+1 for sleep paralysis. This is exactly what it is like, quite a common ailment.
The good news is that is is not really dangerous, now that you know the name "sleep paralysis" you can research it further and there are some suggested treatments including lifestyle changes that may make it less likely, and in other news news it is luckily not dangerous to your health.
The bad news is that it is very scary and also extremely realistic. I think what makes it even scarier is that sleep paralysis happens during the half asleep and half awake stage, and thus you may experience part reality (seeing your actual room) and part dream/hallucinations (the presence you describe). I think any time dream and reality are blended like that it is scarier for us because then we have trouble figuring out what is real and what is part of a dram, and our mind cannot help but fear that the scariest parts are real. Also who wouldn't be scared of being paralyzed?
I think you have come to the right place. Lucid Dreaming is an excellent tool in fighting nightmares, and one of the biggest advantages is that Lucid Dreaming is all about differentiating reality from dream. While sleep paralysis is in some ways different from most nightmares because of the elements that are real, it can still be recognized while it is happening, and hopefully if it happens to you again, realizing what it is will make the experience at least slightly less scary.
On personal notes: I wonder whether the reason why so many of my nightmares as a kid featured my body or part of my body in a cast had something to do with part of my brain being aware of my body's paralyzed state? My son who is in elementary school has described nightmares to me that had certain sleep paralysis components as well: he is paralyzed and an evil presence of some sort is approaching him and he is unable to stop it - I found it hard to reassure him because of how scary it was, and how young he is. For a while he was afraid of going to sleep as a result. I believe he has overcome this, and has not had an experience like it for a whole now. I hope you will too.
The good news is that as adults we have more tools and knowledge available to fight this. We are not powerless against nightmares and sleep paralysis: while you cannot move while it is happening but you can work at the very least on altering your perception of it, and making it hopefully less scary by making it better understood. All the best!
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