psychotic break?

[BW23]

You guys are freakin' me out!

[wart57]

As Wart mentions, I'd guess it was a symptom of sleep paralysis; It affects a certain percentage of people at least once in their life. I've had this happen to me a few times in the last ten years or so, and when it does, it's freaking terrifying, but for me it's fortunately pretty rare.

When the body is in REM sleep, you are essentially paralyzed. Sleep paralysis is a condition in which the mind and senses become conscious during REM sleep. The brain is doing its normal thing at the end of the day and processing everything during REM sleep, which includes dreams and nightmares, and so can make for especially vivid and [expletive] up experiences if the conscious mind receives that information and has to interpret it. Startling hallucinations (I'd swear to you I've seen the Grim Reaper walk in to my room and up to me before), even loud sounds and whatnot can result, including not being able to move or feeling like you can't breathe despite desperately trying to do so.

I'd agree that a variant of sleep paralysis would explain this instance. Not much you can do about it other than the normal things one can do to improve the quality of sleep; if it happens often enough that it's distressing to you consider a sleep aid or having a sleep study done.

In my very first sleep paralysis dream, a grey being with glowing green hair walked into my room, walked through my bed and stood behind me, it reached down a touched my shoulder and my shoulder felt like it was on fire, and I could not move. When I finally was able to move again, I was still terrified, I had to run in to the bathroom, and just stared at my reflection, and looked at my shoulder to see if there were any burn marks.

Thanks, I didn't want to sleep tonight anyway. I'm not saying aliens, but aliens.

Oh great, you mean I was abducted by aliens? That explains a lot actually....

[Jocephus]

it is weird to think how you are basically in a cocoon when you are sleeping and you just assume things will be like they were when you laid your head down (or that you'll wake up!). thats actually what made the thursday night/friday boston bomber's chase so bizarre (and scary) to me and i live thousands of miles away. there i was going to bed and everything "ok" and next thing i know boston was on lockdown.

[lukethedrifter]

there is some really interesting stuff in



about the brain and how it in essence creates(hmmm, maybe not the best word choice)- interprets(?)- the world around us and forms it into something we can understand/function in.
Don't recall hearing of sleep paralysis but it fits with some of what I've read about the brain.


Maybe you had a stroke.

/do not accept this as my professional opinion.

[Radbird]

No matter how vivid/exciting/terrifying my dreams might be, I always forget them within 5 minutes of waking up.

This does not surprise Mrs Rad.

[lukethedrifter]

No matter how vivid/exciting/terrifying my dreams might be, I always forget them within 5 minutes of waking up.

This does not surprise Mrs Rad.

I'm the same way. My wife rambles on telling me every detail of her dream whereas I say 'wow, that was an intense dream'. her: "what happened in it?" me: "I really can't remember but it was crazy."

[JackofDiamonds]

I've had sleep paralysis twice. Both times I was about ... 12 or close to it. Both times ended up with me bawling hysterically for about 15 minutes afterwards after someone hears me screaming. Unpleasant nightmares those were... one of them had me being devoured alive by a horse-sized spider as I was paralyzed and mute. So that was fun.

[pioneer98]

That is an insane dream AW!

I have had sleep paralysis before. One time I was extremely paranoid that someone or something was behind me, but just normal paranoia, not aliens. A couple times I was able to snap out of the paralysis by concentrating on opening my eyes or moving my arm. Eventually they'd move and I'd wake up. Other times I couldn't move anything no matter how hard I tried, and I'd freak out...then slowly I'd calm down and my mind would wander back into dreamland. It hasn't happened to me in many years.

Anyone ever have a dream where you knew you were dreaming? That's also happened to me sometimes. The most insane one was last year and was incredibly vivid. The strangest thing was that when I hit a very intense point in the dream, I had the weird sensation I had "woken up" in my dream, and the scene shifted all the sudden. I remembered feeling glad I had woken up from that weird dream. I went along for a little while, then I noticed something odd and realized I was still dreaming. There was a very strange moment where I knew my mind had tricked me, then I finally woke up for real. Dream within a dream?

[Bo Hart]

In my very first sleep paralysis dream, a grey being with glowing green hair walked into my room, walked through my bed and stood behind me, it reached down a touched my shoulder and my shoulder felt like it was on fire, and I could not move. When I finally was able to move again, I was still terrified, I had to run in to the bathroom, and just stared at my reflection, and looked at my shoulder to see if there were any burn marks.

Not a dream.

[wart57]

In my very first sleep paralysis dream, a grey being with glowing green hair walked into my room, walked through my bed and stood behind me, it reached down a touched my shoulder and my shoulder felt like it was on fire, and I could not move. When I finally was able to move again, I was still terrified, I had to run in to the bathroom, and just stared at my reflection, and looked at my shoulder to see if there were any burn marks.

Not a dream.

I generally have 2 or 3 sleep Paralysis dreams per year. I have gotten to the point now that I can calm myself down and will myself to wake. It is still freaky every time it happens, because I am claustrophobic, and the inability to move has been a major fear of mine all my life. I don't have any clue how people get any gratification from bondage; it would be pure hell for me.