Sleep paralysis

[Steeler]

Good fun.  NOT.
The first time it happened to me, it was quite terrifying but I'm starting to learn how to roll with it.
For me it only happens every couple months maybe, soon after I doze off.  Seems like it usually starts with me hearing a noise and thinking that either somebody is knocking on the door, trying to break in, or maybe my wife in the kitchen doing something.
At this point I will usually try to open my eyes, but can't. Then I'll try and turn to see if my wife is still in bed, but can't. Completely paralysed. I will try with everything I have to move any part of my body but just can't do it.
Sometimes I will finally fight it off and be able to get out of bed, go get a drink, breathe a sigh of relief that it was just a weird dream only to realize that I'm actually still in the bed frozen. It's like a dream within a dream. All while I'm completely aware that I'm dreaming.
Eventually I'll fight enough to break out of it and wake up. For real.
Hard to explain the intense reality of it.
I've even thought that I shook it off, got up and told my wife about it, but was still in my paralysed state.
Like I said, I'm getting the hang of it now, because I know that what I think is going on really isn't and that I'm good, nobody is breaking in trying to murder me all while there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.LOL it's gotten kinda fun, in a strange way.

Need to cut back on the caffeine before bed I think.

Anybody else?

[Arturo]

Anybody else?

Yes I've had it when my dogs used to sleep on my bed with me. I'd see my Dad walk into my room and sit on my bed and I get up to see what he wants but I can't get up. And I'm trying and trying then when I "actually" wake up I realize it's my dogs pinning me to the bed by laying on the blanket. Now I don't let them on my bed and it hasn't happened since.

Tell you what though, it was terrifying thinking back on it.

[Tank]

Fortunately I have never suffered from this complaint.

[Dave]

During several months before my heart attack I suffered just about every sleep disorder, including paralylsis.

Not nice, but I survived it all! And learned from it.

Actually the most physically dangerous was sleep apnoea, stopping breathing whilst asleep, caused lots of stess to the heart just when I didn't need it, but the others had strong emotional and even "mental" effects. Extreme fatigue became my day long companion and depression always looked over my shoulder.

[Dragonia]

This has happened to me countless times over the years. I absolutely know that I'm awake, but can't move. I think, am I dreaming? I don't think so, but I must be, because nothing's working.... its confusing and weird and sometimes scary, depending on what's going on in my "awake dream".

[Davin]

Good fun.  NOT.
The first time it happened to me, it was quite terrifying but I'm starting to learn how to roll with it.
For me it only happens every couple months maybe, soon after I doze off.  Seems like it usually starts with me hearing a noise and thinking that either somebody is knocking on the door, trying to break in, or maybe my wife in the kitchen doing something.
At this point I will usually try to open my eyes, but can't. Then I'll try and turn to see if my wife is still in bed, but can't. Completely paralysed. I will try with everything I have to move any part of my body but just can't do it.
Sometimes I will finally fight it off and be able to get out of bed, go get a drink, breathe a sigh of relief that it was just a weird dream only to realize that I'm actually still in the bed frozen. It's like a dream within a dream. All while I'm completely aware that I'm dreaming.
Eventually I'll fight enough to break out of it and wake up. For real.
Hard to explain the intense reality of it.
I've even thought that I shook it off, got up and told my wife about it, but was still in my paralysed state.
Like I said, I'm getting the hang of it now, because I know that what I think is going on really isn't and that I'm good, nobody is breaking in trying to murder me all while there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.LOL it's gotten kinda fun, in a strange way.

Need to cut back on the caffeine before bed I think.

Anybody else?

Since I was very young, for as long as I can remember. The frequency peaked for me from about 18-24 years old when I would experience one about every two weeks. Now in my old age, it's about once every 1.5 months. I just had one last night when I was wearing a heart monitor. My heart rate spike to just over 120 at around 3:30am this morning. I've gotten used to them, at least afterwards. Most them sound pretty silly, like when I try say how scary it is to have blankets fluttering around me when I can't move.

But last night, or this morning I suppose, the one I had was a re-occurring one, where I can't move, but feel like someone is coming for me from the other room and if I can get up then something bad will happen. So I spend several minutes desperately trying to move just one finger or toe, but no matter how hard I try, I can't. And when I think back on it, the someone coming from the other room, must walk very, very slowly, because it felt like it lasted an hour (was probably only just over minutes). And even though I'm used to them, and I'm pretty sure it was just a night terror, I still had to get up and check every hiding spot in my home.

I also sometimes sleep walk. I have cameras and it's sometimes funny to see myself walk about for no reason doing weird things without ever remembering doing it. A few weeks ago I woke up at around 3am on the couch in the living room not remembering how I got there, when I watched the recording I just got up around 1am, walked into the living room carefully closing the door then walked around the coffee table a few times, then plopped down onto the couch and didn't move again until I woke up at 3am and then went to bed. Mostly, when I sleep walk I go back to bed at the end.

[Magdalena]

Wow! Me? No.
I've never experienced anything like that before. Sounds scary. 
Just imagining somebody knocking on the door, trying to break in, or someone coming from the other room, walking very, very slowly...and I can't move, or get up!? 

[Steeler]

Yup it can be scary Mags. Davin, that's almost always how it is for me as far as I'm feeling that someone is in the house, unwanted. Like you, I always have to go check doors to make sure everything is locked.
On a side note, doesn't it seem kinda stupid that I always lock the doors at night, but never lock them when we are gone during the day? But I have the lady across the street who is always home and doesn't miss a thing.LOL

Oh, forgot to add I had read somewhere about a guy who claims he is able to control his by being aware enough to change his home intruder into a hot chick coming in for sex.
I don't think it will work, but I'm gonna try, and hope I can stay in my dream state throughout.

[xSilverPhinx]

Sometimes I will finally fight it off and be able to get out of bed, go get a drink, breathe a sigh of relief that it was just a weird dream only to realize that I'm actually still in the bed frozen. It's like a dream within a dream. All while I'm completely aware that I'm dreaming.

I experienced this only once that I can remember and it was the weirdest dream I had ever had, especially since I'm hardly ever aware that I'm dreaming when I am.

[Asmodean]

I've had a couple of boot errors. Got a bit weirded out by them, but I generally handle such things well as it doesn't take my analytic functions long to kick in after the initial WTF-response.

[Dave]

[...] since I'm hardly ever aware that I'm dreaming when I am.

Er, is there not a logical inconsistency in there, xSP?

[xSilverPhinx]

[...] since I'm hardly ever aware that I'm dreaming when I am.

Er, is there not a logical inconsistency in there, xSP?

Sorry, I was still half dreaming when I posted that, pre-caffeine.

[Davin]

I just listened to this podcast on sleep paralysis, I found it informative and interesting. I hadn't known that the dream within a dream stuff was linked to sleep paralysis, I just thought it was something else.

[MariaEvri]

I've experienced it a couple of times, and even though I know there is an explanation, DURING the time it happens it's very scary.
According to my online facebook contacts, it;s the witch-ghost MORA sitting on your chest and you have to do a prayer x times to scare her off