[Lilithlee]

It e had it ever since I was 11. It happens about twice maybe little bit more,
a year. Most if the time it's just really annoying vs scary but it can get scary. Last time it happened, in November, I thought someone was breaking into my house. No one was but still.

I think I know what that is, its when you feel like you are awake but can't get up or move. Horrible feeling. I had that a couple nights ago. I actually slip into dreaming again because I cannot switch off...I thought I was sleeping on the couch and I was but it is a bit like your dreaming, yet for me I dream I am getting up and ready to go for the day. I get back to dreaming though because I woke up with a nightmare...

[Lilithlee]

Yes that what I'm talking about

I used to get something like that. It was very similar to what kelly described although I don't recall ever going from that state back into sleep. I felt I had to get my mind and body reconnected and it was a great struggle. I would have to concentrate on moving a finger... then the hand....arm etc. When I was finally completely conscious and reconnected with my body I'd be exhausted and covered in sweat.
If you do a search you may find other posts on similar phenomena. Some people reported feeling a presence in the room with them. A supernatural presence.

[belledisastre]

YES. Ugh. I've had it for just about 2 years now. It can get really freaky sometimes; I'm not going to say anything because I don't want to put ideas into anyone's brains. It always bothers me when I hear of people trying to use sleep paralysis to enter lucid dreams; I guess it can work sometimes, but I don't think it's worth it at all. I try to avoid it as well as I can. I've been lucid dreaming since 5th grade and there are many other effective ways to do this than throw yourself into a potentially terrifying sleep paralysis.

[idontknowme427]

Yes. I had it frequently between the ages of 16-23. I'm 25 (26 in April) now and only get it occasionally. I actually had it this morning. When it first started happening to me, I thought I was alone until my friend pointed me in the right direction to research. Here's what I gathered (note: this is my summary & my experience. Other websites may say something different).

The "normal" kind is just sleep paralysis. You wake up in your REM cycle, so your muscles are stiff and you can't move. When it happens to me, I feel like my chest is being squished and I can't breathe, so I'm breathing rapidly. Sometimes, I think my husband is awake & ignoring me, when in reality, he is asleep too. This is called lucid dreaming. I can't move, but I try to twitch my foot until I wake myself up. Sometimes, my eyelids rapidly open & close.

The different kind is called Isolated Sleep Paralysis. I have had it a few times and it is FREAKY. It's the same as stated above, but is more involved. It's the "supernatural" kind that someone above stated, when another "being" is present. For me, it was a demon-like being. I can remember those 3 different ISPs vividly. Scared me so much.

All in all, sleep paralysis is scary. When I was 18, I was going to go to a sleep center to get an actual "diagnosis" and help, but the people I talked to said there really isn't any help at all for it. Even sleep medicines don't always work, sometimes they can make it worse. They said to find out what triggers it and try to avoid it. For me, the trigger is heat.

Hope this helps some!

[-jimi-]

When I was younger I had this more, haven't the last years at all. I used to have the evil presence type thing, it sat on my chest and choked me. These days I'm usually not constantly sleep deprived, I was back then. Stress and sleep deprivation can really set this off. Also I assume some people are just more prone to it. I also had exploding head syndrome, which is a weird name, because you usually don't feel your head exploding. I woke up rapidly by a bright light and a loud bang. First time I was a teen and I thought we had been nuked...

Even without feeling anything around you, it can be bad. It is like you try to swim to full consciousness, like if when you dove in to deep into water and swim up, up, and long for the surface to come.

Last time I had something like this I didn't even have paralysis, but maybe a sleep and awake overlap. I knew even after fully awake something bad but invisible was in my room. Took ages to calm down and go back to sleep.

[doyoutrustme]

I haven't had an episode in a while, but I used to often.

Make sure you have your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, and do what you can to minimize noise (sudden noises can bring on an episode, even if you don't remember hearing it).

Since I started therapy I havn't had any SP. I think my body was trying to tell me I was paralyzed inside of myself.