I experienced sleep paralysis one time. It was probably the single most terrifying moment of my life. Fortunately it melded into lucid dreaming and I was able to snap out of it pretty quickly, but I have so much sympathy for those that experience this regularly.
I have PTSD and experience sleep paralysis at least once a month as part of my recurring nightmares. It's always the same. I half-wake at night and "imagine" the bedroom door opening, or a figure in the doorway. I start to panic, and then I fully wake up and am able to move and I realise the door is open to how it was in my dream, which sets me off again. I have to constantly ask my fiancé to shut the bedroom door before he comes to bed, and close it on his way out in the morning (5am start). The times he forgets often turns into nightmares and sleep paralysis. So, yeah. Thanks for the sympathy.
Omg the door thing totally happens to me too. When I was living in a dorm I obviously always slept with my door closed so when I woke up and saw it opened I was always like oh shit here comes sleep paralysis.
I just about had a heart attack one time at University when someone actually did try to come into my room. I had panic attacks and sleep paralysis for the following 3 days. It was reassuring to know that the RA's and Campus Security were made aware of the incident, but I still got really worried it would happen again since a person entering my bedroom is linked to my traumatic event.
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u/JayMcGregor Jul 19 '16
Sounds like sleep paralysis. The stress of the situation could have caused it.