Thread: Is this sleep paralysis, or was I just having nightmares?

Please help. I have have had multiple dreams now of not being able to move, and of several false awakenings. The first time it happened, I thought it was strange. However, I had heard of sleep paralysis before so I figured that I had dreamt the whole thing. The first dream went like this: In the middle of the night, I awoke ( or thought that I did). I was lying on my side, which is my regular sleeping position. It is slightly vague, but I remember not being able to move. All I remember was bring afraid of something that I sensed, but not knowing exactly what. Every time I realized that I sensed a presence, my heart would pound so hard and fast that I could hear it loudly thumping in my chest. It ached when it did this. I was able to slow it down each time, but it kept happening. I cannot remember exactly why was triggering it, but I think it was the sense of danger. I re-awoke twice, where the exact same thing would repeat itself. In the morning when I woke up, I had a memory of it but I was not quite sure if it was a dream or not. I shared it with some friends, and they reassured me that it was just a dream. Without thinking any more of it, I let it go.
What cause me to reconsider this was a dream I had the other night. It was very similar to the first one, which made me wonder. I must have had at least four reawakenings throughout this dream. Although I cannot remember exactly how many, I will try to recall as best as possible. This is how it went: The other day I had slept practically the whole day. I napped on and off. I got so much sleep during the day that when it was actually time for bed, I had some difficulty falling asleep. I was trying to fall asleep on my back, which is slightly harder for me because my regular sleeping position is on my side. I have a fear of the dark, so I was having slight discomfort when I finally was able to fall asleep. When I reawoke, I was on my back. I was paralyzed for the most part, but I remember being able to move my fingers, eyes, and maybe toes. My heart had the same strange races that it had had in the first dream. Just like before, I was able to slow it down. This time, I had a pretty good view of my bedroom but there were dark shadows in the corners. I sensed danger there, and I guess you can say presence. The second time I awoke, the same thing happened. This time though, I was able to gradually gain control of my body. Slowly, my fingers, hands, toes, feet, legs and arms began to come back into control. The third time, it did not take long to regain control. I sensed the same darkness I had before, and reached for my bedside lamp. But when I pulled the string to turn on the lamp, it would not turn on. I pulled it and pulled it, but it seemed broken. I was terrified by now, and yelled for my mother or father. As I tried to shout, no sound would leave my throat. It was as if I had been muted. The third time, it felt like I had woken up. My room looked normal. When I reached for my light switch though, it would not turn on. This time, I pulled and pulled. I could not scream. I got out of bed, and went over to the light switch. No matter how many times I tried, It just wouldn't work. I felt trapped and abandoned and scared. It felt so real, but don't all dreams feel real in the moment? When I woke up the next morning, I had a vague memory of what had happened. Once again, I was not sure if I had dreamed all of it or not. It had been such a scary dream, and all I could think of was why had my heart raced the same? Why had the two dreams felt so similar? Could it be possible that I could actually have some sort of sleep paralysis? I am so lost, and it is scaring me even more to think that it might happen again. I almost don't want to fall asleep. Any opinions or ideas? Any input will be helpful.