Sleep Paralysis. It sucks.

I've never had any unusual dreaming/sleeping experiences in my entire life until recently. It all started with one day I woke up to (what I hope to be a sleep paralysis hallucination) my blanket shifting and then turned onto my back because I believed someone was trying to wake me and one of my shoulders felt extremely warm. When I opened my eyes I was confronted by the silhouette of a man standing on the foot of my bed with a hand extended toward me. I was in full control of my body until fear set in and at that point all I could do was muster all of my strength to speak and after about 20-30 seconds the man disappeared and I could move.

The second episode I simply awoke in my bed next to my girlfriend and my arm was under her neck, I wanted to stretch so I tried to pull my arm back but simply could not move. I had full vision and could turn my head and felt my arm shaking rapidly but it wouldn't budge for about 10 seconds. There were no visions or hallucinations and I could breathe perfectly normal.

The final and most recent episode was about 24 hours ago when I woke up to see my girlfriend off to work and then fell back asleep. I had a dream where I woke up then after about ten seconds (or what seemed like 10 seconds within the dream) the dream reset and this time I woke up and looked at the alarm and the time didn't look like it was even a number, so I turned away and looked back at the time and it read 5:30 so I decided to go back to sleep in the dream. Again within the dream I woke up and thought I was going to experience sleep paralysis so I jumped out of bed and stepped in warm water, got angry when I looked down and noticed it was cat urine and proceeded to yell at my cat.

Finally the dream happened again, exactly the same with the getting out of bed and then I finally awoke for real. Or at least I thought I did. I heard the TV and opened my eyes to look at the alarm clock and then I realized it: I couldn't move at all. If I hadn't tried to move I would've just sat there and let the episode pass but I started fighting for my ability to move and I had ONE single vision that could probably be traced back to whatever was on the news. It was simply a person standing in a blue shirt and khaki pants and it seemed like they were praying.

There's nothing I can actually pinpoint to why the sleep paralysis triggers except for the fact that every time I experience it I wake up on my back although I always fall asleep on my side.

Anyways to the whole point of this: What should I do about my sleep paralysis? Why has it just randomly decided to start happening once or twice a month? How can I make it a more pleasant experience for myself? Is there any benefit to this? Because I can come up with a nice list of cons.

Why let it frighten you so much? It's an awesome experience, the best horror show ever. And you know you're 100% safe. It's all in your head. It can be freaky, but that can be changed with the right mindset. Just see it as something cool and interesting instead. Also, when it happens next time, lie completely still and just try to stay conscious. You will end up in a dream most likely.

I've always enjoyed the feeling of sleep paralysis. It's relaxing and rather comfortable.

A question for those knowledgeable about terms - wouldn't hallucinations of the sort KyleS is describing be hypnagogia, and the physical paralysis sleep paralysis? Or are hallucinations that occur during SP simply taken to be part of the paralysis itself?

They both happen at the inbetween state of consciousness and dreaming. You don't need to experience hallucinations when you enter SP, but you can.

I've only experienced hallucinations once. The other two times it has just been what was actually going on. I suppose the state wouldn't be so bad if I didn't panic, but I just freak out when I can't move

A couple of things:

You should learn to do a reality check by plugging your nose and trying to breathe. This will help you in those situations where you have a false awakening after experiencing sleep paralysis. If you realize that you are actually dreaming during these false awakenings, you can use them to your advantage by doing fun things. With practice, you can do anything you want once you realize you are dreaming.

Same thing with the sleep paralysis itself. If you relax and lie still and close your eyes you will most likely fall into a dream where you are aware you are dreaming. A lot of the time this will take the form of a false awakening, with the dream starting in your bed. But if you learn some dream control techniques, you can have some fun with it. I personally like flying or going outside and looking at the dream landscape.

Hang in there. A lot of us on this forum actually try very hard to do what you are doing by accident. Consider it a gift. But if you really want to stop, having a regular sleep schedule and being less stressed can help.

If you really feel the need to get out of paralysis quickly, wiggle your toes and sit up. Worked for me the first couple of times I got freaked out trying WILD...

The more I think about it, the more it seems that all of the times I had this happen, I actually realized I was dreaming first and, I remember in the latest case, told myself to wake up and then I was in the state of sleep paralysis.

I was reading the reality check techniques and oddly realized how many of these habits people already do without thinking about it. The next time this happens to me I'll surely try not to get afraid and instead try to calm down and see if I can at least try realizing that I'm actually in a dream and from there try to manipulate things.

The first experiences with sleep paralysis are truely frightening, especially when they are unexpected and you don't know what is actually happening to you, however as you experience it more you become more calm and realize that panicking doesn't even do anything for you.