sleep paralysis

Have never experienced anything like this but it sounds really horrible and scary x

Thinking about it, I can sense if it's going to happen sometimes too. Ok, next time I will try wiggling various appendages and hope I can wake myself up out of it.

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3rd year Student Midwife

if before i go to bed i can hear the sound in my ears, then i know i'm gonna have a bad night with my heart......am worried now that am gonna end up pinned to the bed with breathlessness and unable to move!

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Site Administrator, Student Mentor Scheme Manager

STMW 2nd year - no, really!

I get sleep paralysis also, have had it since my teens. Was told it is due to stress and I had an episode yesterday as I was having a much needed nap after a very sleepless night next to hubby who has man flu!!! I also get the whooshing sound in my ears and it is quite loud at times!!!

What works for me is knowing what it is.....I merely relax, close my eyes concentrate on making my breathing slow and regular instead of panicking. What happens is I am so busy concentrating on relaxing that my body catches up with my brain and relaxing makes me either fall back to sleep and wake up naturally or it makes me slowly wake up.

I've had episodes where I have seen faces above me which have said some scary stuff! (yeah I know, freaky scary movie stuff!) but I know now it is because I'm half way awake and asleep and just conscious of it.

LOL yesterday I was so annoyed it was happening while the dog snuffled my head and the TV was on and I could only whimper that I tried to punch the settee to get my body moving...I did end up punching but think I hit my chin a little!!! Next thing I know I was waking up when my son came home some 2 hours later!!!

Best advice when it happens is RELAX and tell yourself to relax - don't struggle against it...do the relaxing breathing bit and count slowly as you breath!

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Now an Unconditional Offer

I have sufferred this too and it is truely terrifying - in many hospitals (espechially old ones or ones with a gruesome history) it is the origin of those awful ghost stories that the old bag of a sister tries to scare the student with! My coping mechanism is visualisation. When an attack occurs I visualise the window opening and a cool breeze entering, bringing with it a sense of warmth, contentment and safety. Then I visualise all that awful feeling leaving my body as i exhale deeply and slowly.
You can visualise anything you like to help - whatever makes you feel safe and warm and relaxed.
Hope this helps xx

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Laugh in the face of the devil Eat Chocolate

Oh thank you guys, some really good advice there.... It's so easy to panic but I will try my best to wiggle toes, relax and visualise.... one of these is bound to work!
x

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3rd year Student Midwife

with all that wiggling,relaxing, visualising and breathing you wont have the time to panic! sleep well x

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Laugh in the face of the devil Eat Chocolate

crikey -sounds horrifying! i think i've had some dreams like this -i've physically felt like i've been punching someone or screaming and then i wake up and know that no sound has been coming out or whatever -it must be a dream though because i'm never aware of my actual surroundings or anything, no conscious thought at all! god if i woke up and couldn't actually move i'd be terrified of ever sleeping again! (well until this thread anyway!!)

i do get the odd skipped heartbeat at night time though -again if i'm tired -and OMG Ollybolly -thank god someone else can feel their heartbeat in their teeth!!!!! i told my dentist about this convinced my teeth were going to fall out or something -he said err ok never heard of that before! so that shut me up!!!

I had a couple of episodes last night, and all of your tips really helped it to be not quite so horrific and scary! I really tried to relax and slowly count and focus on deep breathing, so thanks to you all for your tips!

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3rd year Student Midwife