Where all my nightmares would start….

Only some of my closest family members and friends have already known about my own personal issues with this subject. So, they won’t be surprised at my crazy butt blogging to the world about it now, lol. Then on the other side, there will be some of you that may find this pretty hard to believe – but even if you don’t, I really don’t care. All I can say is that it really happened to me… And I’m not ‘that’ crazy!!

Read on to hear my story.

Almost 30 years ago, I suddenly started having nightmares. They were realistic, frightening, and recurrent – happening almost every single night. I almost felt like I was stuck in a place most people would familiarize with Horror Movie Icon Freddy Kruger, finding myself too scared to fall asleep at night.

Imagine going to bed and falling asleep, only to find yourself waking up suddenly hours later and not being able to move any part of your body or udder any sound. There suddenly you have a sense of impending doom and you feel a dark presence around you – perhaps sitting on your bed, pulling on your legs, brushing your hair, or sitting on your chest. Sometimes you may even see a dark figure yet you can’t do anything to defend yourself or go anywhere. You can’t even scream.

Suddenly you’re able to move, and in the dark you jump up in a panic, wondering if you’ve just seen a ghost, if you really were asleep and what just happened. For many others having suffered from this condition including myself – I at times believed I was being tormented at night by a demon or an evil spirit, and maybe, just maybe I was. I started to believe this idea even more after I realized anytime I would call on the name of “JESUS” repeatedly in my mind, the presence would instantly go away.  Also, I have unfortunately used a Ouija Board before in the past, and ironically or not, these incidents started happening to me soon after.  I was so young and dumb at the time. I have read (after the fact) that dealing with any form of witchcraft-these boards, tarot cards, and astrology for example-can leave you more receptive to being bothered by demons, opening doors that cannot easily be closed.  Science certainly cannot rule this idea out, but there also is a medical explanation for why it could have been happening to me. The phenomenon has been named “Sleep Paralysis.”

Sleep paralysis is a condition that happens during the transition between wakefulness and sleep. It is classified as a type of parasomnia, a group of sleep disorders involving abnormal behaviors or experiences during sleep.

Normally, during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep—the stage of sleep where dreaming occurs—the brain temporarily paralyzes most of the body’s muscles. This paralysis prevents individuals from physically acting out their dreams, which could lead to injury. In sleep paralysis, this mechanism misfires: the person becomes aware of their surroundings before the paralysis has subsided, leaving them conscious but immobile.

Sleep paralysis episodes typically last a few seconds to a couple of minutes and often resolve on their own. Although the experience is harmless, it can be extremely unsettling.

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Common Symptoms of Sleep Paralysis

1. Immobility: A person is unable to move their body despite being awake.
2. Chest Pressure: Many report a sensation of heaviness or pressure on the chest, sometimes described as being “crushed.”
3. Hallucinations: These can be visual, auditory, or tactile. Common examples include seeing shadowy figures, hearing whispers, or feeling a presence in the room.
4. Fear: A deep sense of dread or terror is often felt, even without a clear cause.

So, what causes this to happen? Well, if you’re looking for a Scientific Explanation…

Sleep paralysis hallucinations occur because the brain is in a mixed state of consciousness. While part of the brain is awake and aware, the other part is still in REM sleep, where vivid dreams occur. This overlap can create the illusion of a dream-like presence in the real world.

The chest pressure, meanwhile, is linked to REM-induced breathing irregularities. During REM sleep, the brain reduces muscle activity, including those involved in breathing. When awake but paralyzed, this sensation may feel unnatural, adding to the panic.

If you’re looking for the unscientific explanation of this, then it was the Ouija Board I shouldn’t have messed with! Either way, I honestly thought I was either being haunted or going crazy because of this. What’s even worse is that no one I confided in believed me at first, until my lack of sleep started to affect my work ethic, my grades in school, and people around me started realizing how withdrawn I was beginning to become.

How did I conquer it? It took about two years but I worked out my issues for the most part with help from these steps:

1. Honestly, I prayed. I asked for help from a higher power with something I knew I could not battle on my own. I didn’t understand what was happening to me and so I looked for guidance from whom I knew could help. I asked for forgiveness in playing with a Ouija board as well, which I now believe is some sort of means or opening for demons to attack people.  It gave me some comfort as I said before, because I also knew I could use the name of Jesus in my mind when this was happening, to combat whatever was attacking me. And it helped tremendously.

2. I went to bed as early as possible. When I would have these dreams, they would only happen once a night. And because of the frequency in which they would occur, I figured the sooner I got it over with- the better lol. Imagine a 14/16 year old preparing for bed at 8pm. Odd I know, but reality for me at the time, or else I would never get any amount of sleep!

3. I learned my triggers. One of my main ones was falling asleep on my back. So, I stopped this completely. My bouts of paralysis then were instantly cut in half. Even today, 30 years later, I still refuse to do so.

4. I changed my environment. For some reason, it seemed that when I moved- all dreams went away. I cannot explain why, but if I would have known this sooner. But I still wonder why the change in environment mattered.

5. I tried to keep a positive and open attitude. I also talked a lot of my nightly encounters with the people closest to me. Oh, I got criticized quite a lot, but I kept sharing what was going on anyway no matter how looney I sounded. Expressing what I was going through seemed therapeutic almost. The only thing that got the best of me was my lack of sleep.

Suddenly one day all the paralysis stopped, and I haven’t had one episode in since. I could tell you all story after story of how I was poked, yanked, fondled and even threatened during these very lifelike situations…. But I’ll save that for another time. Sometimes I still often wonder was it really my mind playing tricks on me?? Or was it actually something more sinister and spiritual.

I guess I will never know for sure. I’m just glad it’s gone.

Have you ever experienced such things? Let me know in the comments.