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Sleep Disorder Makes People See 'Demons'


Still Waters

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When filmmaker Carla MacKinnon started waking up several times a week unable to move, with the sense that a disturbing presence was in the room with her, she didn't call up her local ghost hunter. She got researching.

Now, that research is becoming a short film and multiplatform art project exploring the strange and spooky phenomenon of sleep paralysis. The film, supported by the Wellcome Trust and set to screen at the Royal College of Arts in London, will debut in May.

http://news.yahoo.co...-152946861.html

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I had sleep paralysis a few times.... Demons is not the only thing you see.

When I had it the last time there was a bright light in my room and it felt like it was stopping me form moving. Freaky stuff.

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Funny, I experienced sleep paralysis frequently in college. From stress or excessive drinking or both? Idk

And even later in life, it is still something I'm not unaccustomed too.

Yet, even when I had no idea what it was and felt like a weight was on me and/or could not move, I never once

thought about demons or the paranormal.

Curious? Yes. But I just accepted it as some odd physical or psychological response by my body.

Also, if I'm in bed almost asleep and I hear the door open, my heart races like it's going to explode out of my chest, even when I am not at all afraid and know exactly who it is.

Again, that happened a lot more in college too. But if my husband worked late it sometimes happened too. Have no idea why.

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What do you call it when you are wide awake standing on the bed screaming at a demon or something? I've had sleep paralysis before and I know what it is but this was nothing like that. It happened in a apartment I use to live in.

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When filmmaker Carla MacKinnon started waking up several times a week unable to move, with the sense that a disturbing presence was in the room with her, she didn't call up her local ghost hunter. She got researching.

Now, that research is becoming a short film and multiplatform art project exploring the strange and spooky phenomenon of sleep paralysis. The film, supported by the Wellcome Trust and set to screen at the Royal College of Arts in London, will debut in May.

http://news.yahoo.co...-152946861.html

Good, considering so many people get their education fro television, maybe this will do some good. I doubt it will get much attention, it is not fantastic enough.

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I see them when I'm wide awake . Outside even . Dark out light out . My episodes with sleep paralysis ,or even nightmares involved no demons what so ever.

Duh

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I often feel as if I'm drowning during sleep paralysis. But sleep disorders can make you see things, I had night terrors as a child which has given me nyctophobia in my older age. I would often wake up and have a 'turn' as the doctors would call it. Sometimes I wouldn't remember and sometimes I would. I would literally live my nightmares to the point I'd vomit uncontrollably. I remember once my mother came into the bathroom when I was seven, and I didn't see my mother. It was some...thing and I remember it vividly. Now I know it was my mother, but it's a surreal feeling. I also used to see things which are very hard to explain, objects, people I guess. It was like a horror movie, I'd see things crawling out of the manhole on the roof, or something coming out of the cupboard etc.

Other time's when I didn't remember I apparently got violent, screaming and lashing out at people calling them things and wanting my mum. I walked under a hot shoulder, put my hand on a stove etc, and these are only the one's I've been told of.

So sleep disorders can make you see, feel and live some pretty crazy stuff.

Thankfully I rarely have nightmares any more, and even when I do they are far removed from the horror movie like one's I had as a child

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yep it still doesn't explain the other phenomena of ghost/possessions/etc.

These things seem to occur frequently

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330492/Priests-called-17-female-school-pupils-possessed-devil.html

If you do a thorough search, you will find a lot of these kind of stories, even videos of it occuring.

you might not believe in demons, but they believe in us

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I can barely sleep at night, and yet I hear many noises and see figures darting from view. I have never had sleep paralysis, but I can see many things awake. maybe it's my psyche beginning to crack, but I'm not sure.

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What do you call it when you are wide awake standing on the bed screaming at a demon or something? I've had sleep paralysis before and I know what it is but this was nothing like that. It happened in a apartment I use to live in.

Sounds like night terrors. I have them on occasion but usually don't remember the nightmare after waking up screaming and flailing.

Eating very rich or spicy food can trigger these episodes for me.

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Sounds like night terrors. I have them on occasion but usually don't remember the nightmare after waking up screaming and flailing.

Eating very rich or spicy food can trigger these episodes for me.

Yeah night terrors, I remember some of my nightmares lol. They make good camp fire stories.

Though some people don't believe such crazy nightmares are possible -_-

Edited by krypter3
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Yeah night terrors, I remember some of my nightmares lol. They make good camp fire stories.

Though some people don't believe such crazy nightmares are possible -_-

I bet a lot of horror stories began as nightmares!

Night terrors are actually classified as a sleep disorder. Check out these people:

One guy even has a leash on him for when he gets out of bed

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Having suffered from sleep paralysis at intervals and experienced the classic symptom of sensing an intruder in the room which I perceive to be malevolent in nature I have often wondered could sleep paralysis not account for an array of apparent supernatural incidents for example demonic possession which was advanced as a possible cause of sleep paralysis in previous centuries?

I am also led to thinking that sleep paralysis could be a direct parallel to modern reports of alien abduction. In folkloric beliefs sleep paralysis is purported to be caused by malignant supernatural entities such 'incubi' and 'succubi' which sit on the chest of the victim. Given the centuries in which these folkloric beliefs regarding sleep paralysis arose was a time when the prevalent religious imagery oft of a demonic character must have impressed heavily upon the subconscious of the general populace it is of no surprise that the sleep paralysis was perceived to be supernatural in origin. Now in modern times sleep paralysis is still likened to a supernatural episode but with the gradual lessening of a religious belief system weighing down on the collective psyche sleep paralysis may be becoming attributed to alien abduction and alien visitation in accordance the zeitgeist of the age.

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I bet a lot of horror stories began as nightmares!

Night terrors are actually classified as a sleep disorder. Check out these people:

One guy even has a leash on him for when he gets out of bed

I know I had it as a child, one of the worse cases my specialist had ever seen apparently.

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My sp episodes don't involve demons, sure I feel hands touching my body but I don't see what it is cuz I'm too scared to turn and see what it is >.< but maybe it's not demons, maybe it's in your mind, I have researched sp and found that people often hallucinate when haveing an episode

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If there were such entities during SP and they could induce it on people for whatever reason, there would be no way to prove it with current standards. By default with the limit of the science involve, it will always be label and accepted by the majority as just an hallucination in one's mind.

Of course not to say that it is not all in one's head, but to say an encounter during SP is something more real requires faith and belief given the situation and we all know how that personally shapes our view on the matter.

edit*typos

Edited by A Shadow
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Everything is classified as a disorder nowadays, but what Is order?

Some people see these things completely sober and aware. Without "proof" they are denied further credence, but it's hard to take pictures of malignancies that occur before you can gain focus.

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Some tips on avoid sleep paralysis are: sleep on your side not your back and don't eat rich, spicy, fat, or sugary foods before sleeping.

Some tips on trying to wake up out of sleep paralysis are: wiggle your facial features (such as scrunching up your nose) and wiggling your toes. The most effective way that always seems to work for me is pinching myself.

Even though it seems like you can't move at all, in truth you could move a little bit so when I sometimes when I fall asleep on my back and have sleep paralysis I slowly struggle to move my hand to my arm or side and pinch myself. The pain makes me wake up. I never encountered demons or that stuff when I have sleep paralysis but I do have trouble breathing. It feels like something is pushing on my chest. I never found a way to counter that but after a while when it's unbearable and I'm suffocating I wake up. Hope this advice helped you peps. :tu:

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I've avoided sleep paralysis by sleeping on my sides or stomach.

I have this odd superstition of mine that I've gained somewhere that if you sleep on your back you are more exposed to malevolent or other such beings. Ever since then, I've slept apart from such and I've been free from such things. I still have what people may call nightmares, but I feel that it just my mind healing myself of the past, or the flashbacks that are to be expected with ptsd-of which I am healing myself gradually.

I had an ex that used to thrash about in his sleep at a shadowy figure that reoccurred in his dreams.

I told him to sleep on anything but his back and ever since he did, he never saw that shadow again, punched his walls or experience anything but peaceful sleep.

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Not all of these things are hallucinations. Some are quite real. I will not say any more. I will give you a link to further your research, instead:

http://montalk.net

Happy hunting!

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Not all of these things are hallucinations. Some are quite real. I will not say any more. I will give you a link to further your research, instead:

http://montalk.net

Happy hunting!

This website doesn't seem trusty. It talks about supernatural things and it's dark and spooky like the ghost websites so that makes it more untrusty. It's also states that people who don't notice the true way of things are ignorant. I don't recommend you guys view this website because it's suspicious. :no:
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I am also led to thinking that sleep paralysis could be a direct parallel to modern reports of alien abduction. In folkloric beliefs sleep paralysis is purported to be caused by malignant supernatural entities such 'incubi' and 'succubi' which sit on the chest of the victim. Given the centuries in which these folkloric beliefs regarding sleep paralysis arose was a time when the prevalent religious imagery oft of a demonic character must have impressed heavily upon the subconscious of the general populace it is of no surprise that the sleep paralysis was perceived to be supernatural in origin. Now in modern times sleep paralysis is still likened to a supernatural episode but with the gradual lessening of a religious belief system weighing down on the collective psyche sleep paralysis may be becoming attributed to alien abduction and alien visitation in accordance the zeitgeist of the age.

Not "akin" or "parallel" to alien abduction.

It explains nearly ALL "alien abductions."

Did you know that most "alien abductions" happen(ed) in New York City?

Imagine a person in a high rise. Does anyone really believe such a thing could occur without witnesses in the city that never sleeps?

Harte

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I've avoided sleep paralysis by sleeping on my sides or stomach.

I have this odd superstition of mine that I've gained somewhere that if you sleep on your back you are more exposed to malevolent or other such beings. Ever since then, I've slept apart from such and I've been free from such things. I still have what people may call nightmares, but I feel that it just my mind healing myself of the past, or the flashbacks that are to be expected with ptsd-of which I am healing myself gradually.

I had an ex that used to thrash about in his sleep at a shadowy figure that reoccurred in his dreams.

I told him to sleep on anything but his back and ever since he did, he never saw that shadow again, punched his walls or experience anything but peaceful sleep.

that's pretty scary stuff, good thing it went away, but I'm confused.. What if you still get paralyzed when sleeping on your side? This only happened to me once and it scared the heck out of me cause I wasn't expecting sp to kick in while laying on my side, it usually happens while I'm on my back. I think I've been paralyzed while on my stomach once too, and freaked cause I felt a hand on my head and another trying to slip the sheets off, maybe the notion that sp only occurs while sleeping on your back is a misconception
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