Am I Crazy?

Starcore

So, I'm going to do a little history on myself before I get to the actual issue.

I have nightmares. A lot. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always had dreams that were pretty damn freaky. Most of the time they were very obviously not realistic; things like being killed, end of the world, etc. You know, weird stuff.

Occasionally, I have somewhat vivid dreams that actual terrify me and bother me after I wake up. Again, some of these are unrealistic, but are just incredibly vivid. Over the past few years, these have become increasingly more realistic, and, so, more terrifying.

A few years ago (2005, I think) I had a dream in which I was, literally, possessed. I have a vivid memory of that dream. I was laying in bed and, in my dream (Unlike many), the layout of my room and house was identical to how it is in reality. Most dreams I have are much different; I'll be in a familiar room, but when I enter another, it pans to a whole new area, or something to that effect. Also, I'm oftentimes not in a first-person perspective; this time, I was.

As I said, I was laying in bed. Suddenly, I feel something lifting my leg, slowly, until it's at about a 45 degree angle. Then, it drops my leg (Which falls and bounces on the bed like it normally would). I feel something pushing on my chest, preventing me from getting up, yelling, speaking, anything. It felt like it was actually going into my throat, too. I try crying out, but the noise is barely audible. The only relatively unrealistic part of the dream is where I hear AIM going off on my computer, and I (somehow) inherently know it's whatever is trying to possess me telling me that I'm going to be possessed and I shouldn't even try to fight it. At that point, I woke up. I was laying in the same position, and the exact same lights were on in my house as they were in the dream, and the time was almost exactly the same (It was sometime around 2am).

Flash forward 2 and a half years, to this past week.

I haven't really had a very vivid dream in some time, but they have been there. Well, I had one that has actually shaken me and I'm worried as fuck, and the reason is because I don't actually think it WAS a dream.

I woke up laying in bed. I tried to move my arms, but they were completely numb, and I couldn't do anything with them. When I tried to get up, it felt like something was literally pushing me down, similar to the last dream I mentioned. This happened for about 1-2 minutes, until I could finally move again. I had a similar feeling, like something was pushing into me again, like the last dream. The time was around 10am, because I remember checking my phone. I honestly don't think this was a dream this time, but I'm confused as to what the hell is going on. For the record, I was laying on my back, with my arms to my sides (I wasn't sleeping on them at all).

I suppose the reason I'm posting here is because I was wondering if anyone here has had any dreams or things like these that have happened to them? Or if anyone has a particular thought on what might be happening?

I'm not very religious, but I have recently begun to believe in God. I believe in the supernatural, and it feels like this is something spiritual happening to me, but I don't know what to really think for sure.

One of my friends recommended, in seriousness, to see a doctor or psychiatrist if it happens again, but I'm thinking about not waiting for it to happen again, as I had a similar thought.

Thanks for reading this, guys.

DrFrylock

Sleep Paralysis

MKR

I've had the "holy cap, can't move" thing before. I always come out of it by wiggling just as hard as I can (probably imagined, but it's where I always wake up when it happens). As for the wackiness, it's probably your half-awake brain's way of making sense of the paralysis.

Edit: Always happens when I sleep on my back, too.

useless4

I am the king of really weird vivid horrible dreams.

I have had them since a child, like night terrors but on a whole new level even into adulthood (now in my early thirties)

When I wake up with my heart tearing out my chest and my mind racing I ALWAYS yell "Fuck" very loudly and over and over again. Not really sure why.

So it's now a real problem since I have started living with my girlfriend.

I haven't seen a doctor but she says the same thing, doctor or psychiatrist.

I am also on larium now which is myflequin. which gives you even worse dreams.
Night time is fun for me.

So basically you are not alone and I don't have any answers :zzz:

VThornheart

DrFrylock wrote: »

Sleep Paralysis

Frylock to the rescue again! You're a veritable bonanza of information. You must be a damn difficult opponent in Trivial Pursuit. ;-)

Anyways, as you may have guessed by the lime, I think Frylock's got the best bet on this one. Read up on that link he provided... you'll see that, most likely, you're not being haunted by a spirit or any other thing of that manner.

subedii

If you're having constant recurring nightmares and suffering what could be described as psychological or psychosomatic symptoms, then yes, I'd recommend going to see a doctor or psychiatrist. They may be able to identify some root cause, assuming there is one. It's not as if anyone here can really diagnose, we can only offer suggestions.

At the very least it can be useful to give you peace of mind that you're not crazy.

Incidentally, do you live somewhere that has a public health service, or are otherwise covered? Or will you need to pay for the appointment?

Neaden

I get sleep paralysis sometimes, mine is not accompanied by nightmares but it still can freak me out. I have found that it happens more if I have not gotten much sleep, it is especially likely to happen if I nap. Mine do not occur very often though, and I have never seen a doctor or anything so no advice on getting rid of them

Starcore

I never had actual sleep paralysis before (The first dream was, literally, a dream, I knew I was asleep and woke up after the dream), so the recent event was quite terrifying; it does sound like what Sleep Paralysis would be described as, though I do remember being able to turn my head easily, which seemed strange.

I have thought about seeing a psychiatrist, since the consistency of my having nightmares is rather...unusual.

@subedii: Negative, I'll be a pay-per-appointment, and I'm not sure I can afford it too much. I'll probably look at how much a session is sometime in the near future, though.

MKR

Starcore wrote: »

I never had actual sleep paralysis before (The first dream was, literally, a dream, I knew I was asleep and woke up after the dream), so the recent event was quite terrifying; it does sound like what Sleep Paralysis would be described as, though I do remember being able to turn my head easily, which seemed strange.

I have thought about seeing a psychiatrist, since the consistency of my having nightmares is rather...unusual.

@subedii: Negative, I'll be a pay-per-appointment, and I'm not sure I can afford it too much. I'll probably look at how much a session is sometime in the near future, though.

Everyone has sleep paralysis. It's a function of sleep; it's inescapable. And just because you remember turning your head doesn't mean it turned, just that you imagined it turning. :P

Edit: Upon looking at the article, it looks like "sleep paralysis" is the name of a disorder. Doesn't look like anything particularly bad as long as you keep a rational mind about it once you snap out of it.

nexuscrawler

I would see a psychiatrist and maybe see if you can do a sleep lab. That's where they hook you up to electrodes and monitor your sleep patterns in an controlled environment. It would give them lots of information if there's something unusual about your REM cycles. A psychiatrist might also be able to prescribe some medications to help.

Synthetic Orange

Well, at least you know what it is now.

I had to help a friend move out of her apartment because she was convinced it was haunted after she kept having these episodes and couldnt be convinced otherwise.