Seeing the Black Shadows/ Shadow People is truly one of the most amazing things you can witness -- knowing of course the visions are created by your own mind is key to not being scared out of you mind. It's amazing people across history have had such similar visions during sleep paralysis -- truly something at the core of our conciseness and a true mystery of man.
I had it about a month ago and it was terrifying. I was at my uncle's creepy farmhouse and I woke up at about 3 AM, couldn't move, and it felt a demon or something was strangling me and pressing down on me/hitting me. I also heard my door open, and was relieved because I thought it was my brother coming to help me, but just turned out to be more demons From things I've read online, it could be a lot worse. One guy said that he constantly is woken up and paralyzed and sees a very real hallucination of a child skipping around his bed, singing nursery rhymes. Apparently it is likely to happen if you are uncomfortable sleeping (ie too hot, too cold) or sleeping in a place you've never slept before. Both of these were true in my case, but it hasn't happened since.
I know - but the mystery is why we see those things -- those things being specific visions that millions if not billions have seen -that are virtually identical.
We're humans, we share many of the same fears. Moving shadows is common though bc we're usually in a dark room during sleep paralysis.
I get it from time to time, maybe every couple of months. It used to scare the **** out of me, but now I see it as either an annoying or a fascinating occurrence, depending on the experience. When it first happened to me, I felt tremendous helplessness which was really unpleasant. My eyes were open and I could see/hear noises/shadows (I even imagined a monkey jumping around my room once), but when I tried to yell I could only manage a tiny grunt, even though I felt like I was pouring all my energy into yelling. My best advice to you is a) make sure you're sleeping in a comfortable position that you're used to. My experiences generally happen when there's something unusual about my sleep experience, and b) don't be afraid when it happens. Sometimes I get annoyed because you seem like you've been asleep for hours but in reality it's only been minutes, but it passes sometimes if you just relax and think about what's going on. As an aside, sometimes when it happens to me, and I wake myself up (this usually takes considerable effort), it happens to me again when I try to fall back asleep. Thought it was interesting.
Use to happen a lot to me, then I got this... Now I know exactly when I'm dreaming or not so basically I just try to die if I'm dreaming.... Good stuff...
It's been maybe 10 years since my last episode. Never really scared me it was just a challenge to try and get up. I seemed to have learned how to controll some endings of dreams. I dreamnt that I levitated and hovered in front of a large crowd in mall parking lot. It was awesome as I was in control. I really hated the falling dreams however.
No need to see a neurologist unless you have other symptoms, especially those of narcolepsy (i.e. hypersomnia, cataplexy). Sleep paralysis is a normal phenomenon that is probably exacerbated by sleep deprivation.
These are specific hallucinations embedded deep within our sub-conscience -- truly an amazing experience. The experience comes and goes for a year or two and usually never returns.
Had sleep paralysis ever since I was a kid. It would happen anywhere from a regular night's sleep to napping in class/on a bus. Just like you said every time I wouldn't be able to move, be "aware" of my surroundings and also begin to panic and not be able to breathe. I could never get past that moment into lucid dreaming since I always try to claw myself back to waking up when it happens... However I still lucid dream at times, it's pretty ****ing sweet even though I don't really realize it as much as other people say they do.
THIS! I get it every once in a while usually if I sleep on my back. At first it was scary trying to scream my way into waking up but couldnt. Whats sucks is knowing you are dreaming but not being able to wake up. Now a days its not scary but more annoying then anything.
Ive had this a few times. THe one I remeber the most was when I first moved into my apartment by myself. I was laying on my mattress and I felt a demon thing run across my floor right at me. I jumped up scared as hell. Usually I try and wake myself up but its really hard too.
I've had sleep paralysis off and on for quite some time now. Usually, when it occurs, I feel like I SHOULD awaken from a slumber. I am aware of my surroundings, and I try to force myself awake. It's like jerking myself out of a deep state of sleep to no avail. I try to repeat the process over and over. To be honest, it's often quite harrowing and frightening. It's like I want to wake up, but I am physically unable. Then, when I finally do wake up, I feel very off-kilter and unnerved. It's a very unpleasant experience. It usually happens if I fall asleep on a couch rather than sleeping in bed. But it has happened after a full night's sleep as well. No fun at all.
