Something a little bit different,

Whilst I’m on the subject of what happened with last night’s dream, I thought now is a good time to explain to you what happens to me when I suffer with sleep paralysis.

My Sleep Paralysis

This is the worst possible thing I have suffered when I’m sleeping and sometimes I have it so bad that I’m afraid to go back to sleep incase it happens again. It was about a month or so ago I suffered very badly. I had three episodes of sleep paralysis. Generally what happens to me is that I am in the middle of a dream but not your average dream. I dream I am in my bedroom and I feel the presence of someone around me. I am struggling to breathe and I am gasping for breath.

I try and shake my body from side to side, but nothing is happening. I open my mouth to scream for help. No words or sounds come out of my mouth. It’s terrifying! Whilst I am having an episode I sometimes get a shadow of someone in the room with me. Almost always my husband. When I do eventually manage to wake up, I make such a horrible sound like a loud groan. Usually because I know I am about to snap out of the sleep paralysis, but also because I want someone to come in and stay with me and to check that I am ok.

Last night, this didn’t happen. I woke up on my own. It was very scary. Thankfully I wasn’t having one of those episodes where I am so tired, my body just wants to fall back to sleep. I did manage to stay awake for a while. I woke up in a cold sweat. I was shivering. It felt like the temperature had dropped right down. Although this was very uncomfortable and needless to say ‘gross’, it was nothing like it was a about a month ago. Yes, I suffered the same issues of trying to wake up and not being able to breathe, but when I did wake up my body was over tired. The only way I can describe it is when you are watching a film but your eyelids feel like they have 10 tonne weights on them and you can’t keep them open. That is what it was like for me, only I fell back into sleep paralysis. It happened three times!!! Three times!!! I woke feeling sick, I had headache, I didn’t want to fall back to sleep, but I couldn’t help it. Even when I made myself sit up for a bit, I ended up falling back into a coma. After the second time it happened that night, I asked my husband to stay with me because I was scared. He told me to relax. That was the last thing I wanted to do. If anything i wanted to be hit up with coffee!!

I felt like absolute crap the next day.

Thankfully, sleep paralysis doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it is the worst feeling in the world and I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy. I do find this happens when I haven’t slept properly in days or weeks. I don’t know what it is that keeps me up at night. my last cup of caffeine happens around 2pm so that won’t do anything. Also I’m weary at what I have to eat when it is close to bedtime. I don’t even have any worries, but I just can’t turn that switch off. Then it happens! I suffer! I suffer at the hands of the sleep paralysis demon. I just pray for some peaceful sleep.

If you enjoyed this read, why not read my diary.