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I'm not sure what's going on

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jaiden59071
jaiden59071

I really hate looking at TVs sometimes, they make my head fuzzy and then I can't focus on anything. One time i refused to play a game at an arcade because the flashing lights made me feel bad, anxious, almost like i'm in another dream.

I have constant sleep paralysis and realistic nightmares, they make me really scared. I can feel everything in these dreams/nightmares. I can feel the ground, see everything clearly, read, and do everything else you can in real life.

Also, I die a lot in my dreams, and i can feel pain, so it's been really hard.

One time during midnight I became convinced that I was in another nightmare, and I refused to move from under the light, or look at the tv or darkness. I was too scared to, because in all of my dreams, if the house is dark then it's a nightmare.

I'm not sure what this means, or what I should do.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • lily65668
    lily65668 jaiden59071

    Posted

    Hello Jaiden,

    I suspect a lot of this might have been caused by the fear generated by your sleep paralysis attacks. I can sympathise with this, as I've had sleep paralysis for 50 years. Not that it scares me any more, in spite of the vivid hallucinations I have during attacks. You can get used to anything over time.

    Good dream recall tends to go hand-in-hand with sleep paralysis. I can do all the things you do in my dreams except read. It's actually quite unusual to be able to read in your dreams. However, I've experienced all the rest, including dying from time to time. I've murdered quite a few people too in my dreams! Never anyone I actually knew, though. I suspect everyone's dreams are quite similar. It's just that most people don't remember their dreams, so may tell you they never dream. If you put people like this in a sleep lab and wake them during a period when measurements show they're dreaming, they'll be able to talk about their dream.

    You're clearly quite young, so I suspect some of your problem comes from overstimulation close to bedtime. Ideally you should shut down your phone at least half an hour before bed, and also avoid using a computer or any gaming devices during this period. And don't have the TV on while you're in bed at night. Ideally you shouldn't have a TV in your room at all, but I realise many young people do these days. However, you should turn it off before getting into bed. Too much caffeine (coffee, Coke, energy drinks etc.) will have the same effect, as will excessive sugar in your diet - especially in drinks.

    Needless to say, smoking weed or taking any other recreational drugs will make everything much worse if you already have a tendency towards sleep paralysis and vivid dreaming. It may be that all that's needed is to sort out your lifestyle a bit.

    I'm wondering whether you've talked to your parents about this. They might be able to help more than you think. Sleep paralysis and vivid dreaming are quite strongly hereditary, so they might be able to reassure you that they're nothing to worry about. My father, at least one of his siblings and my grandmother all had it in my family, though it has to start somewhere of course.

    Your dreams won't harm you, and neither will the sleep paralysis, though I know how scary they can be. It may well be that once you can calm down a bit these strange daytime feelings will stop too.

    • jaiden59071
      jaiden59071 lily65668

      Posted

      Hello! Thanks for the info!

      I have talked to my mom about this before. She does have extremely realistic dreams and insomnia, but not sleep paralysis.

      I've always had realistic dreams, but the sleep paralysis that came with the nightmares is relatively new. I eventually got used to my sleep paralysis by ignoring everything as best I could (I could still feel eyes on me and my body twitched and shook a lot though) until it stopped letting me. I'll try something else!

      I didn't realize that it was strange to read in dreams, considering everything else you can do. Reading words and clocks does take concentration though, and most of the time the words are random and the clocks are going faster than normal time.

      I never done drugs before, and I usually don't get any type of sweet, unless necessary, due to having low blood sugar.

      Also I thanks again for answering me! I'll see what works best

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