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Sleep paralysis and old hags syndrome
Just wondering how many people (if any) on this forum experience or know of anyone who experience this. i've been researching it a while now and am a chronic sufferer and thought it would be interesting to get other people's experience of it.
If you haven't heard of it (not too many have) its a sleeping disorder where you are in a semi sleep/wake state and in complete paralysis. You may also experience hallucinations and out-of-body feelings etc... It is often accompanied by a feeling of a threatening presence being in the room with you or even sitting on your chest, restricting your breathing. Some even link alien abductions to the hallucinations of this sleep disorder.
i'd love to hear from you if you've ever come across it
If you haven't heard of it (not too many have) its a sleeping disorder where you are in a semi sleep/wake state and in complete paralysis. You may also experience hallucinations and out-of-body feelings etc... It is often accompanied by a feeling of a threatening presence being in the room with you or even sitting on your chest, restricting your breathing. Some even link alien abductions to the hallucinations of this sleep disorder.
i'd love to hear from you if you've ever come across it
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How on earth do you cope with it? I think I'd be a nervous wreck if I suffered from that, I'd be too scared to go to sleep.
Kieth, Frizzer - can either of you remember the name of the show or anything at all that might help me find it, i'd be interested in seeing it.
Satori, i've come across quite a few theories of sleep paralysis (SP) (mostly cultural and scientific) but only a little on energies. When talking about energy do mean something like chi energy or energy as a manifestation of the mind's imagination (or are they the same thing?).
As far as i understand it (i currently suscribe to the scientific understanding of SP) the paralysis is not caused by any trauma, but occurs naturally when we are in REM sleep so we don't act out our dreams - the problem occurs when the paralysis stays as we shift to a state of wakeful consciousness. What you describe sounds more like near-death-experiences (though there could be a link).
It sounds like you know a fair bit about it, or even suffer from it - the tips to get out of it are certainly practical - let me know what you think.
"People who experience disassociative disorders also experience these types of situations, but again, the reason is because they are disconnected from their bodies to a certain degree due to trauma."
Yes, I have experienced just this in my worst panic attack. I felt something (part of my consciousness?) moving to the back of my head and then out, and everything, the table, the bed, my belongings, became further away, less recognizable and somewhat greyed out. As if they had lost part of their meaning for me. I was standing at the time but didn't become paralyzed. I walked around but didn't feel the floor under my feet as being as solid as it was. The rest of the symptoms were text book panic; cold body, racing heart, cold sweat, hot lava under the skin and sheer and utter terror. I had been reading a book about after death experiences and my imagination ran away with me. But I knew without a doubt that when that part of me was moving to the back of my head it was doing so to avoid the trauma. I'll never, ever forget that feeling. It was so clear in it's intention and it felt like I was feeling an actual physical movement in my head (or brain). I have read about dissociative disorders and it was identical in every respect. It was truly the single most traumatic experience of my life. The panic attack lasted more than 14 hours, 5 of which were spent in an emergency waiting room where I was offered no help at all. It was my worst nightmare manifested in reality. I felt whatever had left come back slowly as I calmed myself down with practical and mundane thoughts. My hands are sweating typing this. I'm 38 years old and I've never experienced more pure suffering than that.
I've come a long way since that day. The most important technique for me was letting go of trying to control it in any way. Going limp, accepting it, and letting it run it's course. I'd like to be able to eventually embrace and enjoy it like a ride on a rollercoaster. And watch it happening like a dispassionate observer. I think this may good practice for the moment of death. If I could learn to relax into the panic maybe I'd be able to do the same thing at the time of death which might help in where "I" end up in the next life.
I'm always afraid of describing my panic attacks. I'm afraid they might become contagious and trigger attacks in other people. I so want to get it off my chest but I don't want anyone else hurt in the process. I'm heaving a huge sigh of relief and hoping I haven't hurt any of you. Now I'm laughing like the Buddha at myself. I WILL learn, one day, not to take myself so damned seriously. I WILL!
Most in the West perceive their concsiousness to be somewhere behind the eyes but i've heard that some cultures perceive their concsoiusness differently, like in the chest. Apparently some people can even shift where they perceive their consciousness from head to toe.
As for preparing for death - sounds like a good idea, from what i know about panic attacks you are convinced you are going to die, the best frame of mind to practice it without actually dying.
i plan to work in accident and emergency soon and panic attacks are fairly common, what did (or didn't) they do to help you when you went to the emergency department?
They did nothing. Zero. They made me wait. There were no other emergencies going on at the time. I was experiencing acute trauma and in a near state of shock and they made me wait for 5 hours. I went up to the desk 5 times, sobbing, freezing, shaking, gray faced and out of my mind. A woman in the waiting room gave me some comfort and compassion which held me in a plateau sort of state, but it kept coming in waves, over and over. The most agony I have ever suffered. But I don't have typical panic attacks. I have "building is on fire, can't get out" panic attacks. Others may feel like they're dying but I couldn't care less about dying, I'm ready to fling myself out a window. Really. I'm holding on to life white knuckled and just desperate to let go. I can't imagine how much trauma I caused my body with all the chemicals I was releasing for such a long period of time. The nurses were unbelievably bad at recognizing a serious situation. I could have walked out of there and thrown myself under a bus. Very easily. And I'm not exaggerating.
Here are a few things that may help you in treating people with panic attacks:
Use the medical skills they teach you to use, obviously, but compassion and gentleness are essential. We can't "snap out of it". They may teach you relaxation techniques like tightening your feet for a count of 3 then slowly relaxing your feet and working your way up etc. These can really help some people.
Reassure them over and over. Look them straight in the eye and tell them you know precisely what is happening to them and then explain it to them. Tell them this is a natural occurrence, that it happens to many people and that as horrible as it may seem it's going to pass and we will take good care of you and be with you until it does.
Tell them no harm is actually occurring.
Tell them not to fight it, just let go and let it run it's course.
Smile warmly with a calm demeanor.
Speak in a slow, quiet, gentle tone of voice. Almost hypnotic sounding.
Stay very calm when you're around them. Hustle and bustle and confusion makes it much worse.
Don't put them near bright lights. It aggravates the condition.
They may react badly to being restrained in any way because they are in fight or flight mode, survival mode. Try to remember that they are experiencing a similar trauma to someone who is being assaulted or, in my case, someone who is experiencing abject terror akin to being trapped in a burning building. They are in a very real state of terror.
And most importantly, listen to what they are saying. They will give you indications of what they need. For example, some people crave a warm hand gently rubbing their back. Some people can't stand to be touched at all. Some people want to be around other people and don't want to be put in a small room alone. Some can't stand to be around others at all. Take your cue from them.
Maybe you will be taught better techniques than these, I don't know. Maybe they won't teach you anything specifically about this. But this is my humble oppinion and would have helped me greatly if anyone in that emerg. had cared. I'm still a little angry. Can you tell? LOL.
With the path you're on you're going to make a fantastic health practitioner. I salute you!
With Love,
Brigid.
Worth noting and adding to the little book entitled 'What to do when....'
Thanks, B!
I do wish hospitals would realise that long waiting periods are detrimental - I know that sometimes it is unavoidable, but often there is no visible worse-off-than-you patient around. When I had a car crash and went through the windscreen I was left lying on a trolley in a corridor for four hours and consequently by the time they came to pick the glass out of my face, the wounds had started to close up and it was even more painful than it would have been if they'd started when I was admitted. Yes, it was a very good learning experience - make sure inertia belts are working!!!
You get to A & E, in the UK....Right?
A big notice in the waiting area, promises something like,
Or something like that.
You register, and explain your reason for visiting.
After a short while, a Nurse comes round to check your details, and to just make sure they have your address right.
Then you wait. A long time.
No, I said, a LONG time.
Because the nurse coming round to 'just check if we've got your name/address/phone number/ailment right was the "promise to see all our patients within ten minutes/half an hour of arrival."
Sneaky, huh?
I have to say this about France. It's on the ball when it comes to medical care!
But let's not talk about the paperwork!!
try to move your finger when it happened.it works for me, and i heard that sleep paralysis could cause death,i dont know it's true or not.
The medical profession see sleep paralysis as a benign condition (hence a lack of recognition within the profession). I have not heard of anyone ever dying from it, and i've researched it a fair bit. I think it's just one of those rumours like if you die in your dream you die for real (not true). Having said that, SP can cause insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, culminating in depression - which can always lead to suicide. I hate it when they call it benign.
Bodies are designed to hold our mind inside. When it tries to jump out the body gets kind of panicky... best thing is to stay calm, not fight it, and allow your mind to separate from your body if it must...
This just relates to my personal experiences.. it may not apply to you..
Yes. This sounds right. Ken Wilber equates the life cycle, birth, life, death, rebirth etc. to the sleep cycle and resistance is a part of it. I think Hope's advice to stay calm, don't fight it and allow the process to occur is correct. I also believe this is the right advice for panic attacks and everything else that we violently resist. This has the ring of truth to it. Give it a try. Greenpeace taught me to "go limp" during civil disobedience. This advice has come in handy in many other situations in my life.
Love,
Brigid
Dear Brigid
Actually my experiences with OBE's started when I was young, in the form of sleep paralysis. I'd regularly experience this phenomenon and I'd fight it, get panicky, so on and so fourth.
At this time I happened to READ a fascinating book on OBE's and I thought to myself, hey I wonder if this is whats happening?
So, after that book, the next time sleep paralysis occured, I decided not to fight..
First, I was paralized, then I felt massive vibrations and a buzzing sound.. and lastly, I was out of my body.
I think this was one of the most suprising exhilirating experiences of my life. The first thing I said.. or rather.. thought to myself, floating in front of my bed was.. wow..
Off and on throughout my life I had this phenomenon re-occuring. I once had a bet with a friend that I'd visit her house (which I'd never seen) this way.
Actually i did visit her like this, and then describe the house to her. Whats funny is my description was accurate and she thought I was a psycho or stalker and I never heard from her again :O
Ever since that I'm a bit cautious on who I talk with about this particular topic.
After experiencing sleep paralysis hundreds of times, I have a few theories.
Note, these are THEORIES:
1. I believe the human body has two natural states: Awake, and Asleep. Sleep paralysis occurs when a person goes for the sleep state but something goes slightly wrong. Either that or they are in sleep and somehow disturbed, and don't enter the wake state.
The simplest example I can give on OBE's is this:
Have you ever experienced this: While lying down, just about to fall asleep, you suddenly feel (or imagine) you are falling, or tripping, and you suddenly jerk or shake? and find yourself awake? Well congrats, you just nearly had an OBE
2. When I get out of my body, eventually i come back into it. I've never got lost
3. As a spirit I've never experienced anything dangerous, bad, scary etc. though I am terrified by seeing my own body (so I never look at it when I'm out).
Some of the experiments I've done as a spirit/when out of body:
a. Trying to walk through walls - works fine
b. Looking at a mirror in my house - I see a rather sanitized pretty version of me (residual self image)
c. trying to touch something - my hand goes right through.
d. trying to tap someone I know on the shoulder - hand goes right through. sigh
e. trying to move something - no effect
f. trying to travel places - it seems I can go almost anywhere at the speed of light
g. seeing in the dark - i appear to glow slightly but otherwise, in the dark, I'm as lost as anyone else.
h. closing my eyes - it works. I guess my self image has eyelids.
i - trying to put one of my hands inside the other. (I know, its a silly idea but i was curious. It worked but felt really weird (if I can say felt )
Yes I know, a whole load of people will read this and ask me what medication I am on
Hope..
Hey, Hope
Too bad for your friend. I guess her fears prevented her from being interested in what you described, both her house and your experiences. I imagine many people would have these fears, as you said. You were smart to recognize this. We get very stuck in our beliefs, don't we? I was watching a comedy on TV a while ago and one of the characters said "God is a comedian playing to an audience that's too afraid to laugh." Although as a Buddhist I don't dwell on the idea of a God, I still really enjoyed that remark immensely.
Brigid