Hey, I'm not sure if this fits anywhere here, really, but I'm looking for feedback on a certain subject.
I'm writing a creative non-fiction personal essay on the subject of my choice, which is, in this case, sleep paralysis.
I experienced my first episode of this terrifying phenomena two nights ago, and my detailed experiences can be found in my LiveJournal entry.
If you have, or think you have experienced this at some point, please let me know if you would be willing to be interviewed by me concerning your experiences. If you're not sure what sleep paralysis is or whether or not you have had an episode in the past, Wikipedia has a fair amount of information on the subject, and lists several common and not-so-common hallucinations which accompany bouts of sleep paralysis. Luckily, at the time of my attack, I was very aware of what sleep paralysis was and what was going on. This did not lessen the sheer terror or reality of the experience, but I believe it did help me to end the episode faster and shake myself fully awake. After I'd had a chance to calm down, I was much better able to analyze what had happened.
So--if this is out of place and should be deleted, let me know, and if not--what are your thoughts?

I definitely hope that you never experience that again, phan. I think I might have experienced this before, and if you'd like to interview me, go for it!

As for my thoughts... Your experience with this sounds really scary (sorry for sounding like a five year-old). Yikes... I think I probably would have woken up the entire building after that... :( I hope you feel better after that, and hope that you could sleep after that experience! Hope you feel better!

I don't know if this falls directly under sleep paralysis, but I experienced something very similar to it a couple of years ago. It was honestly the strangest thing that ever happened to me, I remember I was sleeping in my mom's bed with her because we had guests over and my bedroom was taken, and sometime in the night, I had a nightmare, and I could move, but I was aware that I was having a nightmare. And my mom had been woken up because I kept on shouting so she was shaking me and trying to get me to return to my senses but I was in dream state but aware of it. It sounds psychotic almost, but I really don't know what that would fall under. I just remember screaming because I dreamt that I was being chased and running for my life, and in reality clinging onto my mother and shouting for her to help me. The next morning we were still totally bewildered over it, because we had no idea what had caused it or anything. But the thing was I was able to move, so I have no idea what that would fall under. I'm actually kind of relieved, I thought I was the only one this sort of thing happened to.

I looked it up just now actually, my case sounds more like "Hypnagogia" I think.

It sounds to me like a lucid dream, in your case, a bad one, where the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming.
Lucid dreaming is very connected with SP and often the two can occur one after the other, in either order.
I've had several lucid dreams in my life, (I don't dream often, but when I do, I'd say around 60-70% of them are lucid. Usually I just don't care enough to try anything fun because I'm bored or doing something mundane or already in an interesting situation and i just want to let it play out and see what happeneds,) and altogether they can be a thrilling experience. Some people who experience SP are able to force themselves to an out of body experience or into a lucid dream. Lucid dreaming allows the dreamer to control every aspect of their dreamscape and themselves and those who occupy their dream world. While the lucid dreams I have had have been mostly fantasies I was able to live out (i.e. being able to fly at will or be a movie star,) some people are highly adept at inducing lucid dreams and controlling them, to the point where they can attempt sensory experiments that are physically impossible in the real world (like having 360 degree vision or shapeshifting into different animal forms.)

If you feel up for being interviewed, that's awesome. Can you elaborate on your experiences, such as when and where you were, the circumstances you were in, any stress or irregular sleep patterns that mau have caused the attack, as well as any and all hallucinations you experienced?

I do wish it had been a good dream though, I don't even know why, but this one terrified me. (shrug) Ah well. Thank you for the clarification.

I've actually suffered from this before, and in that state, I was invisioning spiders all over my ceiling. *shudders* I ahve rather bad arachniphobia, and it was very scarring! Sleep paralysis is a very frightening state, and I suffer from it rather commonly, I'm afraid. It sucks ass. My mind and body aren't in tune very much, I guess. This one time, I thought I saw a spider on the wall (GIANT) when I was at a resort with my family, and sharing a room with my sister. She didn't see anything, and she made fun of me the rest of the trip. I thought I was just messed up or something. Then, when I learned about sleep paralysis, I felt much better, and made my sister feel bad for making fun of me for it. Although I get it a lot, and it is scary, you just get used to it after a while. I usually fall asleep after a bout of it. Hope this helped!
~Kristine <3

OOH! I've done that! I flew around my room and was chasing these pink elephant fairies, and then Erik came into my room and gave me a glass of juice with some aspirin to help with a headache I imagined myself having! Usually, i can control my dreams 100%, and it's amazing! I feel invincible in my dreams! Sometimes, I can breath underwater... :blink:

For those of you who have agreed to be interviewed, would you mind PMing me your full names and perhaps some of your thoughts on the subject so I can include them in my query letter to the editor regarding my article**?

**I use the term article in a loose sense. Chances are slimmer than Nicole Richie that this will ever be published. If it is, I will let you know and could probably see my way to sending you a clipping if you really wanted it...but I digress, and really--the chances are low of it being published. :(

Thanks again for your co-operation!

ETA: If you don't want your full name used, I can just have your first name and state that you wish to remain anonymous.

I was younger, maybe...14... and I was staying the night at a friends house... In fact I think it was New Years. We'd stayed up until about 6 in the morning, (I usually would fall asleep around 10 p.m. then.) I've never been good sleeping in odd places. If I'm not at home, I can't sleep properly. But, I digress, I remember sort of jerking awake, but not really and seeing shadows on the wall, moving. (being almost half-blind and without my glasses, this is sort of normal for me) (it wasn't dark at all... later on I saw the clock and it read... 9:00 a.m I think) But I realized I couldn't move and felt a weight on my back. It sort of felt like something was pushing my legs outward. Instantaneously I thought I was being raped, that someone had broken into my friends house and had hurt her family and her. I tried to scream, but couldn't and then almost like it never happened, I could move. I shot up, grabbed my glasses, and looked around the dark house. (She lived by a lot of shade trees and I believe the room I was in was made of dark wood... ) I was still sitting next to my friends (who were asleep and breathing so I was relieved.) I stayed sitting there holding my knees until my friends mom came in and asked what was wrong.

That's all I can remember right now, but I'll think on it, and if I remember anything else I'll edit this post.

I'll go and PM you my full name now...:D

that is scary. i'm not sure i've had that happen to me...but i have had this really weird thing happen to me. it happens rarely, but it still freaks me out. i'm not sure if i'm asleep or not when this happens. i have dreams that i'm on a beach or something and then a wave comes ande slams into me full force. i literally shake in bed and opens my eyes. it seemed like it lasted only a few seconds. i've told mum about it, but she's not sure what is going on. question: around how long do sleep paralysis episodes last?

Well according to the article Phan linked up at the very top, it only lasts around 2 minutes but can feel much longer..... It felt like ages with mine... *shudder*

suck. i'm not even sure if i have it. all i know is that i dream that i'm at the beach or somewhere else and then i get slammed into by something. it's really scary because my body just shaking like i'm having a siezure (sp?). thing is i feel a really hard impasct like someone hit me with an 18 wheeler. anyone know of any disease or mental disorder that might cause that.

That is way too queer for words. Very odd indeed. I can't say that I have experienced any of these syptoms. I can usually remmeber all of my dreams. And I find that I can't control my dreams unless I know I am dreaming. I feel like it everything is real so I don't *think* straight. But if in the dream, I know I am dreaming, then I can make the dream go my way. The only times I have done it was in times of grave peril or if I knew that something was about to happen. If you have ever read Revelation (the last book in the Bible) you should be familiar with the Rapture and stuff. I seem to always dream about the Rapture and either me or a friend or family memeber being "left behind." In those dreams, I have always been able to stop what is going on and do something to change the events in the dream or wake myself up. I have so many of them, that my brain just says "oh another one of these" and when my brain realizes it, I wake up, or I get a new dream. Wierd.