Does this count as Sleep Paralysis? (Please help!)
Hey, last night (nearer to morning actually, sometime during 6 am) I experienced something that I think is sleep paralysis. But the definition of sleep paralysis is so confused with REM Atonia and all that I can't be TOO sure if what I experienced was SP. Which is why I will recount what happened, and if you have the time, if you know what sleep paralysis feels like, will you please be kind enough to let me know if what I experienced was sleep paralysis? (Wow, that was wordy.) Thanks in advance! I REALLY appreciate it. ; D
So, I'm pretty sure it was SP. But just to be sure... here's how it went.
Sleep Prep
I was working on an essay for school, and spent till 10 PM finishing it up. Then I ate a whole banana (I heard it helps increase the vividness of dreams or whatever). Then I got into bed at around 11 PM.... I probably fell asleep sometime at 12 PM.
Sleep
So I slept. I was doing MILD... chanting "I want to have a lucid dream tonight!" to myself in my head, and before I knew it, I was asleep. I recall a pretty long dream (though it wasn't lucid).
Awakening
I woke up some time at 5:30 AM. Went out for a little drink of water and to use the bathroom. Jotted down some dream tags so I'll remember them in the morning. Then I went back to bed and did MILD again....
Back to Bed
I kept getting distracted while doing MILD... seeing images, hearing music, etc. But I resolved to keep MILDing... it has always helped me get to sleep normally too (like counting sheep minus the counting because counting makes you think way too much!).
BUT I COULDN'T SLEEP FOR THE LONGEST TIME. I'd feel my body start to vibrate as it prepares itself to paralyze.... but no matter what I do, I just couldn't get my mind to sleep. Also, I could easily break "the spell" by moving around a bit, and I did this very often that night, because I kept finding myself lying in uncomfortable positions and whatnot. Vibrations --> reset --> vibrations --> reset... this happened many many times. I got so sick and tired of it I didn't even want to be lucid anymore. I just wanted to freakin sleep because I'm tired and whatnot.
I was also HUNGRY, and COLD. I tried to stick it out and ignore the hunger. Then I suddenly had the idea to put on an extra blanket (it took me that long... genius...).... suddenly, after I got the blanket on and the temperature has improved and all...
SLEEP PARALYSIS STRIKES. Or at least, what I think is Sleep Paralysis. Please let me know if this is sleep paralysis!
Sleep Paralysis (?)
I heard my mom calling me to wake up. She said, "Wake up! Wake up!" But her voice was oddly distorted. I guess you can say it sounds kinda "demonic." Or, in music production terms... bitcrushed and vocoded. And distant yet close. My eyes were still closed. I felt freaked out for a second, then I noticed some intense vibrations going on in my head region. My body was vibrating, like it usually does right before I fall asleep... but at a much intenser intensity! I tried moving my arms and legs and found that I COULDN'T. Now, I'm not TOO sure how much I actually tried to move them. I get pretty lazy sometimes. But I'm pretty sure that it was more difficult than usual to move them. I never ended up moving them. I thought to myself, "Dang, this must be sleep paralysis then!" and then stop feeling freaked out at once. I then concentrated on falling deeper into sleep, the vibrations got even intenser. I heard my mom's demonic bitcrushed vocoded voice again.... "Come on, wake up!"
I started trying to open my dream eyes. Now THIS is where I'm unsure.... Was I really dreaming yet? Or was I just imagining things?
I tried to open my dream eyes and I saw my room in front of me. But the lighting was different. It was all yellow and warm and nice. Then I mentally forced myself to IMAGINE myself walking out of bed and into the hallway. But it was so realistic! I usually can't visualize very well in first person, but this was perfect... It was really dreamlike.
The only thing that made it seem strange to me was the fact that I was still aware of my physical real life body lying there. At the same time, I was aware of walking down the hallway.
Then before I had the chance to do much, it was time to wake up and get ready for school, and then I REALLY woke up.
I tried to slip back to sleep again and found that there were still some left over numbing sensations (but I can move again).
The end.
Does this count as sleep paralysis? The fact that I couldn't move is questionable because I really don't know how much I really tried. But take my mom's messed up voice into consideration... the buzzing, numbing sensations... and the dual awareness of my two bodies... I don't know, I'm pretty sure that was SP but I just want to be extra sure, since I've read around on how it's supposedly really rare, and I may as well just be experiencing REM Atonia or something like that.
Thanks! Sorry that was a pretty long post, but I would really appreciate any feedback! ^^
EDIT: No monsters or demons or anything of that sort... when I opened my eyes, the room was nice and safe. I kind of felt a presence, but not in my room. I felt people in the house in general, because when I'm awake, there are people in my house... in general. o_o I personally don't believe my dreams have anything to do with the spiritual world, nor do they take me to other dimensions. I think it's just something I experience in my own head, privately. So, free of cultural beliefs, I didn't experience anything traditionally "scary"... except for the bitcrushed vocoded mom voice.. but I expose myself to THAT pretty often when I'm making my music, haha. Just thinking "whoah, that's some messed up Daft Punk" takes away the fear. xD
