Sleep Paralysis, Fear, and Rationality

[DuoDex]

Well, I do hope the sleepwalking Doctor divulges the experiment details, as I am highly curious, but I imagine it's too traumatic to ask conscious Doctor about. I've had three episodes of hallucination in my life, one terrifying, one not, and one ridiculous and "assisted". These drive my curiosity.

Well, it's very simple. I made a giant cardboard cutout of something I found while Googling "shadow creatures", put it in a corner of my room with an alarm clock set for 2am or thereabouts.

Burned the cardboard cutout the next day.

Also, here is a thing : http://imgur.com/VKknLgs

[DuoDex]

I know someone who has had issues with this. I'm curious, does it make you not want to go to sleep at all?

In my case, because I have them rarely, no. Just freaks me out when it does happen. There are some people who describe being "visited" "every night". I don't think I could live with that.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

[...]

Also, I posted this at 1:30am in the morning, and didn't know about it until now. Interesting.

Mad Scientist, as in, Mad Rocket Scientist?

Things just got spooky.

Why do you think you don't remember posting it? Because I AM THE SHADOW CREATURE!!!!! HAHAHAHA I WILL HUNT ALL OF YOU DOWNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnn................. [/shadow creature]

Well, it's very simple. I made a giant cardboard cutout of something I found while Googling "shadow creatures", put it in a corner of my room with an alarm clock set for 2am or thereabouts.

Burned the cardboard cutout the next day.

Also, here is a thing : http://imgur.com/VKknLgs

Wow, that's a.... interesting experiment.

[_Augustus_]

This thread is too disturbing, can someone lock it?

[SelectHalfling0]

Is this "intruder" just a single group of images, or is it an actual hallucination experienced during sleep paralysis?

I would imagine that if it was a hallucination, it would certainly appeal to the deeper fears of the victim.

[baggers]

More of a "invisible/eyes corner intruder" not clearly see, but that have strong physical effects (the paralizis)

So, the imagination work at full speed. Any shadow/ligth on the not-so-awake eyes/brain brutally full of adrenaline and panic can take the form of this "intruder" that paralize you.

At a side note, the "panic process" of the human brains is a process that can really "take control" over the "conscious process": I remember my first or so diving, when I let my small "apprehension" and oppresive feeling go to full panic: My hand go itselve to the respiratory mouthpiece to take it off. It was a really stupid move when diving, but absolutely not conscious or controled in that case.

Fortunately, I was able to retake control of myself immediatly after the sense of water in mouth, go back the respiratory device correctly in mouth, and so on.

I did some research and ask questions after that. It seem that in a situation when a human sense a oppresive feeling, but his "conscious brain" cannot find the threatens, some unconscious process will take the lead (called "panic") and try to flee the hell away this uncontrolled situation. Our brain does not let you "alone" when you (as a conscious process) are unable to handle a situation ^^. It take the lead and try to do something. Usually stupid, but hey! Do what it can.

Today, I've learned some tricks to don't let an oppresive feeling go to panic and lost of control in diving: just some respiratory exercices accomplished that. It seem that if my brain "see" that my conscious process seem to handle well the actual situation, it will not snap and switch to "panic process" and let me keep the lead ^^

At a side note too, I must probably say that my "fear of water" and sub(or on-) water appressive feeling was initially probably carried - among other things - by the fact that when I was child, I was thrown off the sea by my father as a first step of a one step way to swim learning. It did not work at all with me.

Diving was for me part of "face my fears". I think I success that.

Edited September 3, 2015 by baggers

[windows_x_seven]

This thread is too disturbing, can someone lock it?

Is this "intruder" just a single group of images, or is it an actual hallucination experienced during sleep paralysis?

I would imagine that if it was a hallucination, it would certainly appeal to the deeper fears of the victim.

It's quite curious. What could the purpose of the hallucinations be, would it be keeping the person more vigilant?

Like in nightmares and stuff.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, here is a thing : http://imgur.com/VKknLgs

Did you draw that?

spooky.

[SuperTrouper]

I have had two episodes of sleep paralysis and I must admit that did not see any demons; it was very strange because I could use my neck muscles and my shoulder's as well but not the rest of my body. Although I was scared in my first experience (and it didn't last long) the second time I relaxed a bit and I noticed that the feeling that you get in your head when it happens is actually really interesting since you feel groggy but also wide awake at the same time.

Also the second time it happened I remembered reading somewhere that if you hold your breath you will wake up quickly and indeed that is what happened.

[DuoDex]

It's quite curious. What could the purpose of the hallucinations be, would it be keeping the person more vigilant?

Like in nightmares and stuff.

- - - Updated - - -

Did you draw that?

spooky.

Yes. While I'm not much of an artist, what that collection is the intersections of shadows and a lampshade in my room.

In general, the creepy stuff is not a single image is, as has been stated before, the imagination working overtime. Hallucinations (in this case) are just the imagination + basic instincts going too far.

[jwenting]

Is this "intruder" just a single group of images, or is it an actual hallucination experienced during sleep paralysis?

I would imagine that if it was a hallucination, it would certainly appeal to the deeper fears of the victim.

it's not hallucinations, it's dreaming during a very shallow sleep cycle. This has the effect of the brain registering the dream as a waking memory.

[WestAir]

I dunno if it's sleep paralysis, but I have had several incidences where I wake up and am unable to move any part of my body except for my eyes. The harder I try to move, the "stronger" the paralysis becomes. I've never let it last more than 30 seconds or so, but the only way I can jolt out of it is apparently to try and move every muscle I can simultaneously. That seems to overcome the paralysis and let me move. I'm about 99% sure I'm not asleep during the moment of immobility. It usually happens when I sleep in and I keep trying to sleep after waking up several times - probably around hour 9+ of sleeping in.

[Brethern]

Not an expert by any means, but it seems to me sleep paralysis would be a trait that shouldn't have survived natural selection, after all waking up to a danger and being unable to act would be counter productive to seeing the next day.

[vger]

What if anything you see, hear, smell, whatever in that state (if anything) depends on what the dream's about.

Not really. The thing I saw in the room was in NO way related to the dream I was having before I woke up.

[baggers]

Not an expert by any means, but it seems to me sleep paralysis would be a trait that shouldn't have survived natural selection, after all waking up to a danger and being unable to act would be counter productive to seeing the next day.

If you look closely, "sleep paralizis" initialy serve a purpose: Without sleep paralizis at all, a human could easily fall off his couch when sleeping, hurt itself or close sleepers, make noises and impair his own and neightbour sleep, ect.

So, an "imperfect" sleep paralizis, that for example last a bit too long when awakening is better than no sleep paralizis at all. That trait does'nt work exactly in the same manner from one human to another, it's small variations of the same very usefull trait.

Genes perpetualy mutate and make (usually small) variatons from one human to another.

So, as long humans will have the "sleep" trait, as long some humans will have "strong" sleep paralizis, and other "weak" sleep paralizis.

That's how genetics work.

Edited September 4, 2015 by baggers

[Mikki]

The basic function of the organ called brain depends on sufficient water, nutrification, and finally sleep, in this descending magnitude.

Lacking one or any of them leads to halluzinations, in whatever kinds they appear.

My personal record in doing nonstop work was in military service, 140 hours nonstop commands and complex work without one minute eyes shut.

Resulting in a complete contious shutdown for 24 hours in a deep dreamless recoverynap.

After that i felt quiet well.

[vger]

Random tidbit. After watching Inception, I actually experienced "dreams within dreams." Not with weird temporal anomalies or anything, but simply events where I was having one dream, and then woke up in a different dream. Very frightening experiences and actually caused me to doubt reality a few times. And then there was once incident where I actually realized I was dreaming, and attempted to wake up. I woke up... still in a dream. Everything looked like it should've, until I glanced out a window and saw something that didn't fit. Then I tried to wake up again and couldn't. The dream suddenly felt like a cage I couldn't get out of. I'm guessing sleep paralysis factored into this. Finally the panic attack that it incited caused me to wake up, but by then I felt suffocated and my heart was racing. Thanks alot, Nolan.

[ComradeWolfe]

Well, it's very simple. I made a giant cardboard cutout of something I found while Googling "shadow creatures", put it in a corner of my room with an alarm clock set for 2am or thereabouts.

Burned the cardboard cutout the next day.

Also, here is a thing : http://imgur.com/VKknLgs

Honestly, that's the only link on this thread that is even remotely scary to me. Most appear silly, even... And yet I can see how for anyone who experiences sleep paralysis or has been "visited", any of these images could be beyond terrifying.

My Christian view is that some of the more interactive / "present" intruders may well be demonic interference. However, that kind of talk seems unpopular at this venue. From an evolutionary view, I wonder if natural selection would permit sleep paralysis as a way to re-enforce a vigilant "you are always vulnerable, you must always be on guard" mentality?

---

Also, why did you undertake such an experiment and what did you intend to accomplish?

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Random tidbit. After watching Inception, I actually experienced "dreams within dreams." Not with weird temporal anomalies or anything, but simply events where I was having one dream, and then woke up in a different dream. Very frightening experiences and actually caused me to doubt reality a few times. And then there was once incident where I actually realized I was dreaming, and attempted to wake up. I woke up... still in a dream. Everything looked like it should've, until I glanced out a window and saw something that didn't fit. Then I tried to wake up again and couldn't. The dream suddenly felt like a cage I couldn't get out of. I'm guessing sleep paralysis factored into this. Finally the panic attack that it incited caused me to wake up, but by then I felt suffocated and my heart was racing. Thanks alot, Nolan.

That seems to be a form of "Lucid dreaming," if it happens again, try to change stuff around you.

[WestAir]

One trick I always found to quickly discern dream from reality is to look at a clock or watch. (Digital or analog). I've noticed that the time always changes even if you only turn away for a split second.

Look at your hand watch, look up, then look back down at it again. If it changes from 7am to noon, you're probably dreaming. AFAIK from the internet, this is a universal dream-state phenomenon.