The Nightmare - A Documentary on Sleep Paralysis
A very interesting doco on the experiences of those suffering from sleep paralysis. While very interesting, I really wouldn't recommend you watch this before going to bed! This doesn't delve into the medical explanations (the medical field has very few treatments to recommend, although they claim to know what causes it), it's the recounting of the experiences a group of people suffering this condition.
Most people I've spoken to of this have told me they've had at least one episode where they've woken, unable to move. I think it's quite a common thing, but for some of us, it happens on a more regular basis and is often accompanied by disturbing visions, sounds and/or sensations. I'm one of those that has been a regular sufferer of this over most of my life.
I have suffered this on and off over the years, sometimes regularly for extended periods, sometimes sporadically over periods of time and sometimes just one-offs.
When I was hitting puberty, I had an extended period of a "shadow man" that appeared in my doorway, would then disappear as he passed into my bedroom but I would hear him walk to the head of my bed (I was in the top bunk with my sister beneath) and then hear his breathing while he stared down at me while I was unable to move. It was off putting for the first few times, but I had the impression he was looking for someone, and I ended up taking it in stride as I didn't feel threatened, just a bit sorry for him, as I had a sense of him searching for someone, perhaps a loved one. I'd feel him there, staring at me for several minutes, then I'd hear the footsteps go back to the doorway, he'd appear again as he passed through, then he'd be gone and I'd be able to move once more.
I didn't tell anyone of these experiences as, firstly, I didn't want to scare my younger siblings and secondly, being a teen, I'd begun the "don't tell anyone anything, even if it's important" phase. You know, where everything is a state secret? At the time, I thought it a supernatural experience and having had a few things happen in my childhood (and many in the years since) that I still don't have an explanation for, and having had them start as a child, I'd just accepted them as "one of those things". I have a few theories, but I still tend to just take them in my stride when they happen and carry on.
The funny thing was that many years afterwards, when I told my sister about the "shadow man", she said she'd had very similar experiences at around the same time.
This went on for about three years, almost every night, while we lived in a particular house and stopped when we moved.
As I got older and I'd heard other people talk of waking paralysed and sometimes with strange visions or experiences to go along with it, I did a bit of research and found out it wasn't only me and that the condition actually had a name and medico's had a good idea what was causing it, although there's still no real treatment for the condition.
I've had sporadic episodes where I've woken up, unable to move and with the feeling of weight on me - no visuals or sound, just not able to move and having to make a conscious effort to breathe - which fades away after a few minutes. Sometimes I've seen shifting colours that almost form recognisable shapes, but only rarely.
I also had episodes over a seven year period when I lived in a different house while in my thirties. These were different in that I had no "shadow man", but I would be woken by shouting very close to my ear and would often hear the babble of many voices for a while after waking, all while not being able to move a muscle. Sometimes I'd be able to make out snippets of what I heard, other times it was like being in a crowded place and hearing just a general buzz. What I heard rarely made sense. I'd also be "shaken" awake at times - it all felt very real and I felt completely lucid during all of this. Once again, I didn't feel threatened, only annoyed that it broke my sleep.
Once again, funnily enough, many overnight guests who slept in the bedroom next to mine would ask me in the morning if I'd argued with someone after they'd gone to bed as they'd woken and heard indistinct voices sounding like an argument during the night. (I think this may have been me talking in my sleep before the episodes - my family all talk in their sleep and often in more than one voice - weird, I know, but that's how we roll!)
The most frightening was luckily a one-off when I was staying overnight at my mother's as an adult. She had an enormous dog (mastiff ridgeback cross) who was very friendly and thought he was tiny. He'd often pin you down by sitting on your lap etc and most of the family had suffered this over the years with good grace as we all loved him. Bear with me, this info does have relevence.
I was sleeping in the lounge room on a mattress on the floor, when I was awoken by a weight leaning into me from behind (I was on my side). I assumed it was my mum's dog snuggling into me, so I didn't worry or try to move. I was horrified, however, when I started feeling human hands touching me and the distinct feeling of a large human body begin pressing into me from behind, while an arm went around my throat and started to throttle me
I honestly thought that someone had broken in and I was about to be raped.
I tried to move... I couldn't. I tried to scream and call for help... I couldn't. Finally, I gathered all of my strength and managed to call a feeble "Noooooo". My mum's big dog started howling at the lounge room door and, luckily, my mother heard, came in and turned on the light... and with that, I was able to move once more and the weight disappeared.
There was no one there, of course, but the dog wouldn't come into the room, he just cowered and whined at the door. I think I gave the poor thing a hell of a fright!
That was the worst and luckily only happened the once, as I never slept on my mum's lounge room floor again (If I stayed, I'd sleep in the dining room).
Although I have sleep paralysis, I consider myself very lucky after hearing the experiences of the people in this documentary - my experiences could have been so very much worse!
I've come to the conclusion that, for me at least, it tends to be influenced by my environment as it's only happened in certain places and when I've moved from a place where it's happened, it stops. I worked nights for many years and I also found it never happened when I slept during the day. My family are nearly all sleep walkers and talkers at times, too, so I'd also venture there's a genetic factor involved.
I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has experienced anything along these lines and I hope they weren't too terrifying for you.
I found this documentary quite comforting in that I've rarely gone into detail over my experiences as I thought mine were at the extreme end of the scale and even though my heart goes out to these people in the doco, I find it's a relief to know I'm not alone, self deluding or even if I may be above the average in scale of severity, I'm certainly not at the extreme.