Fear of dreaming
My fear of dreaming seems to root from a string of SP attacks. Basically, I would be doing somthing in my dream when all of the sudden my dream body drops limp to the floor unable to move! I would then wake up to reality but with SP, then some how flash back to my dream, were i would try to get up but fall over limp again, then try to get up then fall limp again. I would theb be teleported to a high place in my dream, still unable to move, and be pushed off the high place. While falling i would flash back to reality then to my dream real fast. Then when i hit the ground in my dream, It went back to reality were it felt like I landed in my bed and i was suddenly able to move again. This fear has really messed up my sleep schedule and i would like some help. (Sorry for any mispellings, my laptop is in for repairs and i am using my phone)
Hello,
sleep paralysis only happened to me years ago. Somewhere I read the following advice. Even in SP one has control of the breathing muscles, so when finding in a state of SP, one should breathe very deeply, because this would be a signal to the brain to wake up. I can't tell, if it works because I didn't have SP for a long time. But if it worked it could give back to you some feeling of control and reduce your fear...
I hope, that's a little help, Toby
What are you afraid of? You are completely safe when you dream and when in SP. So why worry?
Summerlander wrote: What are you afraid of? You are completely safe when you dream and when in SP. So why worry?
Completely false on a number of levels. People are not safe in nightmares- the physical stress of them kills many people in their sleep. SP it's self is a symptom of narcolepsy. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/narcolepsy and
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/narcolepsy
SP is also associated with insomnia. Isolated SP can be triggers by interrupting sleep and those who are trying to lucid dream by by using the wake back technique. I doubt anyone wants to experience the SP experience just to have a lucid dream.
LOL! What an erroneous and very ignorant statement. Let me mitigate the effect of that ignorance here...
Actually, the people who died in their sleep were not killed by SP. They already had an underlying health condition. SP is a natural mechanism that prevents people from acting out their dreams so it is there to protect actually.
Fear during conscious SP doesn't kill you either because it is very much associated with the amygdala, which, funnily enough, also plays its role in activating the release of adrenaline...hence the palpitations and the change in bodily temperature. Being conscious in SP may trigger all sorts of responses that will naturally work towards snapping people out of it if they are not actually asleep.
Nightmares nor the stress they cause kill people either. Stephen LaBerge proved that the heartbeat barely goes up. Only people that already have heart conditions can reach abnormal levels, in which case they can take medicine or get other forms of treatment for it. Dreams do not kill anyone and there is no Freddy Krueger either! :lol:
SP is the natural muscle atonia caused by cells at the pons sending inhibitory signals to motor neurons in the spinal cord. I repeat, SP does NOT kill. Once you get past the fear, you really want to have it because it will aid you in entering the phase state (OOBEs and lucid dreams - same thing actually). I purposely induce SP many times just to have WILDs. It saves me from having to play the detective in dreams all the time, and performing reality checks when I can just lucidly enter dreams from wakefulness and SP is a good indication that I am nearing my target.
I repeat: SP does not kill and is not dangerous! :mrgreen:
I had a lot of horrid years not understanding what SP was and went from being scared to getting angry at the "demons or hags" that were attacking me. I knew it was not real and that I was awake but had to get some control of it so got angry and wriggled around. ANY movement seemed to dispell SP and that was that.
Now I like SP as it ranges from very strong to almost not perceived and is an indicator the is part of a WILD about to take place. I also suspect that I get SP from within the LD at times and this is a very odd but also powerfull feeling and is the onset of a deeper level of LD. After a lot of years this SP within the dream can still trigger dread and forboding but is like a gateway to a deeper self.
So in short, embrace it and take control - its your SP
Peter
Well said! Embrace it and take control. Don't run from it people. I used to get scared too but now it excites me because, as Peter said, it is a good indicator that a WILD is about to take place.
Summerlander wrote: LOL! What an erroneous and very ignorant statement. Let me mitigate the effect of that ignorance here...
Actually, the people who died in their sleep were not killed by SP. They already had an underlying health condition. SP is a natural mechanism that prevents people from acting out their dreams so it is there to protect actually.
Fear during conscious SP doesn't kill you either because it is very much associated with the amygdala, which, funnily enough, also plays its role in activating the release of adrenaline...hence the palpitations and the change in bodily temperature. Being conscious in SP may trigger all sorts of responses that will naturally work towards snapping people out of it if they are not actually asleep.
Nightmares nor the stress they cause kill people either. Stephen LaBerge proved that the heartbeat barely goes up. Only people that already have heart conditions can reach abnormal levels, in which case they can take medicine or get other forms of treatment for it. Dreams do not kill anyone and there is no Freddy Krueger either! :lol:
SP is the natural muscle atonia caused by cells at the pons sending inhibitory signals to motor neurons in the spinal cord. I repeat, SP does NOT kill. Once you get past the fear, you really want to have it because it will aid you in entering the phase state (OOBEs and lucid dreams - same thing actually). I purposely induce SP many times just to have WILDs. It saves me from having to play the detective in dreams all the time, and performing reality checks when I can just lucidly enter dreams from wakefulness and SP is a good indication that I am nearing my target.
I repeat: SP does not kill and is not dangerous! :mrgreen:
Sleep paralysis is not normal. Unlike you I can do WILDs and pretty much at will. If you were an experienced WILDer you would know that the sleep paralysis experience is not normal, what normally happens in a WILD is that one experiences atonia as just a dream image with transition into rem sleep being almost instant. I've also been in fully conscious sleep atonia and in it there is : no paralysis of any kind, only deep muscle relation; no emotion of any kind and no dream images of any kind (as in one is fully conscious). The SP experience is most likely a variant false awakening and yes in false awakenings one does think that one is really awake just as in SP; one can't do a wild from one as one is not awake and all WILDs start with one fully awake. You may be experiencing a spontaneous WILD if the SP happened going into sleep, but as you don't know you're dreaming however “conscious” you are one can't call your dream lucid.
Apart from my own experience which is meaningless to you consider these facts: one dreams the whole time one is sleeping; there is no atonia before rem sleep; people move and act out violently their sleeps in pre-rem sleep (pavor nocturnus/ night terrors) they also act out their dreams in rem sleep (rem sleep behavior disorder); many people also suffer somambulism / sleep walking which most likely happens in all sleep stages, as atonia does not paralyze one in anyway. Considering that people act out their dreams in all sleep stages how can anyone be dumb enough to think they're paralyzed in any of them.
My three year old niece suffers from pavor nocturnus link for anyone who has not seen someone experiencing night terrors and sleep walking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSVwmSzxKtU Link to someone experiencing rem sleep behavior disorder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFXYRQ9xPUA&feature=related .
During atonia there are what seem electrical pulses from the base of the brain going down the whole nervous system this is important as the experiencers of SP sometimes experience only partial SP; they experience pressure on the chest (of which there's none in atonia) or pressure on another limb (again which does not exist in atonia) those experiencing the night hag experience can also being strangled or being taken away by the hags yet suddenly returning – knock over the head hint any suddenly ending experience is a dream- an inconsistent suddenly ending experience is the ultimate reality test. Because of these people one has to conclude that all SP are some sort of dream experience.
Now onto MR. Krueger, Stephen Laberge is not an MD, is not a neurologist, has no medical training or experience nor has he studied unexplained sudden deaths and so is completely incompetent to give any advice. Summerlander do you also take medical advice from your barber, an individual equally competent as Laberg to give medical advice or come to medical conclusions! You also use the argument that adrenaline release makes one safe as that's exactly what can kill one (making the assumption that Mr. Krueger is just a nightmare character). Lets get a medical opinion from someone who is a MD, a neurologist and has studied sudden death without known causes- someone who is not a sleep researcher, a barber, a shoe shine boy or other medically incompetent forum posters. Dr. Martin A. Samuels in scientific America http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scared-to-death-heart-attack again http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=2614635&page=1#.TvL539SJcsJ an English study on the subject http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/96/4/269.full people experiencing pavor nocturnus or SP with the old hag experience really could be killed by Mr. Krueger even without any underlying pathology.
As for the ridiculous idea of a “phase state” out of SP needing to be entered for an out of body experience that developed in the occident- lol! Milam (dream yoga) and phowa (astral projection yoga) have both been practiced by Tantric Buddhists for over 1,000 years and there is no entering of SP in either of them and they're not regarded as the same thing- this represents the collective experience of at least a million practitioner of both phowa and milam during that 1,000 plus years. There is also no astral projection out of SP in traditional Chinese astral projection, don't believe me read the 'Secret of the golden flower' (written in the 12th century with God knows how many millions of practitioners).
Please help Snaggie. First of all, YOU GO THROUGH SP ALMOST EVERY NIGHT! (unless you have a disorder etc.) IT'S NORMAL! One does not dream the whole sleep cycle (unless you have missed REM sleep etc.) that would leave you in a bad condition. NREM sleep is essential for repairing the body etc. Not everyone acts out dreams (SP STOPS IT).
PS: Sorry about grammar and spelling I'm on a iPad. PPS: I'm usually on the on the iPad!
Sweet dreams,
good advice - jsut ignore SP. treat it as a bully that is full of itself and just dont let it get to you and very quickly it will assist you. Remember this is all about learning and each of us will come to terms with it in our own way so just keep on keeping on and enjoy
jamjam wrote: First of all, YOU FREAKING GO THROUGH SP EVERY NIGHT! IT'S NORMAL! Ok...one does not dream the whole sleep cycle that would leave you mentally ill. NREM sleep is essential for repairing the body and other important stuff. Not everyone acts out dreams.
No one does not go through Sp every night. SP is a dream experience like a false awakening. Atonia is not SP, but one does not even go through atonia every night one sleeps. Sleep often never goes beyond light NREM sleep. I pointed out that I had spontaneous WILDs before I had intentional ones, in any WILD one is dreaming the whole time one is asleep. I also linked you to youtube videos showing people dreaming the whole time they're asleep. I've also tried to WILD and not entered a dream state, but entered atonia fully conscious-there is no paralysis at all. The theory that there is is just wrong which is also confirmed by rem sleep behavior disorder in which people in rem sleep at out their dreams meaning no SP. When facts don't agree with ones theory one rejects ones theory not the facts. Since it's obvious you've never WILDed one has no right to an opinion on it or what happens during the "entire sleep process". Dreams have no affect on ones sanity or schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mood/ character state. My mother was a psychiatric nurse and I've personally observed enough schizophrenics to be able to spot them whether they're human or animal. This actress did the best depiction of a schizophrenic I've ever seen.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFZmRVjUJnY dreaming constantly through the sleep process will not make one depressed or happy or a genius or idiot either- it just gives one knowledge of the sleep process that's direct experience and not just based on speculation after watching someone sleep.
jamjam wrote: Please ignore Snaggie. First of all, YOU FREAKING GO THROUGH SP EVERY NIGHT! IT'S NORMAL! Ok... just ignore... one does not dream the whole sleep cycle that would leave you mentally ill. NREM sleep is essential for repairing the body and other important stuff. Not everyone acts out dreams. Considering you're probably a naive little person who is all caught up in their own little world... ok look I've got places to go... just ignore him. My ranting aside, closing your eyes helps make the SP less scary. If you can't see them they're not there ( trust me it helps). Get the idea that you can't move in the dream out of your head... NOW! (Unless you were just experiencing hypnogogia and SP at the same time). Dreams and hypnogogia and SP can't hurt you you're safe. It's all inside your head.
PS: Sorry about grammar and spelling I'm on a iPad. PPS: I'm usually on the iPad :lol: It's all inside your head...
Why do you think I've ignored him? :D
Snag will never understand the difference between SP and being consciously aware in SP. I'm just making people aware of the erroneous statements that are sometimes posted here. But no matter, let's not irritate him any longer because statements like "I can do this unlike you" are usually signs of a bruised ego who will not admit being wrong even when he or she knows it. Some people just prefer to revel in their ignorance and preserve their ego at all costs... :roll:
I understand you... sometimes i am afraid to go to sleep cuz i know that i am gonna get one more nightmare instead of rest... sometimes i see monsters, sometimes i see death of my close people, i have no idea what causes it, i never watch any horror movies or anything, my life is pretty boring and nothing really bad happens to me. except for these nightmares.. :( what causes them? is it a sign of depression or something? it lasts for months...
It's not necessarily a sign of depression. It could be all sorts of things from worry or even imagined scenarios. Besides, we all fear an array of things that don't materialise in waking life most of the time and the chances of such things occurring could be slim. If I start a story here and not give you any specific details, your mind will conjure up all sorts of things that will make the story more complete. This is how dreams happen...from schemas.
For example:
A stranger in a town walks into a bar and all faces turn... A drink is ordered by the stranger in the form of a whisper...
Already your mind is concocting a visual scenario and adding things to it. I have not mentioned whether the stranger is male or female but you may have decided that it is a rugged man looking like Clint Eastwood (where did this come from you might ask).
What is the town like? You may have decided that it is a rural environment similar to a wild west setting. The drink could be whiskey or fire water...or it could be a colourful cocktail and the man is very camp or feminine and the whisper could be a seductive one.
The faces turned and you may have decided that everyone turned to look at the stranger. But what if the stranger was repulsive to look at and they all turned away? Can you see it happen in your mind, unfolding like a plot and going beyond what was mentioned in my sentence?
You may have decided that it happens during the day (did I mention this in my sentence? - where did it come from?) - the mind doesn't just play out what it has already been exposed to. It is capable of making many associations, imagination and creativity.
On this note, you don't have to watch horror movies to have nightmares about monsters and whatnot. You know what horror movies are therefore you can imagine what they are like. You have the concept of monsters in your mind therefore they manifest in altered states of consciousness such as dreams. And why should such experiences last for months...well...maybe because you dwell on them too much?
agree and its all context - sleep during the day with one foot out of bed and on the floor and there are no issues. Try this at night and whats under the bed thats going to get you and drag you away by your foot, and really will a sheet protect you from IT....
Actually, you can die from fear. But not pure fear, to be precise. You will have to have some kind of heart disease, that can't handle a panic attack. This is not only in the dreams, but also in the real world.
"But the truth is a bit more complicated.
Yes, being trapped inside an elevator triggered a panic attack that sent Goldberg's fight-or-flight response - the sympathetic nervous system - into full overdrive. Her heart beat so wildly that it was unable to handle the exertion, and she went into cardiac arrest.
The extenuating circumstance, however, is that Goldberg suffered from a congenital heart condition. She was unusually vulnerable, and any extreme exertion of her cardiovascular system might well have had the same effect. We can't truly say that she died of fear, any more that we can say of a jogger with a heart defect who drops dead while jogging "died of exercise" or that an elderly millionaire who dies in the saddle with a young admirer "died of sex."" (Jeff Wise is a New York-based science writer and author of Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger).
This is the same principal. It is corect that Danielle Goldberg died from pure fear, but she also had a heart disease which caused her to collapse and die later, because of the extreme level of fear. This is why Sleep Paralysis is fine to have. You will not be able to die from it, unless you have some kind of heart disease. In any way, if you fear for your life then you should seek a doctor, and check if there is anything wrong with your heart. You might also just look at if anyone in your family have had some kind of heart diseases. Good luck! ;)