unable to move when i wake up

[pumpkin]

sorry if this is the wrong place to post?

i've been searching the web for hours to try and determine what my dream meant and can only find info on sleep paralysis..which kind of describes what happens but not fully.
its happened on several occasions, different everytime. however this mornings has shaken me more than usual..
normally i think i have woken up and can see what would really be infront of my eyes if i had, however i can't move. i then get this feeling i am in danger or there is a presence in the room
and just need to look round to make it ok - however i can't. i sometimes start to lift myself however i can't move very far and decide to lie down
again thinking that i am aware of whats happening and if i close my eyes again i'll eventually wake up properly.

previously this was happenning then i dreamt a black dog had jumped onto my bed, i moved enough to push it off and then it disappeared but i still couldn't
move and started to panic before waking up.

as this has happenned so many times i normally just tell myself to go back to sleep and wake up properly so i
don't get too panicked, however last night really shoock me up and was the dream i wanted help with...

i was dreaming that i woke up but couldn't move, similar to above - there was some other presence in the room and all i needed to do was wake up to look
around. this time however i felt a hand grab mine, it was under the duvet from lower down in the bed (my arm was by my side and i was laying on my back).
it was really pulling me and i wasn't sure if it wanted help or was trying to take me away. it stopped and i went back to being unable to move but awake (but not really awake).
i then felt like i was holding something which this hand grabbed and took away before trying to pull my hand again.
i then heard a womans laugh, it was brief but sounded really smug but creepy at the same time. this was the point i finally woke up.

at one stage in the middle of all this i opened my eyes (or dreamt i had) and there was a scorpian walking on the ceiling.

sorry if this wasn't very well explained but its hard to describe being awake but not being awake...

i normally find this happens if i stay in bed after my partner has got up or i am on my own so initially thought it nly happened when i was in deep sleep but it does happen when he is there too sometimes so i don't know...


any ideas??

[Wolfjk]

Hi,
What you describe is a kind of sleep paralysis, however the sources you looked at don't give you the right picture. It is not yet fully understood in medical circles.

i opened my eyes (or dreamt i had) and there was a scorpian walking on the ceiling.

As you said earlier in the post you were lying on your back and looking at the ceiling, but your arms were crossed over your chest and that is what the "dream hand" was trying to move. In that position the hands become heavy on your chest and impede breathing. Your subconscious creates the dream to frighten you awake with feeling that there is a "presence" in the room, with the idea that you "can't move" and with the idea that something waighing you down!
It is the "idea" that you can't move that is the most potent waking element.
Have alook at this thread: click here There are many variations of sleep paralysis dreams, but the aim is always to frighten the sleeper awke or move him/her from a bad sleeping position.
Cheers Wolfjk

[amandajoy91]

this has happened to me on many occasions and i asked a friend. he then told me the name of it i believe he said lucid dreaming sorry if the spelling is incorect he then told me that he has been try to develop it but he cannot and it was really interesting that i made it into that state without even knowing it. now he said that i was not in the full state yet. what happens is once u are in that state you can control your dreams and it will feel as if what is happening is real life. often tho when people try to enter this state something goes wrong and the feel paralyzed and feel they are awake but cannot move anything it is a terrible feeling

[amandajoy91]

i just looked this up for u : Sleep paralysis

During REM sleep the body paralyses itself as a protection mechanism in order to prevent the movements which occur in the dream from causing the physical body to move. However, it is possible for this mechanism to be triggered before, during, or after normal sleep while the brain awakens. This can lead to a state where a person is lying in his or her bed and they feel paralyzed. Hypnagogic hallucination may occur in this state, especially auditory ones. Effects of sleep paralysis include heaviness or inability to move the muscles, rushing or pulsating noises, and brief hypnogogic imagery. Experiencing sleep paralysis is a necessary part of WILD, in which the dreamer essentially detaches his "dream" body from the paralyzed one. Also see OBE or Out-Of-Body-Experience, opposing the scientific theory of these occurrences stating that the paralysis is actually an occurrence to one who is already "separated" from their physical body meaning that "physical action potentials" have no effect here but "mental actions" do - a hint given that those who are finding difficulty moving are using the wrong "mechanism".

In the nightmare, sleep paralysis may be attributed to an external occult entity such as the hag. The hag visits the dreamer in her nonphysical form and sits on the dreamer's chest causing feelings of terror, suffocation, and paralysis. In the sea island traditions of Georgia and South Carolina, this experience of sleep paralysis is called being "hag-ridden".

[pumpkin]

thank you for your replies! i've had a read through the other post and thats helped alot too. it does happen mainly when i lay on my back so i conciously try not to now.

a friend of mine has studied lucid dreaming alot and explained it to me briefly as being able to control your dreams/decide what they are about - i think i can do that to an extent so it makes sense what you (amandajoy91) said about this being linked to the not being able to move feeling.

the best advice he ever gave me which may help you too if this happens again was to try to relax and embrace whats happening. i told him about the experience i mentioned about the dog jumping onto my bed. he said instead of getting frightened imagine its not a bad thing and give give it a cuddle for example..as if its something friendly instead of something thats out to get you. i just was too scared to even begin to try this time!

thanks again for your replys!

[Wolfjk]

Originally Posted by pumpkin

thank you for your replies! i've had a read through the other post and thats helped alot too. it does happen mainly when i lay on my back so i conciously try not to now.

a friend of mine has studied lucid dreaming alot and explained it to me briefly as being able to control your dreams/decide what they are about - i think i can do that to an extent so it makes sense what you (amandajoy91) said about this being linked to the not being able to move feeling.

the best advice he ever gave me which may help you too if this happens again was to try to relax and embrace whats happening. i told him about the experience i mentioned about the dog jumping onto my bed. he said instead of getting frightened imagine its not a bad thing and give give it a cuddle for example..as if its something friendly instead of something thats out to get you. i just was too scared to even begin to try this time!

thanks again for your replys!

Hi Pumpkin,
Lucid dreaming has nothing to do with sleep paralysis. However what your friend says is not a bad advice. When a dog jumps onto your bed, and you know it is a dog you are already lucid and the dream has already done its work. The idea of the dream is to activate your brain! To enable you to make decisions.
Cheers Wolfjk

[pumpkin]

hi Wolfjk, thanks for your advice. it is more the sleep paralysis side of things (assuming thats what it is) that bothers me as even though its happenned lots of times it still really shakes me up sometimes... i definately feel alot better about it now though!

[livelovedance18]

you nay have been concious but your body was probably still in rem sleep which causes the body to become paralyzed so you dont injure yourself during dreams I am a pagen if this happens again try to ground yourself take deep breaths and calmly unparalyze yourself

[cecil1]

Hello Pumkin,

I know what you situation is about. It is not anything physical. If I were you I would seek help from someone who practices Vodun. You probably have dreams of eating your favourite foods as well or of eating something on a regular basis. If you live close to running water like a stream or the beach I would suggest that you go clense yourself by bathing there and then immediately going back home. This could do one of 2 things; you could have a less "dreams" where you cant wake up or you could have a more serious episode of not being able to wake up (Your struggle to wake up could become a little violent). And remember whatever you do never allow yourself to leave your body, fight to stay in your body if you feel like something is trying to remove you.

You also probably have these episodes most frequently when you have recently had sex.

You might not believe me; so I advise you to take note of what I have said and maybe you will see the connection.

If you feel my advice would be of any futher help then shout.

[Rotavele]

I know exactly how you feel, dream paralysis and being present in a dream has plagued me for years. It is an uncanny feeling to have these dreams. I hate falling asleep all of a sudden to be awoken by a terrible nightmare. I have been plagued by my dreams for years, frozen while sleeping- totally aware. Share these thoughts?