Did I just have sleep paralysis or just a horrible nightmare?

**Hadrey** · 10-10-2014 06:24 AM

I woke up about 10 minutes ago and my heart is still racing and I'm shaking. Let me tell you what happened:

I was dreaming about a scene in a club, it felt like I was watching a TV Show because there were some popular german actors. So they're just kicking it and all of a sudden the girl that is with them blink and one of her eyes got huge and weird looking, looked like an alien. I remember asking myself: "Wtf, is she an alien?" At that time in my dream I realise I'm watching a TV show, and all of a sudden my dad's voice asks me: "Are you (me) an alien?". I say "No?!".....Until this part it just felt like a normal dream, nothing frightening, everything felt fine to me...until...

[THIS IS WERE SHIT HITS THE FAN]
I all of a sudden have this extremely frightening sensation that I barely know how to describe. Everything went dark immediately. I was laying on my stomach (when in reality, I woke up laying sideways) and it felt like something extremely heavy jumped on my back, and "sucked" itself through my skin into my body. It also heard very loud, frightening noises, which sounded to me like an alien scream. I couldn't move. This whole experience lasted for about 5 seconds total, and it felt extremely realistic and I remember thinking: "That Alien just tried to posses me." I knew something was different, because the mood changed from having a normal dream to extremely f*cking frightening in just milliseconds. Silence. I still couldn't move, and heard my dad's voice laughing, so I thought that he woke me up by jumping onto me or something, it felt like he was spread out on my back. By now it felt like I just woke up and was laying in my bed at home. I thought "Dad, I got it, now get off of me." Until I realized that I'm a university student living alone in a dorm and that my dad lived about 6 hours away from me. He was still giggeling and whispered into my ear, "Hello.". The entire time I didn't see a single thing, it was all just feeling and hearing.
I FINALLY wake up in my room, laying sideways, heart pounding like crazy. I NOW realize, that the entire thing was a dream, because I thought I already woke up.
It's been about 30 minutes by now and I'm still paranoid. I've heard about sleep paralysis before and I think it's absolutely the most terrifying thing I've ever heard of, ever since having it in my head before going to sleep.

My question is, did I just experience sleeping paralysis or was it just a horrible nightmare? I never sleep on my back EVER, didn't see any projectory shit but still couldn't move... I'm confused and scared. Sorry for the fail english, I'm german and it's 7 in the morning.

**jarrhead** · 10-10-2014 06:38 AM

Horrible nightmare. When people refer to sleep paralysis, they are typically referring to a very similar event where you are awake and you are hallucinating heavily. I do tend to slip in between lucid dreams with wild sensations and sleep paralysis almost instantly, but the fact that you were in a different position during the experience than you were in your bed...

**Hadrey** · 10-10-2014 06:43 AM

even though I thought I was awake the entire time?

**Verre** · 10-10-2014 06:43 AM

I'll vote "nightmare" too. Sleep paralysis has gotten all kinds of bad press lately, but there's nothing unusual about it. Look up "REM atonia." Under normal circumstances our major limbs are paralyzed every time we're in REM sleep... which is a good thing! Otherwise we'd be flailing about or even walking around and trying to act out our dreams.

Apparently when some people accidentally experience SP in a semi-conscious state, it freaks them out because they don't understand what is going on, hence all the negative associations. But it really is a positive, helpful, and normal effect, so there's no reason to be paranoid about it or to assume it is responsible for your bad dreams.

**Hadrey** · 10-10-2014 06:49 AM

Thanks Verre, I guess that makes sense.

**kadie** · 10-10-2014 07:41 AM

YI have to disagree. Its the most common complaint during sleep paralysis is feeling a heavy weight on you and hearing odd sounds. That's why some people think they have had a demonic possession. Don't worry too much if it happens again. Just talk yourself through it.

**Verre** · 10-10-2014 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Hadrey

even though I thought I was awake the entire time?

It's surprisingly easy to think you're awake... and be completely mistaken about it! False awakenings are common enough, and a couple times I've even experienced "false falling asleep," where I think I'm still awake and trying to get to sleep for quite some time after retrospective analysis can prove I was already dreaming. That's one thing we learn pretty quickly in this dream racket... merely thinking we're awake doesn't count for much!

**Psionik** · 10-10-2014 12:04 PM

Nightmare is relative thing. It depends on your state of consciousness how would you perceive your surrounding. Today I went through hellish place and away in my dream and all I felt was peace. I observed without attaching myself into event. Check my DJ entry Way from temple to outside then through hell into eden like nature. - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

I love the sleep paralysis. The feeling is blissful.

**snoop** · 10-11-2014 05:56 AM

You feel like you are awake while you are lucid too, no (at least part of the time I hope)? The mind can be awake and fully lucid through some shocking, enlightening, frightening, and over all insane situations.