Sleep Paralysis

This is an image I created years ago on a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium. I'm sharing it today not just because I love it....but I thought it was a perfect visual to go along with my story of the day.

Falling Jellyfish

I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to this...last night for some unknown crazy reason, my body decided it was going to have multiple episodes of sleep paralysis. I've had them before, but last night I was trapped in a loop that felt like it went on all night long. It was terrifying and exhausting.

For those of you that don't know what sleep paralysis is, it is when you go to sleep...and your body proceeds through all the steps to deep sleep...and you lose ability to move your body voluntarily (coz if we did when we were asleep we would get up and act out our dreams). But your body misses an essential step...you actually don't "fall asleep" and are conscious and aware that your body is asleep...but you aren't.

For me that feels like free falling in darkness (kinda like this jellyfish), able to hear things around me, layered with some crazy hallucinations on top of it (mine was a large cat like creature laying on me trying to bite me)....while I am desperately trying to force my body awake. The poor hubby and Carmela were so concerned about me last night because it kept happening over and over again. Carmela took to draping on me and kissing me on and off through the night...bless her little kind heart.

It is such a terrifying position to be in....to be trapped between the real world, the land of dream hallucinations...in a body that refuses to listen to you.....I have to admit....every time it happens, it is utterly fascinating to the biologist in me . I've spent most of the day resting and dissecting the experience. Just fascinating. Absolutely positively don't want a repeat...but it was fascinating.

Have you ever had a sleep paralysis episode?