"It may be useful to remember that Christian faith is ultimately dependent upon what actually happened rather than upon the views of historians."
- I. Howard Marshall
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The following is a true story.
A few months ago I was awoken from sleep and immediately struck with a strange sense of fear, dread, and anxiety. My breathing was shallow, my heart was racing, and, worst of all, the only thing I could move was my eyes. I was paralyzed.
I also recently watched a documentary on alien abduction where a woman recounted her "abduction" experience, and it was eerily similar to my aforementioned incident. She said she woke from sleep, was struck with fear, and found she could not move. At that point, aliens supposedly walked into her room and took her to their spaceship. She couldn't remember the actual abduction, but had to solicit the help of a hypnotist in order to "realize" what had happened to her after the aliens walked into her room.
With my experience I didn't see any aliens, but I did see a being of some sort. It looked otherworldly with hulking white arms and legs, like a nefarious Michelin Man. It was saying something that I couldn't understand, and standing next to my bed, sort of hovering over me and seemingly gloating. My head was swimming.
After a few seconds my fear subsided. I still couldn't move and I still had the bad guy next to my bed, but I wasn't afraid. I wasn't afraid because I realized I was experiencing sleep paralysis, an uncommon occurrence that is actually quite common for me to experience. Sleep paralysis is when one's mind is awake, but one's body is still asleep. During REM sleep your body gets paralyzed (presumably so you can't act out your dreams and hurt yourself), and someone who's experiencing sleep paralysis has a mind that's a awake, but a body that still thinks it's in REM sleep; hence, the paralysis part.
I've been experiencing sleep paralysis about once a month for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it feels like there's a weight pressing down on me, and sometimes I see weird things like furniture flying across the room or objects suddenly appear that aren't really there. The common thread is the paralysis. The scariest times are when I wake up with my head buried in my pillow and have difficulty breathing. It's all I can do to force myself to move so that I can take a breath. (I have discovered a useful trick in those instances. Since I have limited control over my tongue and mouth, I bite down on the tip of my tongue and that usually snaps me out of the paralyzed state.)
For me, sleep paralysis is the most likely explanation for supposed alien abductions. If you're interested in reading more on that topic, here's a link to a New York Times article circa 1999 that discusses it in depth.
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Comments on "Abduction":
2. Raindream
- 12/04/2010 9:34 pm CST
Aren't many people who claim abduction involved in occult practices or drugs? Would that encourage wild dreams, or in the case of drug abuse, bring on the sleep paralysis?
3. Bird
- 12/05/2010 12:17 pm CST
Aren't many people who claim abduction involved in occult practices or drugs?
Maybe so. I've never heard of sleep paralysis being brought on by drug use, but there may be a link. I'm clean, though. Honest! ;-)
For me this started about the same time as I was diagnosed with RA and I've wondered if the two are related.
I haven't been diagnosed with anything myself, but I'll bet that certain conditions make it more likely. Who knows?
My big problem is I like to sleep on my stomach and that's how I end up with my head in my pillow, unable to breath.
4. Shrode
- 12/06/2010 10:23 am CST
Hasn't happened to me in a long time, but it used to fairly frequently. Scary when it happens, but in the daylight, looking back on it, it never seems like a big deal.
What you are saying about this experience being an explanation for alien abductions is interesting.
I think this also explains some reports of ghosts and demons.
6. GinH
- 12/06/2010 10:33 pm CST
I have had horrible instances and when I first started having them I had never heard of it and it was horrifying.
I've also read that it is often hereditary.
My first one was when my now college student was an infant and I "woke up" and couldn't move and thought something was trying to get her. We were both on the bed and I saw things (in my dream's mind I did think demons) from the corner of my eye and I just kept thinking if I could just touch her she'd be ok and concentrated on moving to touch her.
I've since read that if you'll just try to move a finger or a toe it will wake you because movement breaks the paralysis.
I am TOTALLY convinced - and have been for years - that this is the explanation for alien abductions. Alien abductions are the American version of "the hag" which was common to sleep paralysis stories years ago in Europe. I can't believe I finally found someone else who agrees with it.
Great minds think - and dream - alike I guess.
It was truly terrible when I didn't know what it was, now I like when it happens cuz I've gotten a couple of GREAT short story ideas from it :)
8. Caio
- 11/22/2011 2:11 pm CST
I had sleep paralysis when I was a kid and a teenager, and had some few episodes as an adult, also.
In my last experiences I figured out a way to deal with it.
When it happened, after a little mental confusion realizing what was going on, I just waited, relaxed and tried to "sleep" again, in a very conscient state.In a few moments , I could wake up tottaly.
My first experiences, although were a little different.
I remember clearly the most strange episode: I was a teenager, having a lot of these sleep paralysis episodes (or something else!).
I remember "waking up" in a clearly altered state. This and only this time, I could stand up and walk. My vision was blury and "out of focus". I walked to the living room and SAW THIS WHITE MICHELIN MAN type standing.
No interaction, no communication, nothing.
Just after this "encounter", I woke up.
When I woke up, I found it rather funny. For years, until a few days ago, I used to tell my friends this story as a curious mental-neural event.
Now I am quite intrigued. Did I have some sort of 4th kind encounter? That would explain other odd episodes I had.
Cheers.
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I also have a mild form of sleep paralysis that happens occasionally. I have never had the visions though that some people speak of. I've read that some people have them and others don't. As for me: I just wake up, and for a time I can't move, but then my body catches up and I'm finally able to. It's actually a little confusing because the mind is going but the body is asleep, so does that make you awake or asleep? For me this started about the same time as I was diagnosed with RA and I've wondered if the two are related.