Do you get sleep paralysis?

[Indigo Blue]

I only do if I take a nap in the daytime, and I sleep too long. I rarely do daytime naps anymore. 
 

That is the most gosh darn awful and terrifying thing to experience. You are lucky if this never happens to you. 
 

 

[Kassia]

I've never had that, but I get panic attacks in my sleep where I wake up screaming sometimes - startles poor DH!  

[lauraw4321]

Yes I’ve had if a few times, always during naps. The most terrifying thing ever. I think knowing what it is helps. 

[Indigo Blue]

28 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I've never had that, but I get panic attacks in my sleep where I wake up screaming sometimes - startles poor DH!  

Kassia, I’m sorry. Is there anything that helps that that you have tried? 

[Kassia]

14 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Kassia, I’m sorry. Is there anything that helps that that you have tried? 

I don't know of anything that would help.  I'd rather have the panic attacks than the sleep paralysis - that does sound terrifying.  

[gardenmom5]

I've experienced it many times.  It's just a sleep disorder where you "wake" during REM sleep.   Your body is paralyzed during REM to prevent you from injuring yourself.   If I could force even a finger to move, it would break the paralysis.   
eventually, I realized if I'd just close my eyes, I'd go back to sleep and everything would be fine.

I realized "the sounds" I would hear that would frighten me,  were just hallucinations. they weren't real.  If there was a *real* sound, I would "wake up" for real and it would break the paralysis.

 

[BeachGal]

My youngest had them. He experienced paralysis and hallucinations. He did what gardenmom does and it helped immensely.

Baland Jalal is an expert on sleep paralysis if you want to follow some of the research.

Edited June 22 by BeachGal

[Spryte]

Yes! Horrible. I only had this when I was ill with Lyme and Babesiosis, and some other TBDs, prior to being diagnosed and treated. It was beyond nightmarish, just terrifying.

[Scarlett]

7 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

I only do if I take a nap in the daytime, and I sleep too long. I rarely do daytime naps anymore. 
 

That is the most gosh darn awful and terrifying thing to experience. You are lucky if this never happens to you. 
 

 

I got it quite often when I was in my 20s. It has not happened to me in many years. It is extremely terrifying. Once I figured out what it was, it was not quite as terrifying.

[mom31257]

My son just told me this happens to him sometimes when he naps. 

[Pawz4me]

It happened to me when I was younger. It was very scary the first few times, but not so much after I figured out what was going on and that if I just relaxed for a few seconds it would go away. Once I figured it out the only panic was a second or two between feeling paralyzed and remembering to relax and wait it out.

[Indigo Blue]

I remember being so confused before I knew what it was because I was sure I was awake, but it also seemed dream like. It has never happened to Dh, so I couldn’t convince him that I was actually awake when it happened. Awake and looking around the room but couldn’t move. Hearing sounds and having this feeling of doom and someone or some “thing” just hovering behind me and my not being able to roll over to see what it was. 

[Scarlett]

9 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I remember being so confused before I knew what it was because I was sure I was awake, but it also seemed dream like. It has never happened to Dh, so I couldn’t convince him that I was actually awake when it happened. Awake and looking around the room but couldn’t move. Hearing sounds and having this feeling of doom and someone or some “thing” just hovering behind me and my not being able to roll over to see what it was. 

It is terrifying. I remembering thinking I was possessed by demons. 

[Scarlett]

39 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

It happened to me when I was younger. It was very scary the first few times, but not so much after I figured out what was going on and that if I just relaxed for a few seconds it would go away. Once I figured it out the only panic was a second or two between feeling paralyzed and remembering to relax and wait it out.

Relaxing for a few minutes never worked for me. 

[Home'scool]

I experienced it during my high school years. I was absolutely terrified!

And when I tried to tell my family then thought I was crazy and kept bringing it up like a funny story! I mean, I guess saying that I wake up not being able to move and hearing voices would make for a crazy story, but their reaction didn't help.

It stopped after high school and it wasn't until years later that I realized it is an actual thing. 

I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It's quiet scary.

[WildflowerMom]

I’ve had it happen a few times.  Ds has had it happen more.   I just lay there and tell myself that since the dog isn’t going crazy then it’s nothing bad and I try to fall back to sleep.   It is scary, though! 

[dsmith]

Yes, and I hate it!! I have to be very careful with not napping too much, or getting too little sleep multiple days in a row. I get it while falling asleep. I get a weird sound in my brain, like fluorescent light, and it will get louder and louder. I won't be able to move or take a breath. I try to shake my head or call out, but that does nothing. Then it will release or I will fall asleep. I originally thought I was having some kind of seizure, but my doctor knew what it was. I did a sleep study years ago - I think it was something about a rapid transition to a different sleep phase or something like that. I have never heard voices, though. That would really freak me out!

My father had sleep paralysis while falling asleep or would wake up with it. My son will wake up with it, never when falling asleep. His is mild compared to mine. I will often get it multiple times in a row. Probably the worst night I had was 6 - 7 times in a row. I couldn't get out of it long enough to actually get up out of bed. I was extra tired and stressed before I went to bed that night, and ended up taking a Xanax before I attempted sleep again.