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Sleep Paralysis, Weird Walking Attacks, and Beyond...
I've had insomnia and sleep paralysis off and on for years. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, a long history of severe depression and anxiety. I am currently recovering from those mental health issues and have been off all psychotropic medications for over a year.
About a month ago I began to experience a different sort of insomnia along with the usual ''feeling anxious and can't fall asleep at night'' variety. I would fall asleep normally, but wake up anywhere between 3am and 5am unable to go back to bed. This would persist despite a very strong physical desire to sleep. This happened only for a week or two, then went away. I've also been getting severe headaches every night before bed-time.
About two weeks ago, I had a very unsettling experience. I became unusually tired and decided to take a nap around 5pm in the afternoon. During my time asleep, I had a very severe episode of sleep paralysis--the first time in years. I tried to wake up several times and failed. As has happened in the past, I experienced brief periods of waking consciousness, but was unable to stop myself from being sucked back into the nightmare. For what seemed like forever, I couldn't feel my limbs or get off the bed.
When I finally woke up, I felt panicked. I searched the house to make sure I wasn't in any immediately danger, and then stumbled into the bathroom. This is where things get freaky. My body felt like it was being sucked back into sleep! My limbs were getting numb and my eyes kept rolling back in my head. I felt I was in danger of falling asleep at any second, even while walking from room to room. What's worse, I wasn't really sure whether I was awake or not--I thought it possible I was still dreaming! Now I've mistaken my dreams for reality, but never have I mistaken reality for a dream! It took me about 30 minutes before I was fully convinced that I was awake and all sensation and strength returned to my body.
After this happened, I decided to let it go unless it happened again.
Well, yesterday at a friend's house around 5pm, I became very tired even though I'd had a week full of good rest behind me. After trying to fight it off for a few minutes, I finally gave in and fell asleep on her couch.
5-30 minutes later, I woke in a panic. No symptoms of sleep paralysis and otherwise nothing out of the ordinary, until I stood up a few moments after waking. I made it about two paces and then my whole body went weak and my eyes rolled back and I completely lost my balance, nearly knocking out a light fixture. To a bystander it might have looked like I was fainting, but I felt like I was falling asleep. I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up! I would have fallen on the coffee table if my husband hadn't been there to catch me. I stood there supported by him for a minute or two, and then I was able to go on as normal.
However, for the rest of the day, I kept ''almost'' falling asleep (without the loss of motor control.) I found it increasingly difficult to carry a normal conversation because I was feeling so sleepy. I went to bed at a respectable hour last night, but for some reason woke up at 5am (my typical would be 10am) unable to fall asleep. I woke--you guessed it--in a panic.
Since I'm obviously not going to fall asleep any time soon, I figured I'd ask what's going on here. I find myself increasingly anxious over the prospect that this could happen again, and I keep worrying that one of these days I am going to start hallucinating and terrify myself half to death.
About a month ago I began to experience a different sort of insomnia along with the usual ''feeling anxious and can't fall asleep at night'' variety. I would fall asleep normally, but wake up anywhere between 3am and 5am unable to go back to bed. This would persist despite a very strong physical desire to sleep. This happened only for a week or two, then went away. I've also been getting severe headaches every night before bed-time.
About two weeks ago, I had a very unsettling experience. I became unusually tired and decided to take a nap around 5pm in the afternoon. During my time asleep, I had a very severe episode of sleep paralysis--the first time in years. I tried to wake up several times and failed. As has happened in the past, I experienced brief periods of waking consciousness, but was unable to stop myself from being sucked back into the nightmare. For what seemed like forever, I couldn't feel my limbs or get off the bed.
When I finally woke up, I felt panicked. I searched the house to make sure I wasn't in any immediately danger, and then stumbled into the bathroom. This is where things get freaky. My body felt like it was being sucked back into sleep! My limbs were getting numb and my eyes kept rolling back in my head. I felt I was in danger of falling asleep at any second, even while walking from room to room. What's worse, I wasn't really sure whether I was awake or not--I thought it possible I was still dreaming! Now I've mistaken my dreams for reality, but never have I mistaken reality for a dream! It took me about 30 minutes before I was fully convinced that I was awake and all sensation and strength returned to my body.
After this happened, I decided to let it go unless it happened again.
Well, yesterday at a friend's house around 5pm, I became very tired even though I'd had a week full of good rest behind me. After trying to fight it off for a few minutes, I finally gave in and fell asleep on her couch.
5-30 minutes later, I woke in a panic. No symptoms of sleep paralysis and otherwise nothing out of the ordinary, until I stood up a few moments after waking. I made it about two paces and then my whole body went weak and my eyes rolled back and I completely lost my balance, nearly knocking out a light fixture. To a bystander it might have looked like I was fainting, but I felt like I was falling asleep. I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up! I would have fallen on the coffee table if my husband hadn't been there to catch me. I stood there supported by him for a minute or two, and then I was able to go on as normal.
However, for the rest of the day, I kept ''almost'' falling asleep (without the loss of motor control.) I found it increasingly difficult to carry a normal conversation because I was feeling so sleepy. I went to bed at a respectable hour last night, but for some reason woke up at 5am (my typical would be 10am) unable to fall asleep. I woke--you guessed it--in a panic.
Since I'm obviously not going to fall asleep any time soon, I figured I'd ask what's going on here. I find myself increasingly anxious over the prospect that this could happen again, and I keep worrying that one of these days I am going to start hallucinating and terrify myself half to death.
Do this breathing(pranayam) everyday and whenever you cannot sleep. Try it and notice the benefit.
Anulom Vilom - Deep Breath-in through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
then - Breath-out through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then -Deep Breath-in through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then - Breath-out through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
and repeat this cycle for upto 20 minutes twice a day.
Anulom Vilom - Deep Breath-in through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
then - Breath-out through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then -Deep Breath-in through right nostril keeping left nostril closed
then - Breath-out through left nostril keeping right nostril closed
and repeat this cycle for upto 20 minutes twice a day.
Um. So playing devil's advocate for a moment... let's say it *wasn't* astral travel. If we could rule that one out, what kind of documented medical condition might be happening here?
I'm growing increasingly concerned with the answer, because I finally went back to bed last night, had another horrible episode of sleep paralysis, and now feel completely awful and unrested.
I'm growing increasingly concerned with the answer, because I finally went back to bed last night, had another horrible episode of sleep paralysis, and now feel completely awful and unrested.
This should not be a scary experience although sometimes when you do not know what is happening it can be. I have always done this. It is called astral travel. It happens to people who are more in tune or who have a lineage of those more in tune with the spiritual world. Your soul is not a part of your body but more inside your body. Sometime during sleep it leaves but is never unattached. There are so many things in this world that people do not understand and one of them is that we are such a small part of this large universe. We are all souls and we do not die. We inhabit these crapy bodies to do our duties on earth. We sleep to rejuvinate our souls! Sometimes after traumitizing times on earth our souls may leave our bodies to visit certain healing places which we are lead to by our spirit guides...God gave all of us atleast one, however we have many angels. We also may choose, in our sleep ofcourse, to visit past loved ones or even drop in on others! They can not see us though as we are there in spirit. The alarming paralyzing fear happens when we our physical body starts to awaken before our spirit is back in form inside. We are awake but cant move, we hear buzzing, we feel as if we are being held down by an evil force who wants to eat our unborn children.....No. Does this not all pass? Yes, because quickly, faster than you realize you have returned to your body and can now move again. I know how scary this is as I used to have the same thing. Sounds like you are having this happen back to back, you wake up then fall asleep only to leave again. You are then becoming aware and are being pulled back to body. Google "astral travel" and you will see how may people actually do this as well. Your story is text book. Now before I go to sleep I say that I only want to leave if I can have a quick return. You can never be lost or not find your way back. We are intricate spirits and way to smart to "get lost". I always ask before I go to bed to have healed whatever damage may have been done during the day in this wonderful world, sarcasm here, to be healed while I am asleep or off visiting the spirit world. Some people can even remember vividly hovering above their bodies or being on the celing to then flying out of the window and into mountains. I like to think of it as a nice little escape! Have fun!
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