dollpart

Anybody else?

It's been bad lately and it's driving me a bit crazy, please help.

Rattler

I have had this condition and know that it is scary.

I'd talk with the doctor if it's been frequent.

silentrun

I have had that. It hasn't happened for awhile.

zanabanana

Okay, I've experienced this too but not because of my addiction. I hate that feeling! You can't move. Blah!

advbike

So it's not just me, eh? I've had it in the past, usually associated with an intruder fear.. and can't move. But not in a while. Drinking always made my sleep worse, so maybe I won't have it anymore. Ugh.. terrible feeling.

zanabanana

Drinking... I just passed out and would have the craziest dreams. Sometimes I wouldn't have any dreams and I'd always wake up in a daze. I'm sure that's normal after a night of drinking. I haven't felt I couldn't move in a week or so. I don't like not having control. Drives me crazy. That's why NOT drinking is a good idea. Especially if you're an alcoholic.

silentrun

If you haven't seriously do some research on this. It stimulates the fear center of the brain. Just knowing what is going on when it happens makes it so much more bearable.
It makes your inner ear vibrate as well. Some people experience it as sound I feel as if someone is running electricity through my brain. Anyone get auditory hallucinations prior to falling asleep with this? I always think I hear the front door open when I am laying down. I get up and check and the real sound of the door opening never matches the one in my head. My daughter has it worse then I do. She will hear random voices saying random words.
Too scary not to have a real understanding of what is going on.

Morning Glory

If you can just move one finger it will bring you out of it.
It takes practice though to bring that awareness into your sleeping mind.

If you dream about not being able to breathe when this happens you might want to check for sleep apnea.

drunkfunk

Had it intermittently, along with crazy dreams and nightmares while getting sober. My best strategy was to not fight it, close my eyes, and relax. I would usually half-dream for a while and then wake up ok.

SoberCAH

I bolted upright in the middle of the night a month or so ago, and I forget exactly what I was worried about.

I usually sleep great.

Sleep issues can frequently be treated with meds which are not addictive (e.g. benzos), CPAPs, etc.

Good luck with your situation, dollpart.

I hope you get some relief.

silentrun

The advice I have found to treat this is the basic take better care of yourself. My daughter had a sleep study done because it is one of the hallmark's of narcolepsy. No narcolepsy for her just sleep paralysis. It started at age 14 for both of us. That is typical and it usually lessens in severity and eventually goes away. The last time it happened to me I didn't even wake myself up. I just drifted off to a regular dream. If you can get past the fear the actual sleep paralysis is harmless. Understanding on this one would be better than taking something to stop it.

Viv22

This was why I drunk myself to sleep scary stuff

Aellyce

I also started experiencing occasional sleep paralysis in my teens. Lucid dreams, too. I actually grew to enjoy these experiences, knowing they are harmless. My sleep paralysis experiences tend to be pretty psychedelic... I usually try to make an effort to not wake up and drift off into a conscious dream from it. Just had an amazing series last night. My dreams have always been like an alternate reality for me that I love to explore. I know I'm weird

ANewDayNYC

My chances of getting sleep paralysis increase when I am not on a regular sleep schedule. Some people also say the odds of getting it are higher if you sleep on your back.

Sleep paralysis is relatively common and as scary as it is doesn't have any negative side effects. The best thing to do is try to relax as much as possible through the experience. I remind myself that the sensation will pass.

Marycymru

I used to suffer from this frequently and it is scary when it happens. I read about it and once I knew what it was the fear became more easily manageable. I now know to remind myself that it's not real and to try and move, however slightly, that seems to break the cycle for me.

SeriousKarma

I used to have them quite frequently in my teens and twenties. I still get them occasionally now (I'm in my 50's) mostly when napping. I'll often start screaming (moaning) while trying to bust out of the paralysis. I freaked out my poor cat the other day. I woke up to him staring at me all wide eyed and bushy tailed.

The moving one finger method that Morning Glory mentioned does work, sometimes. Though I have to say I've spent a lot of time in my dreams madly wiggling that one finger while the rest of me was stone cold paralyzed. To bad there aren't camera's in dreamland. It would have made for a funny video. Maybe I'm supposed to move one finger and then gradually move more parts of the body. That would probably be more dignified at least.

I still get freaked out, but I'm a lot better at recognizing that I'm in a dream compared to how I was 25 years ago. That seems to make the biggest difference in my ability to control them. Last week I had one and was able to stay calm knowing that eventually I would be able to move.

Gilmer

I had a terrible time the other day with Trazodone: I dreamed that I was really, really, scarily messed up, and I wanted to call out to my husband for help--but all I could do was croak in barely a whisper; I couldn't form any words. The dream lasted what seemed like forever.

lilgolden73

I have had this happen a few times, only I actually felt like I was leaving my body...odd, very very odd feeling.

LadyinBC

I don't think you are weird at all I love dreaming! I wish I could tape some of mine. Can you fly in your dreams? I can and I get the neatest feeling when I do.

I have also had lucid dreams, but not a lot of them. But they are certainly interesting.

Yes I have experienced sleep paralysis and it certainly isn't the greatest feeling. I'm glad I don't have it happen to me too often.

zanabanana

Oh my goodness! I so had this sleep paralysis just this morning. I can't believe it. I wonder since I have stopped drinking if this is going to be an ongoing thing. Since I won't just pass out now, my brain is going to go whack-a-do. I can already tell.