Sleep paralysis, help? OT, sorry

[Taryynx]

hiya, well if anyone is unaware about what sleep paralysis is then basically its when you half wake up in the night in a dream like state, and because you are half awake and half asleep you tend to hallucinate. For example people/ shaddows/ creatures walking into your room coming by your bed or sounds of bagging on the walls and floors and things touching you duvet, ugh horrific things like that. While all this is happenng you are literally paralised and cannot move or speak or scream or anything and your whole body constricts and you cant breathe at all. but yeah in a nut shell it is horrific.
Because i find it so horrific i get so anxious that every night it prevents me from sleeping at all, and being a teenage girl I NEED MY SLEEP haha x But if anyone could help me in anyway on how to relax or calm down before hand it would really help :/ its a horrific experiance and just the thought of it makes me freak out, i hate having a paralysis episode, its so terrifying, i hate it sooo much, and worse of all sometimes thee vivid halucinations include v*, and situations of me physically (in some cases) feeling the sensation.
Some nights I am just shaking with fear of going to sleep incase it happens and i start to beome hysterical with fear and worry, somuch so that it even takes physical pain to take it away and i end up with scars on my hands because i end up scratching the skin off to distract me (horrible i know :S)
Please help. sorry i know it is kindof OT, but all of you are so genuinly lovely to me and have really helped me become more confident in tackling my emet i didnt know who else to talk to?

[Stephanie<3]

hey! I had a few of them when i was little but mine were because of my heart condition and stuff but they are horrible and i used to be terrified when i was little about going to sleep and stuff but now i don't have them so much. Anyway the doctors told me to just try not think about them in the evening and get into a relaxing mood and routine even down to when you close your curtains/blinds and stuff like that. Just keep a peaceful mind and try tire yourself out before you get into bed. Also this is what i used to do was sing peaceful slow songs in your head when laying in bed so no other thoughts go into your head hope this helps! x

[leah2713]

Hi, i couldn't believe it when i read this cos the same thing has been happening to me over the last week. For me it happens just as i'm falling asleep and its like i'm trapped in my body trying to move and scream but i can't. The last few times my stomach has felt like its turning and i have woke up gagging-its really awful!! I don't know if mine is to do with stress as i have just started a new job, but i have had this in the past and it usually coincides with staring new anxiety/anti-depressant meds.

I find that it help to listen to my music whilst laid in bed or even falling asleep with the tv on quietly. I don't know why but i find i get this worse if i eat before bed, so maybe just try something light before laying down and trying to sleep. Sometimes if i am overtired it is worse too as i struggle to relax and my sleep isn't so good.

I understand how frightening the whole hallucination thing is too. I have experienced seeing creature like things and faces on the ceiling and the end of the bed when i opened my eyes and it is terrifying. I thought i was going mad when this happened to me but i read it is quite common in sleep paralysis.

Hope this gets better for you soon. I am here if you need to chat. Take care x

[hairyfairy]

When I was 21 I had hepatitis, & while I was ill I used to have these weird dreams like I was awake but couldn`t move. I could feel a presence in the room that was very threatening, & I could feel hands touching me. I`d try to cry out but no sound would come. I`ve since read that liver infections can have strange effects on the brain, so that accounts for the strange dreams.