Sleep Paralysis

[Mulch]

Originally Posted by pitbulllady

Due the state of altered conciousness, all sorts of hallucinatory experiences can occur before the person is fully awake and mobile again, including a sense of a forboding presence in the room. I would not doubt that a lot of the old "Incubus" and "Succubus" legends, and many stories of "alien" abductions, result from really vivid examples of sleep paralysis.

I had such an experience when I was about three years old. Sleep paralysis alone would have been scary enough at that age, but I had to have hallucinations too. I was alone in the room on this large bed, while all the adults (back then my mother lived with my grandparents, along with most of her siblings) were in the living room right next to me, watching the telly. I was facing a green radiator with bars, a pretty large one. Now I fell fast asleep, but only about ten minutes later I "awoke", not being able to move any part of my body. My eyes, however, were sort of open, so I was able to sense the room around me. And there, behind the radiator, was a really creepy creature, all black and white, it apparently had fur and its body was the size of a midget (a bit larger than me at that time). It had these glowing, angry eyes that somehow made it look like it was grinning. And it laughed a growling laughter, like the growling sound that comes from the back of your throat. Instead of being scared out of my wits I was simply angry. Sort of annoyed. And instead of wanting to get away I just wanted to beat the living snot out of that weirdo. Then I just suddenly gained conciousness and screamed as loud as I could. The first thing I noticed was that the creepy thing was gone. This seemed dead serious to me and the grown-ups were calling it a dream. I remember how ignorant I thought they were. Today I just laugh at this. I have no idea why I still remember this. (I also clearly remember an earlier incident of running down the hallway and hitting the bathroom door. I still wonder if I was a total idiot when I was a baby.) It also happened to me around Easter this year. I again had my eyes sort of open but couldn't move. I saw this odd finger-thing straight in front of me and was absolutely terrified. (I'm assuming it was my finger. ) I don't recall getting it any other time.

[Partymember]

i can't wait to experience this for free

[jekylljuice]

Well, the good news is that over a week has now passed and, although my sleep pattern has been somewhat disturbed within that time, sleep paralysis hasn't come up again since. So, with any luck, it won't become a regular problem.

Thanks for the words of caution, PBL, though I don't think there was ever much chance of me cutting out caffeine completely - the stuff's been my lifeblood for well over a decade. I'd have a much harder time getting up in the morning if it weren't for the motivation of being able to indulge in a steaming mug of hot coffee.