Sleep Paralysis Disorder

Hi. Last night was the scariest ordeal I ever had. In short, you're woke and sleep at the same time. Sometimes I stop breathing and it feels like an elephant sitting on my chest and face. Not fun! After struggling for a short time you can come out of it, but it feels like forever! I got out of bed and collapse in the kitchen...but I never really got out of bed, I just thought I did. Struggled some more and woke up. "Jeff, you got to get up!" I told myself. So I did and collapsed again at the bathroom door causing much noise. My wife is just a few feet away, surely she heard my fall and is coming to help me because I'm struggling to breath again! But no. She can't hear me cause I'M STILL DREAMING! Struggle some more and woke up. I could go on but my heart is racing even now as I type.
 
Sometimes my brain combines something happening in the real world, like a song playing in my home and puts it in my dream. As if I'm dreaming that I'm driving but the song playing on the radio in the car is actually playing in my home. Mostly when I sleep with my headphones on as I often do. My subconscious builds a story (dream) around what's fed into my ears. Weird.
 
I've had sleep paralysis before but NEVER like last night! I can ignore the paralysis and usually go on to sleep. But you can't ignore breathing. And the sleep-walking in my dreams are bad too. I had it all happen at the same time last night. I'm not crazy, many people suffer from this but don't say anything because it's too hard to explain unless you go through it yourself, which I wouldn't wish on anyone.
 
Ok, this wasn't so short but I'm glad this forum is here. Anyone else experience this or similar? If so, I understand. Maybe someday there's something discovered to stop it. Ok, thanks for listening and resume your music. Peace.

I've had it too. It is still scary. Some times I feel like there is someone near me and touches me. I read that the paralysis is a defense mechanism so we don't hurt ourselves during rem sleep. Things get weird if the conscience wakes up before the paralysis is over. Also it is hard to predict but it usually happens when you are waking up. And it is very common.

Sleep paralysis is beyond nightmares.... it's far too real and quite frankly, scares the hell out of me.
 
I used to suffer from this really bad in my early 20's.... I still get one or two episodes a year, but I can feel it coming on and get out of it. The only advice I have is if you pull out of one, get up and make a coffee or do something/anything for a while. If you try and go back to sleep it will hit you harder.

kakku
I read that the paralysis is a defense mechanism so we don't hurt ourselves during rem sleep. Things get weird if the conscience wakes up before the paralysis is over.

I have a hard with conventional thoughts and reasoning on this. If my conscience is awake before my body... why is it that my mind is so messed up. Sure, I can't move my body, but my mind/thoughts are NOT normal.... it's not the "awake" I know!
 

kakku
Also it is hard to predict but it usually happens when you are waking up. And it is very common.

 
I don't get this while I wake up, that's something totally different and doesn't scare me at all. Sleep paralysis is most common while falling asleep. For most (not all) - it starts with a deafening sound/roar in your ears.

I'll never complain about my nighttime leg cramps again.

Sounds brutal.  I have some bizzaro dreams sometimes that I have a hard time shaking, and my sleep is generally all messed up, but NOTHING at all like what you're experiencing.
 
 

Thank you all for the input. I've read all the post. Yes, it's terrifying. But there are different levels and I was in unknown territory the other night. I didn't sleep too much but it was thankfully uneventful. I do believe my case has something to do with anxiety, stress and medications.
 
Some people will never experience it and that's great! Its good to hear other people story either way and nice to know some sleep well. I stayed up all night in the studio and fell asleep some time this morning. My wife is worried about me since she works nights so she's looking for a day job.
 
Just good to talk. Can't thank you all enough!!!!

I believe you're right on all counts bitflipper. I can see your body need to shut down so you don't act out your dreams. I'm sure we've all had at least one dream that made us jump up or kick our legs because they can seem so real. I do intake too much caffeine in the form of energy drinks. All that is going to change! My first episode happened when I was in middle-school. I'm 50 btw. So it's something that I probably was prone to from birth.
 
My paralysis happens almost exclusively as I'm going to sleep. I may have had one waking up. Maybe. But again, the other night was like no other! It was very intense and I had three nightmares within a nightmare just like the movies.
All I was missing was "Freddie".
 
And the two times I collapsed in my dream I could actually feel it, ya know? I've had one lucid dream in my life. It was kind of cool :) I believe Craigb studied how to use his dreams and make himself lucid. Cool! Right now I wouldn't study anything for fear I'd open Pandora's box. I can't imagine what that would mean....

What have you been doing recently? I may have a suggestion but have you done anything out of the ordinary recently?
 

All of this talk reminded me of the electric brain shocks I used to get falling asleep, and the fact that I hadn't noticed that I have been free of them for a good few years. 
 
For as long as I can remember, since early childhood, I would sometimes feel this tremendous jolt like an electric shock in my head just as I was falling asleep. It would zap me wide awake. I wonder why I don't get those anymore, it must be at least 5 or 6 years. However I do occasionally feel a shock in response to sudden noises when I'm drifting off. Like you know those sudden clicks or creaks items of furniture can make when it's quiet at night? Sometimes a little noise like that when I'm falling asleep will cause me such an intense shock that I actually see a bright flash of light and hear a loud buzzing noise. 
 
Another thing that happens quite regularly is that during that weird transitional period between awake and asleep I will dream that I'm walking, and at some point I will unexpectedly step off a high curb and shock myself awake. I've heard many other people report a similar thing. 
 

I have these night terrors from time to time- one thing I can control that can help awaken me is my breathing, I can manage to increase my breathing rate a lot and from there I can manage some noises - more recently after yelling for my wife to wake me up for some time it felt like, I awoke with her looking at me and being told I had a bad dream- well, duh ! ( she claimed my utterances were loud but unintelligible )
Apparently, most of those night terrors are alien themed- although I do not believe in such things.
 
I remember too when I was a kid dreaming I was walking into a cave and came across this terrible monster that started chasing me- I was running as fast as I could and could feel it's breath on my back as I ran, until I realized I was managing to stay ahead of it in so my fear turned to a naughty kind of joy as I was just teasing the monster terribly by staying one step ahead of it- a fond remembrance in times of my life when events turned on me and it seemed the chips were down  

sharke
All of this talk reminded me of the electric brain shocks I used to get falling asleep, and the fact that I hadn't noticed that I have been free of them for a good few years. 
 
For as long as I can remember, since early childhood, I would sometimes feel this tremendous jolt like an electric shock in my head just as I was falling asleep. It would zap me wide awake. I wonder why I don't get those anymore,
 

 
That's interesting, I get those occasionally but I've never met anyone else who does. It's like a discharge, very disconcerting.

bapu
Seriously though. I've never had this. Insomnia yes. Fall asleep almost anywhere yes.
 
That sounds scary. 

It was for me the first time, and then I went back to some things I used to do as a child in my head, and found that "playing" around with inner stuff was fun. The only concern, is that IN TIME, it will force some inner changes as your perception updates with your inner perception.
 
I look at it this way ... you have an inner and outer perception. One is full of ideas and thoughts and this and that and what not. The other ... it's like you do not know it, and it is inside of you ... spend time learning it. You will end up loving it, and appreciating it. AND, if you are clever enough, there is so much that you can draw from there to use in your creativity ... think about it ... a new area within you that you don't know.
 
Good reading for these ... though I am not a great fan of the commercial side of it:
 
Robert Monroe -- his first two books, are simplistic, and a bit preachy. Good reading though.
 
Castaneda -- the later books are each about one thing, one is visions, the other dreams (art of dreaming -- best book on the subject!!!), and obe's ... but they are hard to read and many folks don't like don Juan's very cynical look at things.
 
Books that deal with occult directly, like Crowley (diary of a drugfiend and moonchild), are full of these, but they are very difficult to discuss because they are buried in imagery that is really crazy for us to imagine.
 
The Bardo (Tibetan Book of the Dead) is about "leaving the body" when your time is up. The various portals and dragons are basically the inner fights that we have with ourselves.
 
In general, this is a TOTAL individual thing, and I recommend you study, record and pay attention to your OWN thing, and do not use anyone's ideas or thoughts when looking at yourself ... these work within you, not without you ... and this is the most important part of it all.
 
Just remember that you have nothing to fear except your own fear!