Growing up, sleep was one scary and unpleasant experience for me. At first, I didn't know what was wrong with me. I remember feeling scared once it was nighttime or even some times in the day when I needed to take a nap. Imagine feeling like there is a strange and scary being who opened your door, coming toward you and you try to move but couldn't. You just felt motionless no matter how much you tried to move or shout.
I knew something was not right with me. There has to be an explanation for what was happening but I didn't find out early. I later found out some years back that I was having sleep paralysis.
According to my google search a Sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking.
Sleep paralysis most often occurs in people who have narcolepsy or sleep apnoea, but it can affect anyone.
For me, I felt it was deeper than the definition above. Sometimes I will feel like someone or something scary opened my door and stepped into my room trying to harm me and there was absolutely nothing I could do.
I will not be able to move or shake my body. No matter how much I try, I will just be there feeling motionless, and helpless and that hurts, really hurts.
There were times it felt like I was choking and struggling to breathe, other times it could be a form of dark shadow hovering on my bed, watching how I slept.
The worst thing is I will not know how to relate my experience to anyone or my parents as things like this will be termed spiritual. Attaching things to spirituality was very common in this part of the world but most people now know better.
I kept on struggling with this for as long as I could remember, and when I grew older, I started researching my problem. I realize that stress, and not having uniform sleeping patterns can cause this.
And that makes sense, for me to have sleep paralysis. For someone living on farmland, and working on the farm all day or having to trek a long distance to the farm during the weekend and still having to trek some very long distance to school every day.
Life is a bit difficult for us in our locality with little or no social amenities. We do everything ourselves, fetching firewood, clearing the farm, fetching water from the stream. Doing all of these was fun but very stressful.
And when the night comes it seems like all the stress of the day comes back to haunt me.
I later understand that, when sleep paralysis happens, trying to stay calm as much as possible, telling myself that this is not real, this is just a kind of dream, has helped me to overcome that scary moment and before I knew it I'm fine again.
As I grew into adulthood and moved into the city permanently, my sleep paralysis occurrence became minimal and these days I hardly felt it.
I no longer undergo a lot of stress. I have learned to manage my task better thereby increasing my sleeping quality. Learning about what my problem was and how to stay calm when it happens helps me sleep better and these days even if it is going to occur, I'm no longer scared of sleep paralysis.
I'm no more afraid of the night or taking a nap. I look forward to a beautiful warm night every day.
I later found out a lot of people go through this, and some of them termed it a kind of spiritual attack. I don't think that is true. In my experience, a stressful lifestyle and some kind of rowdy environment can contribute to sleep paralysis.
Please, this is just my experience and personal opinion. If you are having any sleeping problems, seek help by talking to a professional for advice.
Thank you very much @anttn for this prompt, as sleep paralysis is not something I have talked much about to anyone and writing about my experience here made me feel good.
Hi @funshee ! First of all, let me apologize for taking so long to come back to you, reading the articles and comments took me a long time, even if it's a pleasure before everything !
I think your analysis of the sleep paralysis is right, that it was caused by stress and maybe too much activity... Afterwards, it can also have a spiritual root, but that is known after years of research on oneself and I think that very few people, apart from those who have this gift, can say it for us and feel it.
I don't know many people who have anything close to that, some have sleep apnea and it's true that the symptoms seem close. I thank you for your testimony and I'm glad that talking about it made you feel good and relieved you to some extent :D
Take good care, I hope to see you soon ✌️😘
Hello, @anttn thank you very much for your insightful comment, and do not worry at all about not reaching my post before now. I understand perfectly well how hectic curating all the entries must be for you.
I am just glad I get to talk about this as it is a great relief.
You're most welcome :D
I can imagine that after all you've been through ! But did you finally told your parents about it ?
I get it, if you feel so, it's maybe preferable to wait a little more so ! Thanks you for your answer, I wish you for that problem completely stops for you !! Courage dear 💪 🍀
I so much appreciate you for your words thank you very much.🙏❤
From the way you describe this type of experience, it seems to be very frightening and i think you are right, the stress we may have in our day to day life or any kind of feeling can have repercussions in our dreams.
I'm glad you found the cause of those discomforts during your dream. You know the cause now you have to look for the solutions and whatever you find useful don't hesitate to share, i'm sure you can help someone else.
I hope you have better dreams in the future
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Thank you very much❤🙏
My sleep has gotten better, I'm not longer scared of the night or my dreams.
I had it too. It was when I faced verbal abuse from my relatives. it was as if I could not breathe and someone was forcing the breath out of me like a beast or Something. I am not sure but I did say to my friend and as per her advice I now keep a Bible and Bhagavad Gita under my pillow and pray before going to sleep. I guess it is just the mental trauma that affects us
I'm sorry about the trauma you went through, I hope you are in a better place now.
Yes, that is true. In my case, I had no idea about what it was but now I know better.
yes, we all learn. Thanks.
I have that.
I can see why you would want to stay awake and not have paralysis!
Hmmm, Lots of people I know have it.
And it gets really scary when people started thinking is spiritual.
I'm curious, how do you cope with yours?
Oh I just sleep when my body says sleep, if I am tossing and turning in bed then I get up no matter the time, a bit like today, I woke up and then got up at 3.30am🤣
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Thank you a lot 🙏🙏 for your support
People never hesitate to scream that their village people are pressing them when they have sleep paralysis.
I got to find out that sleep paralysis happens when your brain wakes up before your body. I don't know how true that it but it makes more sense. You forced yourself to wake up, your brain is functioning but the it is too tires to move other parts of your body.
The sleep paralysis fades off eventually.
Hahaha, thank you for reminding me of the exact words they use.
It is easier to blame their innocent village people than to find out what is happening.
Yes, but It can be very tormenting for me.
I've experienced a few times and it was totally tormenting. Just laying there, not being able to move. Terrible.