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Thought I Was Alone In This!

by Kristine
(Florida, USA)

I am doing research on sleep disorders for my psychology class and came upon one of the stories posted here. It was exactly what had happened to me only a few weeks ago! I frequently remember my dreams in vivid detail and occasionally have difficulty determining whether what I just dreamed was actually happening or not. So when this happened to me I didn't know what to think!


I woke up early in the morning, still dark in my room, to the feeling that I was being held down by my arms and legs. My head was turned to the right a little, and I couldn't seem to move it, but I could see. (I've been told I sleep with my eyes partially open, so maybe that's why I could see and some others here could not.) I remember feeling and thinking it was a person holding me down, just that they were towards my left so I couldn't see them, and as long as I looked to the right and not at them, they'd go away. After what seemed like forever I could finally move. My heart was racing and I was terrified! I think I was dreaming during this because I was convinced something horrible was present and responsible for holding me down. I was terrified also of going back to sleep, but after a bit I eventually did until my alarm went off.

I had no idea what to make of it until I read some of the posts here. So thank you everybody for sharing your stories and giving me reassurance that this is a relatively common condition, even though it is dreadful when it happens!

Comments for Thought I Was Alone In This!

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Sep 24, 2010
 You're Right On The Money
by: Kevin Morton

You hit the nail on the head of this one Kristine. Sleep paralysis episodes can seem like such unique, far out occurrences until you know why they happen. Understanding that they are a result of just our natural REM sleep paralysis outlasting sleep then makes it much easier to comprehend how such a crazy feeling can be experienced by many, many people.

Thanks a bunch for sharing your experiences and good luck with that psych class!!

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