Bad dreams - Sleep paralysis

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diamond-dancer

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I have dark dreams pretty much every night but I'm so used to them that they don't scare/worry me. The exception is when is get sleep paralysis. My mum and brother both had experiences with it when they were younger so it's in the family, but I don't seem to have grown out of it yet.

Was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?
 
Heya Dancer,

I'm sorry you have dark dreams every night... I usually never dream, or can never recall what my dream was if I do.

I'm having a bad night... I fell asleep for about 1/2 hour and now I've been awake an hour and just can't seem to get to sleep, figured I'd come on here and do some reading.

I got in contact with my ex from 10 years ago (haven't talked with her in 10 years) plus so many other people I never seen since high school (joined facebook and everyone I used to know so long ago is on there)... so many thoughts racing around in my head I just can't sleep I guess.

What is sleep paralysis? I have never heard of it before.

I have weird sensations sometimes, like I feel I'm falling off the edge of the bed and I'll wake up quick in shock for a second before I realize that I'm safe in the middle of the bed... they don't come all that often though.
 
Yes diamond dancer. I know what you mean. How is yours like? For mine, it begins with the feeling like someone is pressing you against the bed. There after, I feel like being strangled and usually I wake up panting....feeling very very short of breathe. Well, I have alot of bad dreams too. Most of them just are like I am like being chased by everyone, the cops, strangers, my friends and they sure go to great lengths to kill me...they slaughtered my family, blow my house up with dynamite...and yet lucky I still manage to escape. Well I must say, though it is a nightmare, but overtime, I look forward to these dreams, because it is at these dreams, where I try jumping off the 5th floor, and I pretty much land alive. Another typical dream is whereby everyone ignores me totally, I talk to everyone, no one responds, and almost at the end of the dream, they do something nasty (usually beating me up) and laugh at me. Diamond dancer, I have read somewhere, that the dream paralysis might be due to stress. =) anywayz, don' think too much ya =)
 
wow rabbit and dancer that sucks.
I have never had anything quite like that.
I have insomnia sometimes though... there's times I can run off as little as four hours sleep each night for months at a time.
 
Lost in the Oilfield said:
Heya Dancer,

I'm sorry you have dark dreams every night... I usually never dream, or can never recall what my dream was if I do.

I'm having a bad night... I fell asleep for about 1/2 hour and now I've been awake an hour and just can't seem to get to sleep, figured I'd come on here and do some reading.

I got in contact with my ex from 10 years ago (haven't talked with her in 10 years) plus so many other people I never seen since high school (joined facebook and everyone I used to know so long ago is on there)... so many thoughts racing around in my head I just can't sleep I guess.

What is sleep paralysis? I have never heard of it before.

I have weird sensations sometimes, like I feel I'm falling off the edge of the bed and I'll wake up quick in shock for a second before I realize that I'm safe in the middle of the bed... they don't come all that often though.

Wow that's a long time to not talk to someone. I wouldn't blame you for feeling weird about it. Sucks not being able to sleep though...hope you don't have a big day tomorrow!

The best way I can describe it is this: imagine you wake up and you're lying in bed/wherever you went to sleep and you are unable to move your body...the only thing you can move are your eyes. Your surroundings appear normal and you're sure that you're awake, but you're not... you're still asleep...and because you're still dreaming, anything you can imagine can become a part of that scene... So if you start thinking of a donkey then a donkey suddenly appears in the room... or if you think about your grandma who's been dead 10 years, she might pop up beside your bed.

That's why it's scary...because you're convinced you're awake and you're seeing this weird stuff. It's been put forward as a theory as to why people think they've been abducted by aliens.

It usually happens to me if I try to take a nap during the day... I've had all sorts of weird experiences with it but the most common are visits from people who have died... It can be kind of comforting in a way. I've had aliens land in my bathroom too...but I managed to wake up before first contact! haha. I don't like the idea of being probed anyway! I've learnt a trick to tell if I'm asleep or not by looking at the clock beside my bed. If I can't read the time (the numbers appear blurry) I can tell that I'm still asleep.
 
SadRabbit said:
Yes diamond dancer. I know what you mean. How is yours like? For mine, it begins with the feeling like someone is pressing you against the bed. There after, I feel like being strangled and usually I wake up panting....feeling very very short of breathe. Well, I have alot of bad dreams too. Most of them just are like I am like being chased by everyone, the cops, strangers, my friends and they sure go to great lengths to kill me...they slaughtered my family, blow my house up with dynamite...and yet lucky I still manage to escape. Well I must say, though it is a nightmare, but overtime, I look forward to these dreams, because it is at these dreams, where I try jumping off the 5th floor, and I pretty much land alive. Another typical dream is whereby everyone ignores me totally, I talk to everyone, no one responds, and almost at the end of the dream, they do something nasty (usually beating me up) and laugh at me. Diamond dancer, I have read somewhere, that the dream paralysis might be due to stress. =) anywayz, don' think too much ya =)

Oh, I'm sure stress is a factor for me!

It happens pretty fast for me...like I know what's going on pretty quickly. These days I can usually manage to wake myself out of it if I stay relaxed and don't panic. As a twist a few years ago I started using it as a jumping point for attempting out of body experiences.

I'd get this sensation that I was lifting/floating above my body, then from there I'd try to get outside. I always seemed to be trying to get to the airport if I think about it..... The furthest I ever got was the end of the street before I was pulled back. Yes, I realise this was part of the dream.. but it was so cool!

I hate being ignored in dream...usually it's a family member and usually I end up abusing them excessively.
 
Wow, out of body experience....hummm I wish I could do that....my dreams are usually sad...I wake up crying and feeling sad...Even if it was a happy one, I would end up losing my happiness in my dream.....It is like a curse.
 
SadRabbit said:
Wow, out of body experience....hummm I wish I could do that....my dreams are usually sad...I wake up crying and feeling sad...Even if it was a happy one, I would end up losing my happiness in my dream.....It is like a curse.

It's always sad for me when I have a happy dream and when I wake I realise it wasn't real. I try to hold onto that feeling but it always vanishes.
 
hummm well, at least your dreams end happily, my dreams all end with tears and I wake up crying.
 
I had a dream when I was a kid that I was shopping in a catalog for a magic carpet. There were so many different designs... I picked the one I like the most and just before I got to try it out I realized it was a dream and woke up... that was probably the most disappointing morning I ever had due to a dream.

Hmm, now that I think about it maybe not though... I remember having a dream once where I was married and had just woke up to see my wife sleeping beside me... I was admiring the curve of her neck, and then I woke up a few seconds later for real and realized I was alone... that was sort of sad.
 
Rabbit - What, every single one? I've heard of that happenening to people every so often but never continually... I don't think I've ever done that.. that's sad.


Lost in the Oilfield said:
I had a dream when I was a kid that I was shopping in a catalog for a magic carpet. There were so many different designs... I picked the one I like the most and just before I got to try it out I realized it was a dream and woke up... that was probably the most disappointing morning I ever had due to a dream.

Hmm, now that I think about it maybe not though... I remember having a dream once where I was married and had just woke up to see my wife sleeping beside me... I was admiring the curve of her neck, and then I woke up a few seconds later for real and realized I was alone... that was sort of sad.

Yes it's a tough call... magic carpet or your wife?? Hmm.... I often dream I own things and am always disappointed when I wake up and realise it was a dream. I have a hard time telling the difference between some dreams and reality sometimes...I usually have to ask someone else whether this or that really happened or not.
 
Haha, my dreams are all the same. Yup, I will have continual nightmares when I have like too much test , tutorials and my parents fought. There was once it was so bad, I had like 4 nightmares non stop, and each was a continuation of the other, and each time, the people that were out to get me, abused me even more.
 
diamond-dancer said:
I usually have to ask someone else whether this or that really happened or not.

I've had this before too sort of... Sometimes I'll wake up and remember conversations or people asking me questions about something, but I'm not sure if it was real or not. Truth is usually it was real, because they stopped by while I was sleeping or called on the phone and I talked to them for a bit without really waking up, and the conversation just sort of incorporated itself into my dream.

I have to use two alarm clocks on opposite sides of the room, because if I only use one I usually have dreams where there's sirens or alarms going off (police, EMS, military, secret bases etc.) and I sleep right through the alarm clock... I am a very heavy sleeper when it's close to wake up time. For about the first four hours of sleep or so I am a really light sleeper.

Best time to ask to borrow something is when I'm sleeping cause I'm almost guaranteed to agree and forget. :)
 
Lost in the Oilfield said:
Best time to ask to borrow something is when I'm sleeping cause I'm almost guaranteed to agree and forget. :)

No no no! Don't run around declaring your weaknesses publicly!
By the way, you said I could have your music collection.
 
Hahaha, I don't consider it a weakness, besides, the truth will set you freeeee!
Yes it's a tough call... magic carpet or your wife??

I'm not sure how to take that... was that sarcasm?
I've never been married, but I'm pretty sure I'd ditch the carpet for the wife... or I could be like Aladdin and have the best of both worlds.

By the way, you said I could have your music collection.

hmm, I keep my music list in my head and just go to online radios or other places that have the songs free... I don't buy cds.

"...Last night I held Aladdin's lamp
And so I wished that I could stay
Before the thing could answer me
Well, someone came and took the lamp away
I looked around, a lousy candle's all I found

Well, you don't know what we can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride
Well, you don't know what we can see
Why don't you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free
Close your eyes girl
Look inside girl
Let the sound take you away"

I love that song! Just came into my head when I was thinking about the magic carpet and I had to hunt it down.

SadRabbit said:
There was once it was so bad, I had like 4 nightmares non stop, and each was a continuation of the other, and each time, the people that were out to get me, abused me even more.

That would suck I've had the same nightmare before on different occasions, but never a nightmare in series. I'd probably lose a lot of sleep if that happened.
 
SadRabbit said:
Haha, my dreams are all the same. Yup, I will have continual nightmares when I have like too much test , tutorials and my parents fought. There was once it was so bad, I had like 4 nightmares non stop, and each was a continuation of the other, and each time, the people that were out to get me, abused me even more.

Mine are always worse around exam times so stress must be a factor...

I had a horrible nightmare/sleep paralysis combo last night. My sister's friend had committed suicide and her body was just lying in our yard, waiting for her family or the police to come and collect it I suppose. I kept seeing her out of the corner of my eye and felt very on edge. Then I was lying in my bed and she was staring me in the face. Scared me awake very quickly!
 
Sleep Paralysis used to scare the DICKENS out of me! I say "used to" not because I wouldn't be frightened by it today, but because I haven't experienced it in a while. I think the last time I experienced it was while resting in my apartment near my old university.

You always wish someone was there to just MOVE you.
You call out for help, but it's like you don't even have the strength to speak loud enough for anyone to hear you.
You feel like you're in the most uncomfortable of sleeping positions.
You try to roll yourself off the bed/couch, but you lack the strength.
You realize it's best to just close your eyes and hope to wake up to a better moment.
 
Oh yes ive experienced this for quite sometimes and yea it can get really scary my last one if i can still remember was waking up in my bed facing the ceiling and lying flat on my back, and i just couldnt move my body, suddenly theres this shadow like moving around the room its SCARE the HELL OUT OF ME! u wouldnt believe it, but i kept calm and thought maybe its still a dream but the shadow kept on going around the room and starting to get closer to me I opened my eyes and really force myself to move I scream so much to extent of forcing my hand to move and the shadows got closed to my face and saw the face of the shadow of a really ugly old woman, when i came face to face with her i looked at her in the eye and give it all i got to move force my muscle to just move even an inch. I kept on trying until im able to the next thing i know im already awake and panting.

Some say it happens mostly when you sleep straight like a dead man in a casket, ive proven this coz everytime i dream something bad my position is always like that. so if u wanna avoid this from happening try sleeping sideways and bending ur knees always works for me :)
 
jjam said:
Sleep Paralysis used to scare the DICKENS out of me! I say "used to" not because I wouldn't be frightened by it today, but because I haven't experienced it in a while. I think the last time I experienced it was while resting in my apartment near my old university.

You always wish someone was there to just MOVE you.
You call out for help, but it's like you don't even have the strength to speak loud enough for anyone to hear you.
You feel like you're in the most uncomfortable of sleeping positions.
You try to roll yourself off the bed/couch, but you lack the strength.
You realize it's best to just close your eyes and hope to wake up to a better moment.

Yeah it's very scary when you first experience it, especially if you don't know what it is.

It's almost guaranteed to happen if I try to sleep during the day, so that means I can't nap. I've been told I'll grow out of it, but I'm still waiting...
 

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