Almost 70 and I still got it!
In my teens through my twenties, I'd wake up needing to shout or scream or warn but I wouldn't be able to open my mouth. I rarely remember my dreams so whatever led me to need to shout faded quickly. I'd wake up a little more and my jaw would unlock. Sometimes I made a noise but sometimes opening my mouth was enough.
It's funny, though, that after I learned that sleep paralysis was a thing, I completely stopped having those dreams.
This problem can be terrifying. I would wake up paralyzed and lying on my back with a feeling that I had to move and wake up fully or I would die. I would finally manage to move usually with a loud gasp. I used to think that I was the only one with this problem until I heard a radio programme about it and learned it had a name. I had cured it by then by lying on my stomach when I sleep - maybe this would work for others? I still periodically get restless leg syndrome though which is not as terrifying but irritating.
A few times.
I recall my eyes widening, wanting to scream and move but nothing could be done except go through those motions.
It hasn't happened this year so far.
I've experienced it once a couple of years ago, even though it wasn't a fearsome visual. I could recall that I wanna scream and call for some help, but I couldn't. I couldn't even get up, even though I was half-asleep.
Often I experience jerks in the midst of my sleep, but this was strange ...
It happened three times to me, ever. It is scary and the most horrible feeling ever. I couldn't yell or speak or ask for help.
Once was during the day.
I am grateful it hasn't happened to me for a long time now.
Trust people to be themselves...
Where I'm from, I first heard about it as, 'Demons riding you.' Essentially an entity sitting on top of you and holding you down, which makes the phenomenon even more disturbing.
Thankfully, I have never experienced it and hope never to. I could only imagine the shock of waking up to such could possibly trigger a heart attack or something related(Okay, I'm no medical professional, so I'm being hyperbolic... but still).
I remember it first happened to me when I was in third grade. I thought I was being abducted by aliens, I was terrified that I was awake and could not move. It happened to me a few times in my twenties but has not recently. Sometimes I would wake people up because I would say "Help me" out loud after struggling to say something for a while. That movie looks good!!
"insensitive prick!" – Danielle Algo
I've never had this, as far as I can remember, and so maybe this is a silly question: is the paralysis real or dreamed up? As in: can someone wake you up and will the paralysis be gone if they do, or is there an actual inability to move?
I've woken up a few times in a deep hypo (low bloodsugar) where my body, or a large part of it, could hardly move, or only in a hardly controllable manner. Often combined with constantly going in and out of consciousness. This is very scary, since there's a chance you won't get out of it unless you're able to eat/drink something, which is very hard to achieve in such state and with no one around to help you with that. While these have been probably my scariest moments, where I've actually feared for my life, it's not sleep paralysis.
=== Not ALL LIVES MATTER until BLACK LIVES MATTER ===
It’s claimed that sleep paralysis is the origin of Incubus and Succubus stories. Discussed this in one of my stories. Sounds terrifying. The closest I’ve come to this is a bad dream which was very difficult to wake up from. I remember trying to wake myself up several times before it was effective.
This stuff fascinates me. I listen to this crazy paranormal/conspiracy theory/UFO radio show late at night, and they talk about it a lot. Sleep paralysis presents as The Old Hag, who shows up, in the corner of your room, or the foot of your bed, and then sits on your chest and paralyses you. The weird thing is, the description of the Hag and what she does is so similar, every time, and it crosses cultures, and eras. She's an archetype, and one strongly tethered to the experience of sleep paralysis.
The also talk about it being a gateway to out of body experiences, and remote viewing. The incubus and succubus as well.
Thank God I've never experienced it. It sounds absolutely terrifying.