Life with Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis can be scary. You are not able to move or speak. This can happen while falling asleep or waking. The paralysis usually last 1-2 minutes and can be frightening. I am going to tell you some of the experiences that I’ve had with sleep paralysis and learning how to deal with it.

Having sleep paralysis for the first time can put you in a scary place. When I first had it, it started out with me laying in bed trying to fight my sleep, and that’s when my body started getting a little numb, then saw a scary vision when I closed my eyes for a second and saw a quick flash of something that looked like a demon. I then opened my eyes and started watching Netflix and waited to try again to go to sleep because I was scared. I finally slept, but in the middle of the night, I woke up breathing heavily because the covers were slowly pulling off me and it felt like something was hovering over my body pushing against my chest. I couldn’t move at all and I felt like I was being suffocated. My eyes were half way opened. I was trying to force them to open all the way so I could see around my room. I looked over by my side and I saw a black shadowy figure, and keep in mind, I couldn’t move any part of my body. I had to stare at it until my whole body was awake.

I started to hear very loud sounds or voices that were all talking at once, so I didn’t hear any words. It was just LOUD! I was trying to fight out of it. I was even screaming for help, but no one heard because I was actually screaming in my head. I heard myself calling for help in the words, “HELP ME!” but no one else can. All they can hear is me saying “mmmm! mmmm! mmmm!” You aren’t able to move, speak, nor react to anything while in sleep paralysis. I finally set free and woke up sitting up and looked around and was breathing heavily. Everything was quiet. I was confused on what happened. I knew it wasn’t a dream because I was half awake. I went back to sleep and woke up peacefully in the morning. That was my first time having sleep paralysis.

My second time having it was at my cousin's house waking up in the morning. My eyes were closed, and I had this dream. I was in a dark place on top of a cliff walking. I saw other people walking along the cliff too. Then I see some lady with long dark hair covering her face holding a knife. I was trying to run away from her, then she appeared in front of me and said, “You’re next.” My whole body started getting numb and I knew I had to try to free myself. My eyes were half way opened and I looked around my cousin's room looking and saw a creepy lady with black hair holding a knife, then I started calling for help. My cousin told me she left the room for a bit because my eyes were rolled back and I was making the sounds “MMMMM!!!MMMMM!!!" and she was scared but then she came back in and shook me really hard and then I woke up. So yeah I have had some really creepy experiences with sleep paralysis.

I still have them but I kind of know how to deal with them now. Each time I have it, I already know what’s about to happen. My body is about to lock up, I won’t be able to move, speak, or react, a figure might be standing there. I might feel like something is trying to kill me. But I’ve come to learn that you have to be calm and breathe normally in situations like that. Even though you’re not that in control of your body, you can free out of it faster as long as you don’t fear it anymore. Demons feed on fear. It’s normal for me now and every time I break out of my paralysis, I feel happy. I feel like I’ve beaten something evil out of my life. It might be scary the first, second, third time, but when you get used to it and figure out what you’re supposed to do, it won’t be a problem for you anymore. I hope you guys liked this story of my experiences. If you have any questions comments feel free to HMU or DM me on Instagram: @taenation