Old Hag Syndrome

[Waymarker]

A while back ITV screened a docu about people who had trouble sleeping, called 'Nights from Hell'.

Some sleep-walked, some lashed out screaming, but the one that interested me most was the young woman who says she sometimes suddenly finds herself awake in the night but completely paralysed, unable to move or speak.

Then a 'thing' enters the room looking like an evil old lady, it squats on her chest and begins strangling her, she then loses consciousness, and when she wakes up in the morning she's shaken but fine.

The amazing thing is that many people have experienced the same thing, they're always paralysed and its always an old woman who sits on their chest and tries to throttle them.

Doctors call it The Old Hag Syndrome, but they can't explain why its always an old woman, never an old man, or animal, or anything else.

The phenomenon is all over the net, just type 'Old Hag Syndrome'.

One possibility is that its a demon which inhabits a 'shadow-world' between waking and sleeping, and when it senses somebody has entered its realm by being only half-awake, it attacks,and in the darkness the terrified victims mind interprets it as looking like an old woman..

[Aubrienne_Ellyrias]

never heard of it sounds like sleep paralysis though

[Guest Coffin It Up]

Wow I've never heard of that. It sounds positively terrifying though. Ew. Ild dead ladies or demons. Yuck. Thats scary, I'm gonna google it.

[cemetaryjane]

yeah im an unfortunate reciever of night terrors, tho its not an old woman almost like a shdow man actually i joined this site yesterday because i had a bad experience with it.

the thing im seeing, im also starting to hear (iv heard it breathe laugh and now chant) and the interaction between me and it is getting worse with every experience its like its getting closer to me,. it happens whilst my body is asleep but my mind is fully concious the only thing i can do is open my eyes it takes about a minute for my body to register im awake and thats when it feels like the thing comes to life then when im awake its gone. but man is it a long minute.

ill check out the old hag theory im completely open to this subject because poeple blame this on stress and being over tired, but i dont think theyve had the real deal its scary as hell and theres always something there either watching you or trying to touch you an with soo many reported stories, they all the same and involve a shadow person?? i thought i was crazy until i looked it up

[tyrant lizard]

This is very frightnening for people it happens to. My ex used to get them. Old Hag Syndrome is a type of sleep paralysis that has been happening to people for hundreds of years. in the past it was put down to psychic vampires or incubus and sucubus demons, but more recently they've blamed it on sleep paralysis. Whilst the mond is dreaming it temporerily paralyses the body so that it doesnt go running off or punshing walls and stuff like that. the brain wants to dream without the body moving around and getting involved. sometimes though, for some reason, some people will semi emerge from the dream and become semi conscious, while the body is still paralysed and the mind is still dreaming. The brain then produces the most intense terror it can upon the victim and introduces the hag. This often leads to the hag sitting on the chest of the person and restricting their breathing.

Any nightmare is scary, but this is worse because you actually think its really happening.

Has anyone ever woken up in a state of panic because of a really scary dream but then woke up a bit more and thought that wasnt really that frightening, why was I so scared? The brain can make you expecrience terror I think, and it does so when you sleep and when you experience this Old Hag Syndome.

My sympathy for those of you who suffer...

[White Crane Feather]

yeah im an unfortunate reciever of night terrors, tho its not an old woman almost like a shdow man actually i joined this site yesterday because i had a bad experience with it.

the thing im seeing, im also starting to hear (iv heard it breathe laugh and now chant) and the interaction between me and it is getting worse with every experience its like its getting closer to me,. it happens whilst my body is asleep but my mind is fully concious the only thing i can do is open my eyes it takes about a minute for my body to register im awake and thats when it feels like the thing comes to life then when im awake its gone. but man is it a long minute.

ill check out the old hag theory im completely open to this subject because poeple blame this on stress and being over tired, but i dont think theyve had the real deal its scary as hell and theres always something there either watching you or trying to touch you an with soo many reported stories, they all the same and involve a shadow person?? i thought i was crazy until i looked it up

Your not crazy I can help. I have defeated it and I can show you how. Pm me,

[White Crane Feather]

This is very frightnening for people it happens to. My ex used to get them. Old Hag Syndrome is a type of sleep paralysis that has been happening to people for hundreds of years. in the past it was put down to psychic vampires or incubus and sucubus demons, but more recently they've blamed it on sleep paralysis. Whilst the mond is dreaming it temporerily paralyses the body so that it doesnt go running off or punshing walls and stuff like that. the brain wants to dream without the body moving around and getting involved. sometimes though, for some reason, some people will semi emerge from the dream and become semi conscious, while the body is still paralysed and the mind is still dreaming. The brain then produces the most intense terror it can upon the victim and introduces the hag. This often leads to the hag sitting on the chest of the person and restricting their breathing.

Any nightmare is scary, but this is worse because you actually think its really happening.

Has anyone ever woken up in a state of panic because of a really scary dream but then woke up a bit more and thought that wasnt really that frightening, why was I so scared? The brain can make you expecrience terror I think, and it does so when you sleep and when you experience this Old Hag Syndome.

My sympathy for those of you who suffer...

It does not have to be scary. It's more if a gate keeper than a demon. I have been teaching people how to end the nightmares for a while now. Anyone who is suffering from this pm me, I can help.

[White Crane Feather]

Here is an interview with an expert. Idont like the fear mongering. I train people to understand it and use it then the monster goes away, and a new world Is opened for for the person. People that suffer from this are natural spiritwalkers, and would have been considered candidates for shamans in aboriginal societies.

2 of ten whatch all of them

Edited November 25, 2010 by Seeker79

[Alternative Delirium]

Yeah, Old Hag Syndrome is just a sub-species of sleep paralysis. I've absorbed an unhealthy amount of factoids concerning SP in the last two years, an obsession that stems from experience (unfortunately). I've never seen the documentary you mention, but I have done research on this particular sleep disorder on my own. I have what is referred to as sleep paralysis disorder, which is a clinical term for having anywhere between 5 to 15 episodes of SP in one month. I've never seen an old lady sitting on my chest, but I've had similar things occur. I've had a hand sneak around my head and over my mouth that felt very solid and seemed to be restraining me, among other things. Yes, it is horrifying more often than not. Anyway, when I began researching Old Hag, I recall coming across some stories concerning cats. I don't remember the era, but 'back in the day,' sufferers of SP (who also owned cats, or lived in an area with stray cats) would always take care to shut their windows and doors at night, and to put the cat outside. This was linked to the belief that the cat (which was widely known to be a familiar of witches) would sit on one's chest at night and steal one's breath, or life, while they slept. This was believed to be the cause of SP until it was outdated by other old wives' tales and then clinical knowledge.

[scaredsilly]

Sounds scary! I have never experienced sleep paralysis, nor do I know someone who has experienced it, sounds like a nightmare, how do you know if your awake? you might be dreaming it?

[OrdinaryClay]

.. and then clinical knowledge.

What do you mean by clinical knowledge?

[White Crane Feather]

Sounds scary! I have never experienced sleep paralysis, nor do I know someone who has experienced it, sounds like a nightmare, how do you know if your awake? you might be dreaming it?

It's not a normal nightmare, as it happens when you are awake. The horrifying nature of it is caused by the fear reaction you have to being paralyzed. You literally bring your worst nightmare to you while you are awake. The trick is to ignore the fear, do not try to move and dive into the experience with thr intent of understanding it. If you can do this a whole new set if experiences results, and not negative.

[White Crane Feather]

Sounds scary! I have never experienced sleep paralysis, nor do I know someone who has experienced it, sounds like a nightmare, how do you know if your awake? you might be dreaming it?

You are awake in that you are lucid and can see out of your eyes, but your mind is still in dreamland. Not a good combination for an undisaplind mind. As you can see.

[scaredsilly]

You are awake in that you are lucid and can see out of your eyes, but your mind is still in dreamland. Not a good combination for an undisaplind mind. As you can see.

it sounds like a terrifying experience, I wish never to experience it

[Ealdwita]

I get the same thing every morning! It's absolutely terrifying until she gets up and makes the tea!

[protostar]

Oooooh.....!

I guess we'll be seeing you in the crime section shortly.........as the topic!

[The Caspian Hare]

This has happened to me, very rarely but pretty much as described above. Except I don't actually see any person, rather I have a vague sense of a menacing being nearby, or sometimes a patch of darkness in the room that I dream is somehow alive. Only three, maybe four times in my life has this happened.

[liz82]

Every time I've seen Old Hag in my sleep or half awake it wants to drink my blood. Can't understand why it's never a man though.

[scaredsilly]

Every time I've seen Old Hag in my sleep or half awake it wants to drink my blood.

Is this normal sleep paralysis?

How come some people experience this and some dont?

[Alternative Delirium]

What do you mean by clinical knowledge?

I only meant that rumors of sleep paralysis being caused by witches and demons was later replaced with the more scientific approach of medical/psychological explanations. All it really is is your body waking during an inappropriate stage in sleep, one in which your body has locked itself down in paralysis to prevent self-injury. Your body's reactions are medically based; what you see or hear during the episode is more of a psychological thing.

Seeker, an undisciplined mind? I'm not sure what you mean. I am very aware during the episode what is happening and that it's not really there. That doesn't stop one from being afraid. As a side note, not all occurrences are scary. Some are just hilarious or merely weird.

[White Crane Feather]

I only meant that rumors of sleep paralysis being caused by witches and demons was later replaced with the more scientific approach of medical/psychological explanations. All it really is is your body waking during an inappropriate stage in sleep, one in which your body has locked itself down in paralysis to prevent self-injury. Your body's reactions are medically based; what you see or hear during the episode is more of a psychological thing.

Seeker, an undisciplined mind? I'm not sure what you mean. I am very aware during the episode what is happening and that it's not really there. That doesn't stop one from being afraid. As a side note, not all occurrences are scary. Some are just hilarious or merely weird.

Yes most peoples minds allow for these runaway fear responses. When I first started researching it years ago all the research was saying that your brain is releasing fear hormones so you feel it when you come into this stage. It's not true. The hormones come about because you become scared not the other way around. When people wake up to find themselves paralyzed they naturally become scared then they create the rest in a state if conciousness that allows them to create anything. After they have one scary incident every time it happens they recreate it and usually start to make it worse. Some people live for years in silent terror because they don't want anyone to think they are crazy. Mental discepline obtained through veriouse forms of meditation and people naturaly inclined to be more analytical and in control emotions defeat the fear part very quickly.

[White Crane Feather]

The trick to helping people end the nightmares is to create a positive experience when it happens, they then begin to desire the experience rather than dread it. After that the nightmares disapear for good.

[OrdinaryClay]

I only meant that rumors of sleep paralysis being caused by witches and demons was later replaced with the more scientific approach of medical/psychological explanations. All it really is is your body waking during an inappropriate stage in sleep, one in which your body has locked itself down in paralysis to prevent self-injury. Your body's reactions are medically based; what you see or hear during the episode is more of a psychological thing.

I understand the paralysis theories, but what does that have to do with any of the myriad of other experiences people have? How can anyone "clinically" determine what causes these. If you read this forum long enough people claim sleep paralysis as the explanation of every odd experience that is anywhere near the period in which the person is sleeping. I find it hard to believe that SP has been *clinically* determined to be more then the temporary loss of motor function during periods of dreaming.

I think skeptics throw around SP like ghost busters throw around EMF. I no more believe SP is the explanation of everything strange during sleep than I believe EMF has diddlysquat to do with the paranormal.

[White Crane Feather]

I agree totally. No one understands altered states of conciousness. How can one say it's only dreaming when one does not really even know what dreaming is or what it's

for. It dosnt seem to have any evelutionary purpose.

[Starving_Cow]

yeah im an unfortunate reciever of night terrors, tho its not an old woman almost like a shdow man actually i joined this site yesterday because i had a bad experience with it.

the thing im seeing, im also starting to hear (iv heard it breathe laugh and now chant) and the interaction between me and it is getting worse with every experience its like its getting closer to me,. it happens whilst my body is asleep but my mind is fully concious the only thing i can do is open my eyes it takes about a minute for my body to register im awake and thats when it feels like the thing comes to life then when im awake its gone. but man is it a long minute.

ill check out the old hag theory im completely open to this subject because poeple blame this on stress and being over tired, but i dont think theyve had the real deal its scary as hell and theres always something there either watching you or trying to touch you an with soo many reported stories, they all the same and involve a shadow person?? i thought i was crazy until i looked it up

Hey,

I have almost the exact same experience as you do~ sometimes I would hear whisper in my ears, and see shadow beings walking around my room, being touched on the foot or stomach. I tried to scream but nothing would come out, and like you my body is asleep and my mind is fully awake, sometimes I would hear someone mumbling something, or people talking, but can never make out what they are saying, all I know was that I was frighten,

One time It happen to me when My brother was in my room, he said I look like I was fighting for my life, like I had a sizer or something, and he could hear me yelling help with my mouth closed. So he hit me with a broom, several times!! LOL and I jolted up. and said I was going crazy and I have issues...

. What I gathered from this, is that if you can face your fears and not fight whatever it is that is scaring you it will go away in an instance. Whatever it is that is scaring you.. is trying to not let your soul leave your body. What I herd is that if your mind is awake and your body is paralyzed, if there nothing to prevent you from leaving your body than your soul will leave your body. So those Scary THINGS are something that is preventing you from you leaving your body. It sounds weird I know... I hope it makes sense., And I agree It has nothing to do with stress or lack of sleep.

if you have any question I can try to help you. its been a off and on going experience for me for more than 5 years now... so your not alone on that.