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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Mental Health Sleep paralysis

had the same problem years ago.
there was a period where i was afraid to sleep for week or two.

usually it was a vivid dream that starts with 'something' that is pushing me down to the bed
and i try to resist and struggle to get out from bed. once that i manage to
fight and resist, i fell out of the bed and start crawling and calling for help.
i crawl to the door and open them and there is a shadow that
is standing down the corridor watching at me and suddenly starts running towards me and once it is an inch from me
i usually scream aloud and wake up.

the other one is where i'm pinned to bed and i'm dreaming that i'm fighting
something that attacked me, but still screaming like crazy. it ends once my gf wakes me up.

it still happens sometimes but less frequent.

from a personal point of view it's about stress and yes i do live healthier then before regarding usage of drugs and alcohol.
 
Foreigner - thanks a lot for the explanation & suggestion, I'll definitely try to do that next time it happens. I wholeheartedly agree it doesn't need medicating and I really don't want to even try SSRIs at this point, hence asking for help here instead. Especially since, as Laika said, this whole thing seems to have only started because of substance abuse.

Laika - yup, as I mentioned it's just really ironic because this most likely has to do with my non-existent sleep schedule but it's perpetuating it as well. But yeah I'm guilty of all the stuff you're not supposed to do to sleep well - being on my computer all night, hanging around in bed when I don't plan on sleeping, etc. The one thing I do right is I exercise every day. The main problem though, is that because of an accident I had a few years ago my vagus nerve is trapped between two cervicals which apparently causes insomnia and would explain why it's so hard for me to sleep, no matter how exhausted I am.
That's why I was prescribed the Doxylamine originally, although I'm really surprised to hear what you said about it (had no idea). I take 45mg almost every night...I started taking it that often while I was withdrawing from heroin and just never stopped. Tbh I've become completely dependant on it by now, but if you think it might be contributing I'll definitely try to stick to just Melatonin for a while and see if it helps.
But you're right, I just have to keep telling myself it's not actually real. It's difficult though haha. Anyway thanks a lot for all the help :)

mTommd - that maybe sounds more like night terrors no, since from what I can understand you're asleep when it happens? Although still sounds pretty awful...anyway thanks for sharing.
 
45mgs?! I would think 25mgs would be more than sufficient especially if you're taking it with other sleep aids. If you wanna keep taking it I'd definitely recommend lowering it to 20-25mgs, you may sleep better.
I take 25mg Doxylamine only when desperate for sleep because I despise the next day grogginess. You're dosing fairly high and combining, and Doxylamine can be very delirium inducing when you reach higher doses.
 
it's possible that the doxylamine could be contributing to the sleep paralysis? from an archived thread:
splatt said:
Doxylamine, even with no other drugs present has the power to give mer the WORST sleep paralysis. Toi the point it makes me believe im on a rail road, or on a road with a bus coming, and i CANNOT move. Very scary.
Click to expand...
 
Oh wow okay. Thanks a lot guys, I'm definitely going to stop taking it from a while and see if it helps. Had no idea that was a possible side-effect. It makes sense though, particularly since I only ever started getting the sleep paralysis when I started using Doxylamine to potentiate heroin when I think about it. I never used to get it with heroin alone :\
 
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I can't even move my eyes, let alone shout at the presence...

Luckily I haven't experienced this weird shit in a while. Used to get it all the time when I dabbled in MDMA.
 
Foreigner said:
I know this sounds "out there" but whenever I have sleep paralysis like that, I just leave my body and go somewhere else. If it happens again, don't think about trying to move, think about where you'd rather be, and you might leave.
Click to expand...

^this.

I've come to enjoy sleep paralysis, but only after going through some freaking scary shit. Cut-out eyeballs hovering above my bed covers with dangling bloody nerves (extremely realistic)... gelatinous ghosts menacing me... a cartoon wolf near the door... murderers approaching my bed.

But these days I look forward to such episodes knowing that what's happening isn't real, and that sleep paralysis is a gateway into some fantastic realms. Some of the best hallucinations I've ever had were during sleep paralysis. I just wish it occurred more often :(

Anyway, point being: you can transform those scary experiences into some of the best trips if you try to realize what's going on and tell yourself it's not real. Like Foreigner said, try to go somewhere else. It's immensely worth the effort involved, and is a heck of a lot better than succumbing to the fear.

Best of luck to you, Pagey
 
Pagey said:
mTommd - that maybe sounds more like night terrors no, since from what I can understand you're asleep when it happens? Although still sounds pretty awful...anyway thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

well half awake actually but still asleep with eyes definitely closed.
 
I've never had anything like this happen to me, so I might not know what I'm talking about, but here goes. Would you feel "safer" if you kept a knife/other weapon under your bed? Yes, I know there's not actually a killer in your room, and that you're completely unable to move. But maybe thinking you do have recourse against this presence as soon as you regain your mobility would help you not be so scared? Your mind has been psyching you out, time to psych it out right back!
 
Tude said:
I've never had anything like this happen to me, so I might not know what I'm talking about, but here goes. Would you feel "safer" if you kept a knife/other weapon under your bed? Yes, I know there's not actually a killer in your room, and that you're completely unable to move. But maybe thinking you do have recourse against this presence as soon as you regain your mobility would help you not be so scared? Your mind has been psyching you out, time to psych it out right back!
Click to expand...
don't forget you cant move to use the weapon
 
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