Perhaps the most startling of all dream states is that of sleep paralysis.
It occurs on the very edge of consciousness, however, the dreamer is still
in REM sleep and, therefore, totally paralyzed. Some people are not at
all bothered by sleep paralysis, and can even regard it as an interesting
episode. However, often, these experiences can be extremely frightening,
and vary considerably in nature.
Sleep paralysis has been known as 'Night nurses'
paralysis'. Persons in an occupation where vigilance is required, yet fall
asleep, are prone to this condition. The unconscious knows that sleep is
inappropriate at that time, so an expectation of being discovered results
in a dream of someone approaching. It appears that cortical arousal occurs,
so that the person becomes conscious, but bodily the individual is still
in REM sleep and therefore constrained.
Invariably, the individual is absolutely convinced
that he or she is wide awake. Full long and short-term memory and identity
are restored. Everything in the bedroom or work-place is a vivid, exact
replica of the real surroundings. Some people imagine that they are dying,
having a stroke, in a cataleptic trance, or the victim of some malevolent
force. In reality, these are REM sleep experiences.
I thought I'd died. I tried to signal to my husband to wake me up.
I tried to nudge him but I couldn't move. All I wanted to do was to wake
up. I tried to make a noise. I thought I did, but he said he didn't hear
anything. It really worried me.
In another case, a woman telephoned for a
doctor because her mother was making odd gurgling noises while asleep.
In fact, the mother was experiencing sleep paralysis and the noise was
the slight result of her frantic efforts to communicate, The doctor was,
surprisingly, uninformed about sleep paralysis.
BURIED ALIVE!
As a child I often woke up terrified. I thought I was biting and shouting
at my mother. When I really woke up she hadn't felt or heard anything.
I still experience this thing. I've tried to relax and pray. I'm afraid
someone will think I'm dead and I'll be buried alive.
These experiences are frightening enough, but the following examples
become progressively more fearful.
I imagined that somebody was laying in bed with me, but I couldn't
see who it was because I was struggling to turn over but couldn't move.
Celia C, repeats this theme - in chilling
detail. Her husband Jim works as a chauffeur, and Celia only experiences
sleep paralysis if he leaves for work in the early hours. My husband always
bends down to kiss me and says, 'Good-bye.' I reply, 'Good-bye, take care.'
After a short while, he returns and bends down to kiss me again. I
say, 'I thought you had left already'. Then, I notice that this person
has no face. I try to push it away but cannot move.
On another occasion, I kissed my husband good-bye, then thought that
he was still in bed. I saw somebody beside me, and told him that I thought
he had gone to work. This body rolled out from beneath the sheets and under
the bed.
Not all these experiences are as disconcerting.
Occasionally, they can be accompanied by a feeling of comfort.
I heard someone coming up the stairs. I thought it was a relative who
had been doing a job for me. I remember thinking that it couldn't be because
it was far too early. I tried to open my eyes but couldn't. Then I tried
calling out but no sound left my lips. I heard the door open. Then I felt
a hand on my forehead. It was comforting. Still my eyes were shut tightly.
Then, slowly, I woke up expecting to see somebody, but the room was empty.
I wasn't frightened. Nothing was said and nobody was seen.
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