.

Thanks for that. It is much appreciated. Did you ever get a sleep study done?

[kat (1)]

I'm FINALLY getting a sleep study done, it didn't take much, I mean, ya know sleep paralysis for like 25 years, I had an episide, and subsequently had a severe panic attack after that than was told by ER doc to follow up with my doc who, when I did request that I have a sleep study because I suspected that I had narcolepsy and he refused to do so saying, "so what if you have it, you are on adderall and that's one of the treatments" but than a week later I fall asleep at the wheel on my way to work. Well, to me that's medical neglect and also to the lawyers I talked to but basically because it didn't kill me nothing can be done. 

And now, I finally have had the ENT say why has noone done a sleep study, I deviated and bowed my septum and I have the results of the CT sinus scan but they won't tell me anything over the phone and the staff was like, how did you see the results you aren't supposed to see them before the doctor! So now I'm googling shit about what my CT scan says and when I saw something about a tumor I freaked out because that can be alot of things and I probably like, idk misgoogled. Anyway, I get those results on the 15th ($70), than I have sleep study on the 19th (amount TBD, I have to call my insurance company Monday and I have to pay for the shit at time of service, damn I know that is going to be expensive) than, back to ENT for sleep study results ($35) , PCP $25 dollar's, medications over 100 a month.. These are my copays, meds that they want me to take uncovered.. About $150 every month! I should probably be going to therapy and the psychiatrist also which is 35 a month for a great shrink, and 25 a visit for therapy, and I wanted to go weekly, yea right.. I can't even address this issue at this point. 

You think you have good insurance until you get sick, and if I can't go back to work there I'm fucked anyway.

[TronRP]

27 minutes ago, kat said:

I'm FINALLY getting a sleep study done, it didn't take much, I mean, ya know sleep paralysis for like 25 years, I had an episide, and subsequently had a severe panic attack after that than was told by ER doc to follow up with my doc who, when I did request that I have a sleep study because I suspected that I had narcolepsy and he refused to do so saying, "so what if you have it, you are on adderall and that's one of the treatments" but than a week later I fall asleep at the wheel on my way to work. Well, to me that's medical neglect and also to the lawyers I talked to but basically because it didn't kill me nothing can be done. 

And now, I finally have had the ENT say why has noone done a sleep study, I deviated and bowed my septum and I have the results of the CT sinus scan but they won't tell me anything over the phone and the staff was like, how did you see the results you aren't supposed to see them before the doctor! So now I'm googling shit about what my CT scan says and when I saw something about a tumor I freaked out because that can be alot of things and I probably like, idk misgoogled. Anyway, I get those results on the 15th ($70), than I have sleep study on the 19th (amount TBD, I have to call my insurance company Monday and I have to pay for the shit at time of service, damn I know that is going to be expensive) than, back to ENT for sleep study results ($35) , PCP $25 dollar's, medications over 100 a month.. These are my copays, meds that they want me to take uncovered.. About $150 every month! I should probably be going to therapy and the psychiatrist also which is 35 a month for a great shrink, and 25 a visit for therapy, and I wanted to go weekly, yea right.. I can't even address this issue at this point. 

You think you have good insurance until you get sick, and if I can't go back to work there I'm fucked anyway.

I say contact another lawyer:

( www.fiegerlaw.com ,  www.firstcalllaw.com ,  www.goldstarlaw.com ,  www.lawyers.com/Medical-Malpractice/find-law-firms-by-location )

 

Also, check to see if you qualify for medical prescription coverage such as: 

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans | UnitedHealthcare®,

https://www.medicare.gov/part-d

There has got to be something out there that can work in your favor. Please let me know if you need my help with anything.

[kat (1)]

On 1/10/2016 at 8:54 PM, TronRP said:

I say contact another lawyer:

( www.fiegerlaw.com ,  www.firstcalllaw.com ,  www.goldstarlaw.com ,  www.lawyers.com/Medical-Malpractice/find-law-firms-by-location )

 

Also, check to see if you qualify for medical prescription coverage such as: 

Medicare Prescription Drug Plans | UnitedHealthcare®,

https://www.medicare.gov/part-d

There has got to be something out there that can work in your favor. Please let me know if you need my help with anything.

Thank you. Fieger is a douchebag, lol. He has self portraits all over his office. Lol