RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis

Collarspace Discussion Forums

Home Login Search

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis

Page: << < prev 1 2 [3]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 10:43:47 AM

kittinSol

Posts: 16926
Status: offline

Actually, I believe the first time I experienced this phenomenon was much earlier on in life, as a very young adolescent (12). I woke up in the middle of the night in my father's house; I was sharing a room with my brother, who was fast asleep. Three cloaked and malevolent figures were sitting on his bed, seemingly staring straight ahead. I was paralysed with fear, thinking that if I moved they would harm my brother.

Until recently I was convinced they were ghosts of some kind (my father's house was a mid XVIIIth century presbitary by a cemetary in a god-forsaken village).

It's only recently that I have discovered this was probably the first instance of my going through this ordeal (because it is an ordeal, no doubt about that). I don't wish it on anybody!

_____________________________

(in reply to velvetears)

Profile

Post #: 41

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 10:56:34 AM

velvetears

Posts: 2933
Joined: 6/19/2006
Status: offline

It is an ordeal, and i wouldn't wish it on my worste enemy. Once you experience them frequently the terror tones down as you know whats happening, but while in that state your mind is fuzzy and not really capable of holding onto logic. i tried it and failed.

_____________________________

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, Spirituality is for people who have been there

(in reply to kittinSol)

Profile

Post #: 42

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 11:13:51 AM

KatyLied

Posts: 13029
Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline

quote:

I was convinced they were ghosts of some kind

Sounds like my son. He was adamant. I said "our house is brand new, you watched it being built, how could it be haunted?" He replied that there are spirits who have not gone to the beyond, they are restless, they are "searching". No matter how I tried to reason this "they are nightmares", his response "you are wrong, the house is haunted, they live in my room". It was frustrating. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I read about this.

_____________________________

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
- Albert Einstein

(in reply to velvetears)

Profile

Post #: 43

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 11:18:49 AM

velvetears

Posts: 2933
Joined: 6/19/2006
Status: offline

katey unless you experience them yourself you can't imagine how "real" the experience feels. i am glad your son realizes what it is, maybe it will take some of the fear away. If i truly believed i was being visited or haunted i would have been terrified all the time not just when it happened.

_____________________________

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, Spirituality is for people who have been there

(in reply to KatyLied)

Profile

Post #: 44

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 11:33:23 AM

KatyLied

Posts: 13029
Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline

It was a stressful time. It got much better after I caved and allowed him to set up his nightly routine in the living room in front of the tv. At first I felt like I was doing some bad parenting, but he was so relived not to have to sleep in his room that it was worth it. He had no problem going to his room, he just refused to sleep there.

_____________________________

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
- Albert Einstein

(in reply to velvetears)

Profile

Post #: 45

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/6/2007 5:11:08 PM

MasDom

Posts: 375
Joined: 11/10/2005
Status: offline

After I triggered some one to kill themselves I just went insane slowly, especially after a later abortion with out my concent...
No out let and you blow a fuse, so even though it sucks consider yourself lucky.

(in reply to KatyLied)

Profile

Post #: 46

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/10/2007 5:10:24 PM

Real0ne

Posts: 21189
Joined: 10/25/2004
Status: offline

quote:

RealOne - that is exactly what is happening - i am falling asleep while i am awake. It's hard to explain but it happens when i am awake - it's like i go into a deep relaxation or trance like state where i loose the ability to move, i feel like i am relaxing but then there is this certain sensation which i have come to identify as "this thing coming on" - i am fully aware and conscious, i just cannot move. It happens when i am laying down, other people can be around and if they are they are incorporated into my dream images - i hear them speak to me, their faces change (usually monster or demon like) and when i come out of it i ask them if they were talking to me - it can be quite confusing, well at least in the beginning it was.

when i was a kid i used to go to bed with my flashlite. Any monsters thought they were gonna fuck with me i would take my lite and either physically or mentally shoot the offending sob. They always went away and i slept the rest of the nite through. The biggest problem of course is getting caught up in the pshychodram\a, hence your mind makes it real because you perceive yourself as living throught it and in a sense you are since you emotionally attached yourself to to what is going on. Granted my solution is pretty basic but it worked for me.

I get the impression that is a state where you are not sleeping soundly and neither are you awake.

Have you considered taking zoloft or 5htp? It eats melatonin, that would tend to create a more awake state, while taking melatonin would lean toward a more alsleep state. May want to experiement a bit to see if going one direction or the other helps. (and always go to sleep with yout laser pointer or flashlite!)

_____________________________

"We the Borg" of the us imperialists....resistance is futile

Democracy; The 'People' voted on 'which' amendment?

Yesterdays tinfoil is today's reality!

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session

(in reply to velvetears)

Profile

Post #: 47

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/10/2007 5:32:19 PM

camille65

Posts: 5746
Joined: 7/11/2007
From: Austin Texas
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Real0ne

Just read your last post.

you know what that sounds like is that you may be falling asleep while you are awake. in other words unlike your sis with narc you have the ability to force yourself to stay awake and your brain goes into rest mode and puts your body into a rest mode.

It almost sounds like you are awake sleeping or conscious while sleeping so you can feel what your body does to sleep.

I can imagine that in that state of mind where the conscious mind is sleeping and subconscious is sorting things out while you sleep if you felt something your subconscious may recognize it as whatever it congered up the first time it happened to you then replayed ater that.

You may be conscious while sleeping and barely in the fringes of a thinking state of mind while primarily in a subconscious state of mind.

What do you think> plausible?

Wow this made me sit up straight. Bingo. I'm taking this info to my doctor on my next visit, I've been having problems like this for so long. Taking copious amounts of sleep meds helps, but then I end up being locked into the sleep stage. Velvet I'm glad you started this thread.

_____________________________

~Love your life! (It is the only one you'll get).

(in reply to Real0ne)

Profile

Post #: 48

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/10/2007 5:41:10 PM

chellekitty

Posts: 3923
Joined: 3/27/2005
Status: offline

i don't try to go to sleep unless i know i am going to go to sleep because, like someone suggested (i'm sorry i don't remember exactly who) these night terrors happen most often when my body is asleep but my mind is not, for lack of a better way to say it....and velvetears, yes, if i have them and i wake myself up, i have to get up for at least an hour, if it is at all possible for me to go back to sleep......

_____________________________

One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. ~Albert Schweitzer

(in reply to camille65)

Profile

Post #: 49

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/11/2007 6:27:26 PM

expedio1

Posts: 30
Joined: 4/1/2007
From: Texas
Status: offline

Wow, what a great thread. It's good for those of us who have these difficulties -- so difficult to describe or explain to others -- to find each other and lend moral support, if not advice or information.

I don't have sleep paralysis; I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. I have a condition called wakefulness disorder in which (to put it in very simple terms) My brain has difficulty knowing whether it's awake or asleep, so My body in turn doesn't always behave appropriately to the state it's in. The disorder has many possible symptoms, but the three most common ones by far are bedwetting to an unusually advanced age, night terrors, and severe sleepwalking/talking/etc. I've had all three, along with an array of less spectacular issues, like frequent (often recurring) nightmares and insomnia. I finally grew out of the bedwetting at the horrifying age of 15 (others in My extended family had similar problems, most notably My maternal grandfather, who finally stopped at 21) and it's been something like 10 years (thank goodness!) since I've had a night terror episode, but I still very much battle the frequent sleep activity, nightmares, and other issues.

The main reasons I wanted to respond on this thread are:

(1) To let My voice be known, let others know that they're not alone, and to say that I'm happy to talk privately about this with anyone who's interested. I'm a science type, and I've done a fair bit of research on sleep and wakefulness disorders, so I can talk pretty knowledgeably about lots of things. That's not to say that I think I can teach anyone anything; only that you're unlikely to have to explain something for the thousandth time and you won't have to convince Me that you're not crazy. I know that it's real, and I know that it's difficult to describe. And sometimes it's good just to talk about things.

(2) To say that a couple of you... certainly chellekitty... sound like you might possibly have a condition that's at least similar to what I have, and if you're either under medical care or considering it, you might want to mention it to your doctor. Unfortunately, full blown cases of wakefulness disorder are not common so you may need a specialist in order to get someone who knows enough about it to help you, but information never hurts so I wanted to get the name of it out there just in case it might help someone.

And (3) To say definitively that, as a few of you have guessed, this category of sleep disorders (those that are related to the barrier between sleep and wakefulness, which includes sleep paralysis and almost everything else that's been mentioned) absolutely has a genetic component. In some variations the link to heredity is stronger than it is in other variations... in My own case, it's very clearly genetic, with several of My relatives being affected... but as far as I can tell it's almost always there.

Thank you, velvetears, for having the courage and the creativity to start this thread. I can only hope that My small contribution to it can benefit someone even a fraction as much as your and everyone else's posts have benefitted Me.

(in reply to chellekitty)

Profile

Post #: 50

RE: Hypnagogic Imagery and Sleep Paralysis - 12/13/2007 7:21:50 AM

velvetears

Posts: 2933
Joined: 6/19/2006
Status: offline

katey - wise decision to allow him to sleep elsewhere. No kid should be terrified to go to sleep.

MasDom - i am sorry to hear of your experience. i don't see this as an outlet as much as simply my brains particular sleep chemistry.... maybe a curse?? lol

Realone - The flashlight idea was brilliant for a kid, i doubt it would work for me though as i am totally paralysed and couldn't use it lol.

camille i am glad this thread brought things to light for you. Instead of sleep meds why not try a very low does of xnax - like .25 mg - seems to help me get to sleep, stay asleep, and not have interuptions. i tried ambien, lunesta - all helped a bit but i built up a tolerance to them quickly. xanax seems to help me relax enough so i get restful sleep. i don't take it all the time as i don't want to build up a tolerance or get addicted to them. Do you have sleep paralysis??

chelle, but how do you know you are going to go to sleep? i don't know this is going to happen untill i am in bed laying down then i get this "funny feeling" and sometimes i can get up and stop it other times it sucks me into its grip and i have to go along for the terror ride. Are you saying you sense it before you even lay down to go to sleep?

expedio1, my brother was a bed wetter till his late teens, much to his mortification. i suppose he had wakefullness disorder but my parents, being the responsible people they were, never took him to the doctor for it. He did have night terrors and i think insomnia as well, maybe still does, i don't know, as i haven't talked to him in a long while. i can see in my family tree a patern of several sleep disorders. As i recall my mom was an insomniac. Dad always slept like a rock. my sister is an insomniac because shes terrified of sleeping - she has severe night terrors, as well as narcolepsy. i went to a sleep lab and have sleep apnea, they think mild narcolepsy and sleep paralysis. They way i look at it, if i talk about this and others think i am nuts, well that's fine they can think what they like i know i am a fairly well grounded person and i never let it bother me. If i could help others who suffer from this i would be grateful to have the opportunity

< Message edited by velvetears -- 12/13/2007 7:23:47 AM >

_____________________________

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, Spirituality is for people who have been there

(in reply to expedio1)

Profile

Post #: 51