Hey Lark, I used to experience sleep paralysis when I was a kid, and it's still some of the most vividly terrifying experiences of my life, so I get how rough it is and I feel for you. I find having knowledge about what scares us often helps immensely and makes things less scary, and I recently watched this video on the subject and found it very informative, maybe it will help you.

My own experiences were heavily colored by a religious upbringing, and because I didn't know better at the time, I thought I was experiencing an attempted possession during my sleep paralysis episodes, that's how intense and horrifying my experiences were. I remember having nightmares prior to two episodes, one of being in a demonic realm where I ran away from demons, running up a long tall staircase that ended in a sheer drop down into a black black hole that didn't have a bottom, and I ended up falling off the stairs into this hole, falling forever. I woke up in a cold sweat and unable to move a muscle. The paralysis eventually dissipated, but I didn't get anymore sleep that night. Another time, I dreamed I was floating several feet above my bed, in a plank position, rigid and unable to move. There was a beam of light coming through my window, and it was levitating me. I thought I was being abducted by aliens. I "woke" up, and physically felt my body fall several feet to the bed below me. And then I actually woke, again in a cold sweat, but this time I was able to move relatively quickly. The last time I experienced it, I woke up again in a cold sweat lying on my back, but utterly incapable of moving except for my eyes. It was dark, and I had difficulty seeing, but I thought I saw a dark presence near my door. I felt a squeezing sensation in my chest, like a heavy weight was sitting on me, making it very difficult to breath, and my vision was going black. I was so terrified, I was praying to almighty God with every fibre of my being, begging him to save me from what I was convinced was a demon trying to enter my body and shackle my soul. Shortly after I began praying, the paralysis started to subside, and I wound up huddled on my bed weeping and thanking God for saving me.That experience contributed to my conviction in my beliefs at the time for many years before I started questioning my beliefs due to other conflicts in my life. It was around that time I learned about sleep paralysis and how it's actually a fairly common experience.

If it helps any, sleep paralysis is usually experienced for a short period of time and then often is not experienced again. It is often brought about by acute stress, which it sounds like you might be experiencing. So hopefully you won't be dealing with it much longer and hopefully never again thereafter. And it will always pass, so keep that in mind the next time you wake up paralyzed. Stay calm and focus on the fact that it will subside. Be well, Lark.