Help!! I can't breathe!!!!!!!!!!!

The first time that I am aware of ever having a lucid dream was when I was about 12. I had woken up after realizing I was dreaming and was in a state of paralysis. I had thought that something was wrong with me for the longest time until years later I cam across a dream book in which the author described pretty much the same thing I had experienced, introducing me to Lucid dreaming.

My problem is that even now, I will randomly fall into this state of paralysis (not having tried to induce lucidity) and even though I know that my body is in no harm, I can't breathe. I can feel myself not being able to breathe. I don't know if this is me holding my own breath from being in a state of panic, but during the moment, I feel like my brain is shutting down my organs and if I fall asleep my lungs will cease to operate and I'll pretty much just suffocate. I try to force myself awake, but I can't- which makes the breathing even worse. I try to scream but nothing comes out. It's just horrible.

It wouldn't be so bad, if these events occured from me trying to experience Lucidity, if that were the case I would just stop trying, it's that bad. The problem is that this happens without my will or control or anything. Is it possible to slip accidentally into a lucid state, and this often? And how can remember to breathe or just stop the paralysis?

Please, help. I'm almost afraid to go to sleep every night, because I never know when it might happen.

First of I experience this myself. It is the most frighting thing I know, but it is in no way dangerous, you are perfectly fine. I will write you some info that you may find useful and more so, comforting.

The phenomena you experience is called a Sleep Paralyzis (SP). I don't know how much you already know about this, so I write everything I know.

An SP may occur while falling asleep, while waking up, and sometimes, though rarely, during acctuall sleep. I personally get them while waking up. See, when your brain is dreaming, i.e. goes into the sleepstate called REM, your body is completely paralized in order to prevent you from acting out your dream in bed, kicking around and screaming etc. What happens to you while having an SP is that your brain becomes awake but you body is still paralized. This is all perfectly normal, and has happened to 80% of every living person ones or more during their lifetime. And a few of does experience it every night and some, like myself, experience them a couple of nights per month.

When experiencing SP most people will only feel an incapability to move, yet some, like you and me, experience trouble breathing. You are however acctually breathing, but you just can't feel it. To go deeper into this: your diafragma works like it always does, but some of the smaller muscle groups controlling your breath are paralyzed. That's why you feel like your not breathing, but you are

Just for curiosa, there are also does experiencing that they are not alone in the room. They feel another person is there. In Folk Myth SP is an angel standing on you making it impossible for you to move.

about getting out of this:

I don't know what's de facto on this, this is just out of my own experiences. The first thing I do while experiencing an SP is to remind myself that I'm lying in bed, and despite what I might be experiencing I am perfectly safe. Then I start to understand I can't move, it chocks me everytime. And then I become aware of my breathing, or lack there-of, and this is paniking yes. Alot of people get Sleep-phobias because of SP experiences. I try stop myself from panicing all to much and then start to concentrate on some small body part, for example a finger, and I try to jerk it a little bit. I don't know if you acctually need to try to move to wake up, I've heard it generally lasts for half a minute or so anyways. But you may try this.

I don't want you to be afraid of your SP's. Always remember you are perfectly safe at all times during you SP. You are getting the air-supply you need. The most important is that you don't become scared of this, as it may ruin your sleep totally.

I wish you the best of success in turning this monster into a pet. Hope my words help.

Also if you lose consciousness the respiratory system comes under full autonomic control. So unless you have asthma or some other respiratory problem I would not be too concerned.

yes, its all in your head....

during SP your lungs wont "shut down" unless you make them do it.
besides, if you were to pass out your lungs would automatically start back, (as he said /)
.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ........l

you just need to remember that this is obviously a fear that developed in early childhood, (much like some psychopaths fear of the color white) and that there’s nothing that’s going to hurt you and your not going to die (you would be dead by now)