Has anyone every experienced sleep paralysis and hallucinations?

Question

Last night my partner had gone to bed (about 11pm) and I was downstairs watching the television and I heard my partner murmuring upstairs.  I didn't think anything of it at first, as he snores very loudly when he drops off to sleep.  Then I heard him shouting 'help me, help me'.  I ran upstairs (the bedroom door was closed) but when I ran into the bedroom he was incredibly distressed.

This sounds rather comical now, but I can assure you he was very VERY upset and frightened!  He said he felt a presence on top of him on the bed.  It was a woman and she was naked and he said he could physically feel her bare leg, (he actually thought it was me!) and he said it felt like 'she' was a really heavy weight on top of his chest.    Anyway, it really freaked me out let alone him.  Our cat, who usually sleeps on the bed with us at nights, was completely un-fazed and was just curled up asleep on the bed as usual.  Needless to say we slept with the lights on all night!

I just don't know what to make of it all other than he was very tired, we'd been out for a curry so we'd had a lot to eat that evening.

Is this sort of thing common?

? · Accepted Answer

Sleep paralysis and the associated hallucinations can be very terrifying and appear very real. In past times the only "logical" explanation for these experiences were demonic visitations such as a succubus or incubus.

I've only experienced sleep paralysis once, and I was terrified. I woke up and saw a very pale ghostly image of a man leaning over me. I panicked and tried to get away but couldn't move because (I thought) he was pinning me down. I could feel his hands pushing down hard on my shoulder blades holding me in place. I struggled a lot, and by the time I was able to move, I was sweating and panting from the effort.

At the time it seemed this episode went on for a good 5 minutes, whereas thinking back now I believe it really was no longer than 20 or 30 seconds. In any case, it appeared very real and was very frightening.

Anonymous · Answer

ok,there are a few things to take seriously,first ask him if he had this feeling before,or when he was young.cannot compare "this" with the sleep walking,couse no matter how much brain activity was,he felt a push on his chest.
second,the house that you living in to,check its history,who lived there before you,or try to go couple centuries before.
third,the cat is a good predictor or guardian angel,they sense if a presence is there,or near you,this could be tied up to a person that lived there before,and after the passing,their soul remained in the house and want to continue staying there,try to rule out these possibilities and then u can get to a conclusion of what really happened.

Good Luck

blackgrumpycat · Answer

I have had it once.  It felt like someone very evil was trying to turn my head to make me look at them and I was trying not to.  It was very scary.  When I finally woke up properly, I was still petrified and spent the rest of the night with my head under the covers - even though I knew it was stupid.  It is reasonably common. Not everyone experiences it.  Some get it more than once.  I have only had it the one time and that was enough!  If it happens too often, then it is worth a trip to the doctors.

? · Answer

It's like opposite of sleep walking.  Brain releases a chemical to stop you acting out dreams. Not enough you sleepwalk. Too much you awake in the middle of dreams. 
I used to get them all the time exactly as you describe. Sometimes a woman sometimes a gremlin type thing.
Commonly called night terrors. I started suddenly at around 15 and grew out of it after a few years, maybe early 20's.

Edit:
When you wake up feeling it if you don't wake properly when you lay back down you can go straight back into paralysis.  Gotta stand up shake about cold water on face etc to wake up properly. 
I learnt to enjoy the feeling but it can be mega scary at first, specially that feeling of pressure on the chest. Tell him it's really nothing to be scared of but maybe a trip to docs anyway find out whats making him chemically unbalanced.

Has anyone every experienced sleep paralysis and hallucinations?

4 Answers