[SoNottingH]

(Original post by inadilemma)
I was a year or two back but not now (exams and big family problems). I'm fairly relaxed at the moment because I'm on a gap year so I don't have any exams.

Have you asked your parents if they had it when they were young?

[Giant]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
Hope you're not actually driving when it happens.

Haha! No, of course not

[inadilemma]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
Have you asked your parents if they had it when they were young?

My mum says she had it when she was my age or a bit older after she had a specific nightmare about being raped. She says it felt like someone was on top of her. But she hasn't experienced it since that age.

[AspiringGenius]

(Original post by Dislocator)
That's really interesting, think its called locked in syndrome?

no.

[Plums&Peaches]

This sounds so horrible, but it seems you've gotten off lucky with the figures thing. Hope you recover soon. Condolences

[rural_boy]

(Original post by inadilemma)
My mum says she had it when she was my age or a bit older after she had a specific nightmare about being raped. She says it felt like someone was on top of her. But she hasn't experienced it since that age.

Jesus, that sounds bloody extreme! I remember reading somewhere, again not trying to scare you, that sometimes people who experienced sleep paralysis could feel someone sitting on their chest, which again could be a load of rubbish but I swear I read that somewhere..

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by rural_boy)
Jesus, that sounds bloody extreme! I remember reading somewhere, again not trying to scare you, that sometimes people who experienced sleep paralysis could feel someone sitting on their chest, which again could be a load of rubbish but I swear I read that somewhere..

I used to get that feeling when I was little sometimes.

I think it's quite common but a little less so in young adulthood. My mother is a neurologist, so I am asking her about it. She says it can have a genetic component, which is why I asked about OPs parents. Also it can in some cases be connected to other illnesses so it's always worth having a general medical checkup.

[rural_boy]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
I used to get that feeling when I was little sometimes.

I think it's quite common but a little less so in young adulthood. My mother is a neurologist, so I am asking her about it. She says it can have a genetic component, which is why I asked about OPs parents. Also it can in some cases be connected to other illnesses so it's always worth having a general medical checkup.

Ah right, yeah I think this sleep paralysis stuff is really interesting, as I said before one of my friends had it and he said it was the most terrifying thing he'd ever experienced as he could see figures at the end of his bed.

But all this stuff really creeps me out as well, I just rather stupidly wikipedia'd sleep paralysis and there's some picture of a painting of a demon sitting on a woman's chest which ultimately means that I won't be getting any sleep tonight!

[rural_boy]

(Original post by theultimatefish)
In eastern cultures they deem it to be "a devil sitting on you".
People get worked-up, so their mind adds even more non-existent, halucinogenic pressure to the chest and there begins a downward spiral.

Jesus, yeah see my post above, this s**t really creeps me out...

[Vohamanah]

I used to have a housemate who had every sleep disorder under the sun. Haha.

I've never experienced sleep paralysis, but it sounds horrifying. Essentially, as I understand it, your brain has a mechanism to paralyse your body while you are asleep, and sleep paralysis is when you wake up, but the brain is still doing its paralysis thing for a little while. Its normal when you are asleep, but very weird when you are awake.

Its basically the opposite of sleep walking, where your brain isn't doing a good enough job of paralysing you while you sleep.

[SoNottingH]

(Original post by Vohamanah)
I used to have a housemate who had every sleep disorder under the sun. Haha.

I've never experienced sleep paralysis, but it sounds horrifying. Essentially, as I understand it, your brain has a mechanism to paralyse your body while you are asleep, and sleep paralysis is when you wake up, but the brain is still doing its paralysis thing for a little while. Its normal when you are asleep, but very weird when you are awake.

Its basically the opposite of sleep walking, where your brain isn't doing a good enough job of paralysing you while you sleep.

It's not really all that horrifying for most people, sure, some people get wierd symptoms. When I had it, I kind of got used to it a little and although it felt uncomfortable for a short time, I didn't hallucinate. Then it just kind of went away.

Apparently it is suffered more by people who have various difficulties like bad housing, uncomfortable bed, stressed lifestyle, alcohol/drugs, etc. None of these applied to me when I was young though.

[ThatPerson]

(Original post by Dislocator)
That's really interesting, think its called locked in syndrome?

Sleep Paralysis(What the TC has) lasts for a few minutes, whereas Locked-In Syndrome can last for years; there is no cure.

[Vohamanah]

(Original post by SoNottingH)
It's not really all that horrifying for most people, sure, some people get wierd symptoms. When I had it, I kind of got used to it a little and although it felt uncomfortable for a short time, I didn't hallucinate. Then it just kind of went away.

Apparently it is suffered more by people who have various difficulties like bad housing, uncomfortable bed, stressed lifestyle, alcohol/drugs, etc. None of these applied to me when I was young though.

Ah fair enough I imagine it would be terrifying it happening for the first time, if you don't know anything about sleep paralysis, even if you're not having hallucinations. Waking up and not being able to move, I mean. I'm glad I've never experienced it.

[rural_boy]

(Original post by theultimatefish)
It's fine!!! Few actually hallucinate and if you do, just remind yourself it's just a hallucination and you're goooood.
Heck, my mum used to scream though cause she used to get the "renown" devil sitting on her. Scary as fack hearing your mum scream in the middle of the night :/

Well you seem oddly upbeat about the whole thing! Hell if this happens to me, I'm probably going to cry and then attempt to never go back to sleep ever again!

I probably shouldn't ask this as I'm already pretty scared , but what is a 'renown' devil?

[Dislocator]

(Original post by ThatPerson)
Sleep Paralysis(What the TC has) lasts for a few minutes, whereas Locked-In Syndrome can last for years; there is no cure.

Yikes, ty.

[vdoto]

(Original post by inadilemma)
But when I start to wake up I find that my mind is fully awake and I can hear everything around me but I can't move at all. I'm literally stuck. I can't move any part of my body and I can't talk. I am completely paralysed.

This used to happen to me a couple of years ago and I felt scared as it was happening because I felt helpless. I do think it was due to lack of sleep, maybe stress as well.

[concubine]

The only sleep related issue I have that I don't really like is insomnia.



Which sorta sucks, because I'm pretty sure the extent of the insomnia I suffer from is the major cause of all the other stuff.

Alas. ;<

[almalibre11111]

one time my right hand was totally paralysed..but after about 1minute was fine

[ArcaneAnna]

(Original post by inadilemma)
Ok, so sometimes (quite frequently) I get very tired during the day and have a nap on the sofa. I sleep well enough at night too but I get up early every day and go to bed quite late. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping a year or two back and had to take sleeping pills for a bit (stress due to exams + family problems).

When I do sleep in the evening, I'm either fine or it takes me ages to fall asleep. Either way, usually, once I'm asleep I stay asleep and wake up fine when my alarm goes off.

But when I take naps downstairs, it's a different story. I nod off fine because I'm really tired. But when I start to wake up I find that my mind is fully awake and I can hear everything around me but I can't move at all. I'm literally stuck. I can't move any part of my body and I can't talk. I am completely paralysed. I start getting extremely panicked and that just makes things worse. It's the most horrible feeling and I can be like that for minutes. I try and say something because usually my family is home and I can hear them all talking around me but I can't. I assume it's what it feels like to be in a coma. Eventually I just calm myself down enough that my body starts to wake up and after a few seconds of breathing slowly I can open my eyes and move again. Last time it happened I was alone in the room and started panicking. I tried making a sound but literally all that came out of my mouth was muffled squeaks. But I guess that was enough to wake my body up. When I'm like that I literally can't move a thing. I can't even wiggle my fingers or toes. I'm completely stuck. It's horrible and it keeps happening.

My sister says she sometimes has the same issue but she also gets it when she wakes up in the morning sometimes.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing it's because I haven't gone into a deep enough sleep so my body is still in the stages of sleep when my mind has woken up. When this happens I've only been asleep for about 30 mins to two hours max. A load of thoughts rush through my mind and I start to worry that I won't ever wake up and my heart starts beating really fast and the more i try and move, the more stuck I seem to be. Then try I calm myself down and wake up.

I was just wondering if there's any way I could prevent it from happening? It makes me feel so weak and helpless and it panicks me so much.

Sleep paralysis. I get it quite often and I find that when it happens it helps to start concentrating on and wiggling my toes, gets rid of it quick!

[inadilemma]

(Original post by ArcaneAnna)
Sleep paralysis. I get it quite often and I find that when it happens it helps to start concentrating on and wiggling my toes, gets rid of it quick!

I can't move my toes. Trying to move any part of my body just makes me feel more stuck. I just try and breathe slowly or try and make a sound and it goes away.