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 sleep paralysis many times throughout the years. I feel like I can't breathe, and I can't move. I freak out almost every time. I just have to make a concerted effort to move my head back and forth a minuscule amount at first, until eventually I can move my head a little more and a little more, then finally can break free. It seems like it takes forever to break loose. There have been times where I just kinda roll with it, and it felt like I had an OBE, floating up toward the ceiling. Weird experiences for sure. Every time it happens, I wake up laying on my back. So I try very hard not to fall asleep on my back.

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.

Yep. I never had an OBE, but I did feel like people had broke in my house and was smothering me once. Never thought I was sleep and thought for sure I was going to die. I was only concerned about what they were going to do to my wife and daughter. And all of a sudden...I woke up. I couldn't even fight this one, it just "let me go". Thanks for sharing.

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.

Yep.  I've always been interested in personal development (up to and including working on a PhD in hypnotherapy) and one of those endeavors was sleep-based.  Learning to use dreams, becoming lucid while dreaming (I even have devices to help with this!), breathing exercises, etc.  A couple of times I had events similar to what you did and, ohhhh yeah, they can really freak you out!  Once I realized what was happening I was able to relax a little and either fall back to normal sleep or wake up but, a couple of times, it seemed like torture.  
 
Of course, knowing why helped so I didn't panic as much as I might have.  Your body tries to shut most things down so you don't act out in real life what's happening in your dreams.  Usually, only two areas of your body respond while your asleep (your eyes and your, um, groin area - lol).  In fact, the lucid dreaming devices I have actually monitor your eyes behind your closed lids and can signal you when REM sleep is detected (they usually shine a red light which you need to recognize in your dream then you move your eyes in a set pattern while you're still asleep which turns the device off).

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've never had sleep paralysis to the extent discussed here, but I have occasionally experienced this kind of weak helplessness when waking up, as if all the strength has been sapped from my body. I can move my hands but they won't grip anything. I like to think that I'm booting up and my drivers haven't finished loading yet. 
 
Years ago I got into the whole lucid dream thing and managed to train myself to have them. It was all going very well and I'd actually look forward to sleeping at night, until one night I lucid-dreamed getting up to go to the bathroom and as I crossed the hall I looked into the dark living room and there was this horrible devil-faced being sat on the sofa, its eyes glowing. I wanted to look away but remained transfixed as my vision zoomed in towards him. That caused a jolt of fear so intense that I spun backwards head over heel and floated up to the ceiling, where I remained trapped like a balloon knowing that devil-features was probably on his way. 
 
Woke up out of that one in such a frantic cold sweat that I was freaked out for the rest of the day. Some scary things can happen during sleep alright. 

I've never experienced sleep paralysis, but man, that sounds terrifying. I know that some people have it happening more when they're falling asleep and others when they're starting to wake up. Either way, it sounds like the stuff of nightmares. I don't know if there's medication to address the condition, but I hope you can get some help. 
 
(This post has been utterly unhelpful.)

It's not fun, for sure. Panic and struggle.
 
I read somewhere once there is an easy out like simply "blinking".
 
However, I usually can't remember it when I'm in this situation.