My ass they're fucking false.
The original definition of sleep paralysis was coined by Dr. Johnson in his A Dictionary of The English Language as "nightmare," a term that evolved into what we know today. Sleep paralysis was widely considered to be the work of demons and more specifically Incubi, which were thought to sit on the chests of sleepers.
like this little fucker here.
I had only heard instances about this online and thought that only those with disorders experienced it. I was wrong. The first time that I experienced this was last year when I was sleeping upstairs at my sister's house. I was in my room and something woke me up. Or so I thought. My room was a little darker than usual and I had a very intense heaviness over me. I couldn't speak and I could barely move. When I did, my limbs felt as if they weighed a few hundred pounds. Something was on my chest and holding me down.
I panicked like any other person would and fought my hardest to get out of the room and get some help. I rolled onto my side and got my left arm over my bed as I then fell onto the floor. I crawled heavily towards the door, lifted up my arm as heavy as it was and reached for the doorknob.
I woke up on my bed again knowing that I just had a weird but very vivid dream. It felt like I was actually awake. I tried to sit up to get some water but my body again was even heavier than before. I opened my mouth to yell for my sister but nothing but a little squeak or two would come out. By now I figured out what was going on and that I was still asleep but fully aware and conscious. I fight it off again to crawl heavily with every ounce of strength towards the door. I actually touch the doorknob this time.
I quickly wake up on my bed again scared to shit. I go to move but I still feel like something's holding me down. I panic and quickly fight it off. This time I am able to crawl. I go to yell out my sister's name but only a whisper comes out. I get the door open but as soon as I get my head out into the hallway, I awake to find myself on my bed again.
I'm still fully aware about what's going on and it feels like this just might go on for the rest of my life. I'm feeling a little frustrated at this point. Same heaviness, same force holding me down. Same fight, but this time I felt even heavier than all the other times. It took every ounce of strength I had to crawl towards my door. I got it open, crawled a little out, made it to my feet and walked towards my sister's room down the hall to tell her what's going on.
I wake up on my bed again but this time I sit up straight, shaking in relief that it's not another dream. I get up and freely walk to my sister's room where I'm scared and looking to talk about what just happened. As I get to her door, everything goes black. The next morning I ask my sister if I went to her room last night. She says no and laughs. I went to her bedroom twice that night.
Thing is, I also remember sitting up straight again in relief and lying back down to actually fall asleep.
The second time I experienced sleep paralysis was this summer when I was sleeping in my sister's basement. I had got done watching TV and was tired and ready to sleep. As soon as I lied down on my bed, I felt a little heaviness in the middle of my chest. A similar feeling to the nightmare I had a few months before. I knew exactly what this was and what was about to happen once I fell asleep. I lied on my side and awaited the inevitable.
It felt like someone was beside my bed when I woke up this time. It was as if they were urging me to wake up. I did so to find myself on my side staring at the wall. I sleep under a window so there's usually enough light inside the basement to see where I'm going. Well, this time it was pitch black but I could feel where I was. On my bed.
This thing was on my chest. Even in the pitch black I could still make out a figure. This thing was blacker than black. The moment I "Opened my eyes" I was fully aware about what was going on and what was about to happen. I reached out and started shoving this thing away from me. I physically felt nothing with my hands but I knew that it was working. I got up from my bed with a slight heaviness.
I get about six feet away from my bed in the darkness but this thing just wouldn't let go. I wrestled with it on the floor for a bit before it got the best of me and threw me back on the bed. I wasn't fighting a being, I was fighting a force. It was a black figure with no physical attributes but something like a heavy black gravitational force. By now this thing is on top of me with all it's weight and it's got me by the neck and pointing a finger directly into my face, somehow upset that I was able to fight it.
I start kicking my left leg and that was what saved me. I shot straight up from my bed and got upstairs as quickly as I could. I was legitimately scared. I didn't know if I was more scared of the figure or of the fact that I could not possibly logically explain this thing. It's something that I will never forget.
Apparently sleep paralysis is linked to narcolespy, cataplexy (daytime tiredness fatigue), and hypnagogic hallucinations. Sometimes a symptom of a migraine, it's something that is not definitely scientifically explained. I don't know what it could be, especially when I knew it was coming. It's really frequent in those of African and Nigerian descent. It is believed that every person will go through it once or twice in their lives. I'm only twenty and I've gone through it twice in the same year. I have a feeling that it will continue throughout my life.
If you experience this, know that it is completely physically harmless and be also aware that you are still dreaming once you feel heavy. My trick is that I kick my leg as hard as I can until I actually do wake up. Try it, it might save your life mentally. It's going to happen and when it does, be ready.
1 comment:
I get sleep paralysis on almost a daily basis, and like you, at first I tried fighting it. The more you try to control what is happening while in this state, the more freaky things are going to happen. (either your mind is playing tricks on you, or whatever beings you are with are trying to test your fear level) As hard as the idea may sound to you, after awhile I learned to just relax, not panic, and just see what happens. the result was awesome. You can have some really cool things happen while in sleep paralysis, including out of body experiences. It's almost as if you tap into another plane of reality. Just don't panic, and don't look at it as a bad thing.
Post a Comment