ULOG #3: The Terror of Sleep Paralysis

Have you tried waking up but suddenly felt immobilized? You can’t move your body, fully open your eyes, or even speak? Friend, welcome to sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis is not that uncommon. A lot of people actually experience it. Those who experience it live that moment in complete horror. They see shadows, monsters, and other entities. And mind you, some of these entities are even violent like choking you or dragging you out of bed.

So why am I writing about sleep paralysis and putting it in Ulog? Well, I just had another episode of sleep paralysis a few days ago. I slept one afternoon and when I was about to wake up I suddenly can't move and open my eyes completely. They could only open halfway no matter how much I struggle to open it. However, I could grasp a view of our ceiling and also hear the rain. By that time, I realized I am again under sleep paralysis. I felt scared not because I can't move but at any moment, a shadow might appear somewhere and who knows what it would do this time. (I hate those shadows! Huhu!) Still forcing my eyes open, I tried to feel my surroundings if there are any shadows present. Thankfully, I could sense none. I only heard the door of the room open and somewhat heard my mom calling me. I didn't understand what she said because of the noise from the rain but I could tell she was asking me to go out of the room so I struggled more to open my eyes. I can also barely move my eyes to the side to look on the door. Just as my mom closed the door, I heard a male voice murmur below which sounded like my brother. (I sleep on a double deck style bed.)

Then I woke up.

I was heaving, my eyes feeling tired and a bit painful. The first thing I asked myself was, did I just went through sleep paralysis again? Did my mom really come to the room, opened the door and called me? Is my brother here? I mustered some bravery and peeked below, to the bed under mine. I was alone in the room. Confirmed. Sleep paralysis.

Don't be scared. It's only my hand. Lol! 😂

This is not my first time but my seventh to get into sleep paralysis and I could say this time wasn't that traumatic. The ones that I consider horrifying are those with the presence of the shadows. It's so scary that it made me cry once. You're helpless when under sleep paralysis. (Okay. I'll save that story for Halloween! Haha!) If you experience this too, I'm sure you know how terrifying this nightmare is. Luckily, my last three encounters were quite tolerable because there were no shadows.

So what is sleep paralysis anyway? Well first of all, sleep paralysis is not related to the paranormal world. (That's what they say so I'll believe that too.) I won’t be explaining it in a very detailed way because I am not an expert on this matter but only a victim of this nightmare. Haha.

They say sleep paralysis is caused by our some parts of our brain awakening ahead of our body making us half-conscious or half-awake. In short, sleep paralysis is a sleeping disorder wherein the brain and body are not cooperating with each other. In this state, hallucinations could be experienced that's why people who got this sleep disorder see shadows and things alike. Read more here.

(Brain: "Advanced ako mag-isip." / "I think ahead.") 😂
Hahaha. I think the meme that's been going viral lately fits on this.

Did you know that sleep paralysis is a gateway to lucid dreaming and astral projection? Lucid dreaming is having the ability to control your dreams while astral projection is the capability to separate from your body or what they call the out-of-body experience. Sounds amazing and frightening at the same time, right? I wanted to try any of these but in order to do that you must first be aware that you are under sleep paralysis and learn to stay calm to proceed to the next step. I can already recognize when I get into sleep paralysis but I think it would be difficult for me to stay calm. Haha! Because when I experience one, all I want is to immediately get out of it and wake up. Anyway, the Insidious movie is related to astral projection, right? I haven't watched any of its movies (I have no plans) but my brother told me a brief summary of it. And I read some personal stories about it and most of it were negative experiences. So maybe...nevermind? Hahaha! I'm fine with sleep paralysis for now. If ever I get to tap another level then why not? They say sleep paralysis is a curse and a gift.

What I'll do now is strengthen my faith with the Lord to protect myself in case I get to visit the world of bliss and terror.

Have you experienced sleep paralysis?

✧ Straykat