Sleep Paralysis/Pulling me back into Dream

[puppynut5]

Hi! I am posting this because I have a few questions about this paralysis I get in my dreams which I know is normal as well this feeling I get of getting pulled back into my dreams.

I know that sleep paralysis is a normal thing and is used to keep us safe so we don't thrash about in our sleep.

I am an Iraq vet and have nightmares from that as I suffer from PTSD. I understand this is all normal and this is not what I'm having the questions about.

In the middle of these dreams I will realize that they are dreams and I struggle to wake up. I try to yell for my fiancee to wake me up, I try to move around, I try to open my eyes but I can't do anything.

What really scares me though is that when I do wake-up. Or when I dream that I wake up it feels like something physically grabs my chest and pulls me back into the dream. I fight to stay awake but I can't and I'll drop back into the dream and then keep repeating this cycle.

Here's what I wanna know? Am I dreaming that I woke up or do you think I'm still dreaming and just dreaming that I'm waking up?

Please do not post anything about Jesus Christ and that it's a demon grabbing me and all that stuff. I don't believe in all that and I'm sure there is a scientific reason behind it all.

Anyways any possible answers that are scientific in nature are welcome.

I was really scared for the longest time thinking I woke up and was getting pulled back into the dream but now I think I'm just dreaming I'm waking up.

Thank you all for your time and reading my rambling post.

[Wolfjk]

Originally Posted by puppynut5

Hi! I am posting this because I have a few questions about this paralysis I get in my dreams which I know is normal as well this feeling I get of getting pulled back into my dreams.

I know that sleep paralysis is a normal thing and is used to keep us safe so we don't thrash about in our sleep.

I am an Iraq vet and have nightmares from that as I suffer from PTSD. I understand this is all normal and this is not what I'm having the questions about.

In the middle of these dreams I will realize that they are dreams and I struggle to wake up. I try to yell for my fiancee to wake me up, I try to move around, I try to open my eyes but I can't do anything.

What really scares me though is that when I do wake-up. Or when I dream that I wake up it feels like something physically grabs my chest and pulls me back into the dream. I fight to stay awake but I can't and I'll drop back into the dream and then keep repeating this cycle.

Here's what I wanna know? Am I dreaming that I woke up or do you think I'm still dreaming and just dreaming that I'm waking up?

Please do not post anything about Jesus Christ and that it's a demon grabbing me and all that stuff. I don't believe in all that and I'm sure there is a scientific reason behind it all.

Anyways any possible answers that are scientific in nature are welcome.

I was really scared for the longest time thinking I woke up and was getting pulled back into the dream but now I think I'm just dreaming I'm waking up.

Thank you all for your time and reading my rambling post.

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
There is a few things that might be different from your perception.

I know that sleep paralysis is a normal thing and is used to keep us safe so we don't thrash about in our sleep.

In sleep there is never a paralysis. Infact dreams make us move and change sleeping positions many times a night. However "sleep paralysis dreams are different. In a sleep paralysis dream the subconscious uses the "the idea" that we can't move to frighten us awke. Actually the dream is a qick waking mechanism.

Here's what I wanna know? Am I dreaming that I woke up or do you think I'm still dreaming and just dreaming that I'm waking up?

Your dreams are caused by your sleeping position. Probably sleeping on your back with your hands resting on your chest or stomach, although sleeping on the stomach could also cause similar dreams.
When you realise you are dreaming and try to move about, you actually move into a more comfortable position, probably lift your arms off your chest and go back to sleep. So you are "dreaming" that you woke up.
My guess is that you are under some stress and very tired when you go to sleep. The PTSD is is a strong factor in your dreams.
I hope you soon get a better situation.
Remember your dreams try to help you sleep and wake up. Even if they seem bad, they are doing an important function in sleep.
Cheers Wolfjk

[puppynut5]

So when I "think" I'm awake and I feel myself getting "physically pulled" back into sleep and back into the dream. It's all just a part of the dream?

[puppynut5]

Also, I meant to ask. What is the best position to sleep to avoid dreams?? On my side? I always thought on your back was the best way to sleep and get rest. I always knew sleeping on your stomach was bad but I didn't know that sleep positions can affect your dreams. Do you have any good articles I can read on this??

Thanks so much!!!

[Sable]

I have kind of the same problem with a recurring nightmare I have had for as long as I could remember. In my nightmare I am alone and I cannot move. I try to scream for help but no one comes. I then struggle to wake up... I sleep on my side and never on my back or stomach, but the dream still happens sometimes. Some one said that it is because we more in our sleep so we end up on our back and start the dream.

[Wolfjk]

Originally Posted by puppynut5

Also, I meant to ask. What is the best position to sleep to avoid dreams?? On my side? I always thought on your back was the best way to sleep and get rest. I always knew sleeping on your stomach was bad but I didn't know that sleep positions can affect your dreams. Do you have any good articles I can read on this??

Thanks so much!!!

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
Sleeping on ones back causes bad dreams. The reason is that breathing becomes difficult after about half hour. When you inhale you lifting the ribcage and it becomes hard work for the lungs. Apert from that, you often end up with your hands on your chest or stomach and makes it even harder to breath. Your subconscious creates the dream to move you or wake you up.
However stress, tiredness and trauma adds to the problem.
The best sleeping position is on ones side, either side. However sleeping in one position for a long time causes pressure to build up and the subconscious creates dreams to make you change sleeping positions many times a night without you realising you moved.
In a tense war situation the problems are worse.

Do you have any good articles I can read on this??

I have read many books, and many scientific papers on dreams and dreaming, unfortunately I can't reccomend any of them. The scientific community is in complete turmoil about dreaming and its function.
I think your dreams will ease in time.
Cheers Wolfjk

[puppynut5]

Well thank you everyone for your quick and useful responses. I have to say I have learned some stuff... Better than some of the "It's a demon" crap I've gotten from other people. I will try sleeping on my side definitely. I realize the fact I spent 18 months in a war zone doesn't help but I've been out of the Marine Corps for 10 months now and out of Iraq for over 2 years now. I'm hoping my dreams go away eventually. I remember one thing they were doing with PTSD was making sure the people slept through the nightmares. Supposedly if you wake up during it you'll keep having it, but if you can sleep through it the dream will stop recurring. I don't think that's correct but I know that's one of the things they were testing on one of my friends who also suffers from PTSD.

Thanks for your response Sable.. I just have to say I can't stand the guy from Owl City. It's not even his vocal style (i'm usually into harder rock) that irks me. It's the fact that he makes up extremely childish rhymes just because he can't figure out how to rhyme a word with something lol. But that's just my opinion... Everyone has their own tastes thank god or else this world would be an extremely boring place.

[Sable]

oh no problem... I am kind of a childish person, but I am also still a teenager. I also enjoy hard rock and music that has a more darker quality to it, but that song caught my attention when I heard it.

[puppynut5]

Lol no I feel you.. it caught my attention at first. It's catchy... i just got turned off to it when I realized how childish his lyrics were I like his keyboarding skills though. Definitely a talented musician.

[Sable]

I used these lyrics for the site, because it seemed almost perfect... at least to me. I also in a way can relate to the lyrics, because I do not really get fitful rest, so right now I rather be asleep than awake. Also I would like to remember more of my dreams, because it really helps to know what they mean.