How Sleep Paralysis Turned Into A Good Or Bad Thing

[DawnEye11]

I'm making a thread because I find it interesting how SP can be the point where the dream becomes a horrible nightmare or into a wonderful/Epic dream. I also want to list what kinds of things I've experienced when it occurred. So far during SP I've seen/have had these things happen to me.(Well, the things I recall now) Scary *A small statue of my dream guide on my back *A invisible being trying to get inside me * A black thing pick me up and try beating me under my bed * Seeing myself on my bed laying there * Invisible being trying to scratch me * Portals of images appearing before me *Voices of a man *Falling down a dark hole *A DC talking to me and hitting me at first *A Alien mixed man hunter walk into my room Good * My Dream Guide walking in the room *Changing the SP to a lucid dream *Fall down a dark hole to change it to a lucid dream (I think it only happened once for me which was the last dream I had in the morning) *Alien mixed man hunter becomes my friend and SP becomes a dream Anyways it may be surprising there are more points for scary than good but the good outweighs the bad. Why? Its because if you are brave you will realize that you can change all that bad into something good as soon as you recognize you can at that point of the dream. Some things you might not be able to control though. Like the guy beating me up in sleep paralysis but that was probably a one night thing. It was actually the first dream to cause my body to shake a bit for a few minutes after I woke up. Even so you just have to be quick,relaxed, brave and smart in your dreams. Especially since some dcs end up being tricky. Like that invisible being trying to go inside me during SP. It always turns to a nightmare when it gets in me. (I let it inside me two times. First time was the scaryiest) Now, I'd like to ask you a question. What were the good and bad things you've experienced during SP? Also, How did you turn it to a good thing and why do you think it turned into a bad thing? I guess these questions are good for reflection because honestly SP can get a bit freaky at times and its good to go over the good so that we are less afraid of it when something scary happens and we know what to do.

[Jmcsubway07]

Oh my. Good old sleep paralysis. My first sleep paralysis episode was when i was probably 5 years old. I thought it was terrifying. I couldn't talk or move obviously, and i saw a shadow standing in the corner of my room with my little light on my dresser flickering on and off. When it was over, I crawled in with my parents in there room haha. My MOST terrifying experience happened when i was probably 9. I was sleeping on the couch in my living room. I woke up unable to move or speak and had no idea what was going on. I then saw this imp type demon crawl up onto me. The most terrifying thing thing that has ever happened because i never knew what sleep paralysis was. So i closed my eyes for a few seconds and reopened them and saw that the demon was gone. I was so relieved, but it wasn't over yet, i saw his hand/claws slowly drop in front of my face down towards my neck/chest. As soon as it was about to touch me, i snapped out of it. Now a days, i know what sleep paralysis is and i love getting it (most of the time), not after nightmares. It isn't nearly as frightening anymore and the possibilities what you can do are endless. I remember my first OOBE. It was about a year and a half ago. I woke up in the middle of the night with sleep paralysis, but i didnt relax at all when it came over me. Instead i tried consistently willing my motionless body to get up (i had no clue what i was doing), until i practically teleported to a spot right beside my tv in my room. It was very dark but i could see easily. I slowly turned around and saw myself on my bed, and was "swept away" into my living room where i could see my dad sleeping on the couch. After this, it turned into a lucid dream and my "guides" told me how to shoot fire out of my hand to protect myself hahaha. Very neat experience. I sat in class the next day with my mind blown.

[DawnEye11]

Yeah, Its much more scary after nightmares and when you don't know what it is. x D But its awesome your SP turned into something great. : D Especially the fire shooting thing and meeting your guides. Haha One of the best weapons in my opinion is using at least one element. Their pretty cool. Oh and about the imp type demon with claws, I hate scary dcs like that. > o < A DC like that just kept trying to poke at my stomach in SP. But like you said the possibilities are indeed endless. I ended up snapping its fingers and crushing the thing after I broke free from the SP. XD Thank goodness it hasn't bothered me since than. :3

[Virtualucidity]

My worst experience with sleep paralysis was when I was 5 or 6. A girl I didn't like from school brought what looked like a glass incubator into my brother's room where I happened to be sleeping that night. It had what looked like a furry tube inside and I just stared at it for a bit wondering what it was. Suddenly it lunged at me and ended up underneath the bed, it had teeth like some sort of furry lamprey. After I gained control of my body I was convinced it was in the floor so I basically jumped around from the highest places off the ground I could find (beds, couches, chairs, etc.) I was so messed up on the bus to school that day that I refused to let my feet dangle near the floor of the bus, people thought I was a real weirdo, more than usual. The handful of times I've had it since haven't been as bad, no hallucinations I can recall, positive or negative, but it's still not a good feeling to wake up paralyzed and be unable to vocalize your discomfort in any way. I had no idea you could change sleep paralysis into a LD, if I'm ever unfortunate enough to suffer from it again I will try that.

[DawnEye11]

Aww, sorry to hear it scared you that much. When were scared we do tend to do things that appear to be weird at times. But I'm glad you know now that SP can be a opportunity to go into a lucid dream now. I wish I could explain more in depth of how to get lucid from SP but I will write it in a simple way. I usually break free from it when I'm more relaxed and feel I'm in control after I wait a bit after being in it.Also, I do my best to keep myself lucid by reminding myself It can be a lucid dream and that I can change the dreamscape to what I want. Although, sometimes what I get is nice but different from what I wanted. xO You could get free by trying to force yourself out of it but I think it is easier if you are relaxed and you don't fight it but know you can still be in control.. SP isn't really a bad thing cause I read(on a thread in DreamViews) its there to keep us from doing things like sleep walking/moving our body in reality. Not that if you break from SP you will move in reality. Cause yeah...I've never sleep walked before.^^'

[Wolfdog]

Never had a bad experience with SP. I just stay there paralyzed and feel vibrations around my body, NO hallucinations, whether visual, auditory, or anything else. I have to say though, the act of not being able to move makes me anxious and desperate because I want to move my body. I soon found that just the act of regulating one's breath is sufficient enough to easily break free from the paralysis. I have yet to use SP for inducing lucid dreams, as I tend to forget about it and just want to break free and move. Guess I need to keep calm and think a bit about the situation, use the experience to my advantage.

[Jmcsubway07]

I hate waking up in the middle of the night with unintentional SP. with all the lights off and your door shut, it can be very frightening even if you DO know what is going on. Mid day naps and mornings are the way to go, it makes the whole scenario much easier to go through

[DawnEye11]

Really?I thought it happened to everyone but I guess not. Not being able to move is scary though. Makes us feel vulnerable.. I soon found that just the act of regulating one's breath is sufficient enough to easily break free from the paralysis.. That's good to know and I hope the next time you get SP you are able to turn it into a lucid dream. : )

[DawnEye11]

Yeah, I agree. Things are less scarier when there's light and people moving around. ^^

[LDman]

You know, many people say they're afraid of experiencing SP but I've never had it happen before. It has come to the point where I would almost deliberately change an LD into SP if I get the chance, whatever creepy stuff I might get.

[Wolfdog]

I believe it's a matter of expectation as well. People hear all these stories about it being a terrifying experience, and so they unconsciously anchor or link the concept of Sleep Paralysis to something that must be feared. Then, whenever they find themselves in it, their expectations are met, and of course the experience turns out to be indeed terrifying. However, seeing that the event takes place between wakefulness and sleep, and even more that you can use it to create a dream and become lucid in it, then why not make sleep paralysis a favorable experience? Why does it have to be necessarily frightening? What would happen if we were to expect for it to be something that makes us happy? Would I see something entirely different then, maybe something that makes me laugh or joyous, perhaps a more calming or soothing hallucination?

[Virtualucidity]

As with most strange experiences, knowing what you're dealing with is key to making it less traumatic. Having a bout of sleep paralysis isn't necessarily a terrible experience, but waking up thinking that you're actually paralyzed is generally going to be scary, so yeah, it really helps to be prepared and to understand the experience.

[Wolfdog]

Well yeah, if you know what you're dealing with then there's nothing to fear right? Still, a less traumatic experience is still a traumatic experience. I mean, you never see or hear someone coming out of SP and saying it was a very happy experience and that they laughed their heads off at what they saw and heard when in it. Logic would suggest that if I can control SP and turn it into a dream, then that means I'm influencing whatever it is that I'm seeing or hearing while in it. Therefore, we should be able to control what we see, hear or feel while being in SP, just the same as we can influence what it is we want to experience in a lucid dream.

[DawnEye11]

I don't think we can control everything in SP though. I tried getting rid of a DC before on SP and it did not go away. :/ It just kept scaring me by talking and playing with my hands.

[Kache]

There are many reasons sleep paralysis is so scary to some people. Usually it's just because it's such an intense feeling and many people just aren't completely ready for it, even if they know how it feels. 1. Your body is in automatic-sleep breathing. If you try to breathe differently it's pretty hard, and usually people do. Sleep breathing is more shallow and slightly quicker. If you realize this and try to take deeper breaths, you can't and it can feel like you're suffocating. 2. Getting paralyzed. It's a natural phenomena that happens every time you enter REM sleep, but this time you're conscious of it. People are usually not ready for complete body paralysis. It's normal to feel scared because you are completely helpless. 3. Auditory hallucinations. They can be very scary sometimes, and can even startle you. I've gotten everything from great music to rabid dogs barking and scratching at my door, trying to get in. 4. Visual hallucinations. They look 100% real a lot of the times. If you're not ready they can be scary. 5. Intense vibrations and tinnitus. This happens because you're cut off from your senses and all you get is white noise or static. It even feels like static and sounds like white noise. It can feel extremely intense, and the more you concentrate on it the more it increases. When you try moving a body part it often causes the "vibrations" to increase. The best way to describe it is like having your foot fall asleep, but very powerful. 6. Positive feedback loops. If you're scared, your hallucinations will get scarier. And the scarier your hallucinations get the more scared you get. If you're concentrating on the intense vibrations, they increase. The more they increase the easier it is to find yourself concentrating on them. If you're trying to breathe deeper, you feel like you're suffocating. And if you feel like you're suffocating the more you try to breathe deeply. All these happen a lot of the times and if you let them loop they get out of hand. There are very few natural positive feedback loops with humans, since we're a very homeostatic species.

[4thDimension]

I have had s.p. a few times. At first, it was really scary because I heard someone run up the stairs and go into my room (couldn't see them because I was facing the wall.) I yelled three times, "who is it?!" Then after it happened a few more times, I told the person who came into my room (usually my brother), "I have this damn sleep paralysis! Can you help me get up?" Then, he would grab my hand, pull me up, and I would be able to move (nobody was actually there.)

[DawnEye11]

Lol That's creepy and funny. At least you found a easy way to get up though. :3

[Virtualucidity]

I can never speak when I have sleep paralysis, my first instinct is to scream, but nothing comes out.

[DawnEye11]

I don't think i speak much during SP. I think I mostly think in my head when it happens. Well, not being able to scream isnt so bad cause you can put your focus on relaxing and thinking positive instead of getting scared. ^^ But it does suck when our voices are muted in the dream. - w -" Its like our mind is telling us to be quiet cause no one can hear us. Lol