Sleep Paralysis

I hate it I find it terrifying but my sleep paralysis generally comes with hallucinations - like I'm awake in my room but I can see shadows or feel someone's breaking in. But I can't move and it feels like someone's sitting on my chest, I try to call out but I can't.. in the end I will myself to move one finger and I can generally snap myself out of it.

It scares me, too, happens more often when I'm stressed...I'm sorry, wish I had some advice.

i had a dream i was paralized i couldnt talk move or barely breathe. I tried screaming for my husband for help and trying to move and i couldnt. when i woke up i was in a state of paralysis for min it was effin scary. I remember hearing about this topic in my psychology class at school my teacher said that your body doesnt fully wake up from the dream so it seems that your paralized because your body is in REM sleep ( rapid eye movement) and thats when you are in the deepest sleep and are the most relaxed. I have only had that happen to me twice in my whole life that i can think of and one time i was mad at my husband before bed and the other i was fighting with my ex. so i am assuming it is stress related. Hope this helps and good luck

Hopefully I can learn to relax. It has happened enough that I was starting to, but the other nights was so bad that I freaked out again. I think if it didn't always have this "evil" feel to it, I wouldn't figt it so much.
And I'm not one ot use that word often.

I have a relative who to this day insists that a spirit came to her room and paralyzed her and caused the room to get extra dark. I have tried so many times to convince her that it was sleep paralysis but she still insists that it was an evil spirit. I totally understand why she feels this way because it really does feel evil especially at first. Just look at the other night as a small setback and just try not to fear it in the future. Best of luck to you!

Has anyone had this happen to you? Ever sinse I started school for nursing back in September.(tomorrow is my last day of finals for my first simester), I have been suffering off and on with this since then. Although the night before last was the worst! I faught it with everything I had because the feeling is so overwhelming.
Every time I was able to wake up, my body felt so heavy and I just kept slipping back into that "sleep".

I was just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them before and how did they either embrace it so it wasn't so scarry, or how did they get rid of it.

My sister and my mom deal with this frequently. For them, it's caused by a condition known as hypokalemic periodic paralysis. What happens is your blood potassium levels get slightly low, and then your cells overreact by pulling all the potassium out of your blood, and then your muscles can't work properly because it disrupts the ion channels (I don't know the whole science of it). It's difficult to test for because unless you're in the middle of an attack, your levels will be normal. But it's worth talking to your doctor about. Do some research and see if you think it might be the problem. It usually sets in during adolescence, but often it doesn't show up until you're older (my sister was 30 when she had her first episode). The treatment is simple, a prescription potassium supplement. Over-the-counter supplements don't have enough stuff.

It's a normal thing that our brains do when we sleep. The purpose of it is so that we don't sleep walk or act out our dreams. Obviously it varies in strength from night to night and person to person. I take a breath and remind myself it's a natural part of life and focus on wiggling toes/fingers until it fades. It happens to me most when I wake up suddenly from a deep sleep.

sleep paralysis happens to me in times of major stress (it happened a lot during finals week and when i used to work night shifts at a nursing home and my sleep schedule got all wacky). at first i thought i was being possessed or haunted by something! it was completely terrifying! but i researched it and found out that basically what's happening is your brain "wakes up" while your body remains asleep. it can often be accompanied by hallucinations. i often hear a strange buzzing/grating sound that gets louder and louder and i see flashing lights or moving shadows... oh and i this very strange tingling feeling. creepy, i know. but it's totally normal and not anything paranormal or supernatural. just your body telling you that it's stressed and needs regular sleep.

I've dealt with it for many years, myself. Have seen and heard some pretty amazing things.

I find that it happens most when:

1) I'm stressed
2) Lacking sleep in general (usually goes with #1)
3) Sleeping on my back

I find I can get multiple episodes in a row if I keep sleeping on my back. Once I figured it out, I switched to my side or belly and it stops happening. I would say that not sleeping on my back has reduced my episodes by at least 95% in the past few years.

This is when I suffer from paralysis. I have had a lot of sucess sleeping on my side, but sometimes I wind up on my back. Glad I'm not the only one. I hate that feeling of not being able to move!!

Yes many many times. I go to bed and its like I instantly fall in to a very deep sleep. Then suddenly I can't breath or move and its like I can see everything that is happening. It takes every bit of energy I have to move even a pinky to get my husbands attention. Sometimes I can't even move my pinky. All it takes is for my husband to shake me and I suddenly gasp for air and can move but all my body parts feel like lead and sometimes I slip right back in to that "Sleep Paralysis" others not either way its almost like I am dying and very scarry.

I think that your muscles become paralyzed when you sleep, which happens to everyone, and sometimes you can wake up before your muscles "wake up". I wouldn't be too worried!

I've had it happen a lot.. mostly during stressful times.

I have asthma and one time I went through an episode where I woke up on my back. I could hear my roommates' entire conversation in the living room but I couldn't move. I would then slip back into an unconscious state where I told myself I needed to grab my phone to get help. I tried to force myself to scream but nothing came out. I thought I was having an asthma attack but I just couldn't move, despite the fact that I was cognitively telling myself to move,scream, sit up. It was terrifying. I've been diagnosed with PCOS and sometimes I'm afraid I have sleep apnea. I guess we'll find out one day. If you suffer from stress or sleep apnea it can bring on paralysis.