Day Nine begins with an explanation of fear as a mental state, focusing on sleep paralysis

@thoughts-in-time submitted an entry to the Halloween Contest(20 shares of steembasicincome as the prize, contest runs through the 29th!) which discussed Is This Demonic Possession, Disease, or Mind Control?

His contest entry reminded me of a series I never finished writing last year:
Perceptions of truth: Alien abduction, Part One
Perceptions of Truth: Alien abduction, Part Two

I start the discussion with my own experiences with night terrors

I was helpless and could not move, flat on my back. They were behind me...I could not see them. They meant me harm, and my fear was amplified because I could not escape. As they closed in, I tensed my body and screamed...

So why do I always get Vietcong or aliens pinning me down, how come no sexy demons?
Image Source

I can remember the following instances

• The first one, I was 16 or 17, at home. I had been dreaming that I was chasing a monster in order to kill it (pop, protect other people), when it ambushed me and jumped on my chest...I woke up from my nightmare to find there was something on my chest, holding me down...I screamed, jumped out of bed, and ran down the hall yelling. Yes, I woke up everybody in the house. Yes, it was embarrassing. Oh, I had a nightmare...dumbass!(1985 or 1986)
• The second time was even more embarrassing, or it should have been ;> I was on a troop ship bound for Japan. The bunks were stacked on top of each other like pringle chips. I woke up pinned down, as 1000 bunks filled with dead men collapsed on top of me. Cue the obligatory running down the deck in my underwear, screaming my idiot head off. The embarrassing factor did not apply as much(1989):
  -The engines were really loud, hence only waking up a few guys
  -I had already developed quite a reputation as being a weirdo/smartass...WTF are you trying to pull now? Go back to bed, Dirtychin (Dirtychin being the rather natural corruption of my last name Durchin)
• The third time was also in the Corps, out in the field. I was in my sleeping back, when I was suddenly frozen and surrounded by Vietcong out to kill me. I struggled to get out of the bag, but finally I did not scream, which was good, because we were out in the field! It was a fitting experience for that week in the field, in which I had the worst birthday of my life; amongst other things, a netting pole fell on my already broken nose while I slept, and I walked into a cactus while on patrol LOL (1991)
• The next one might not be a night terror kind of thing, but just a nightmare. It's close, so I include it. This happened several years after the Corps. I woke up with the absolute certainty that someone was remotely reprogramming my brain; my (cough cough) rational explanation was that it was...alienz...but as I continued to wake up, I decided it was just a nightmare (1996 or 1997)
• Last and finally...I was sleeping when some group of things closed in on me...maybe demons, maybe cultists...closed in on a paralyzed me with mal intent. I screamed, jumped out of bed, and tried to smash one in the face; when I woke up, I was banging on the wall I shared with a neighbor. Yes, I woke them up. Yes, back to Embarrassment Factor One ;> (2003)

I'll explain why I think that was the last one ever, in a bit.

The Rational Explanation for Sleep Paralysis/ Night Terror

First of all, I will conflate Sleep Paralysis with Night Terror. I don't believe there is much of a difference, and they are both considered parasomnias, or sleep disorders.

Other Discussion:
Is It Sleep Paralysis or a Night Terror? How to Tell the Difference
What's the difference between night terrors and sleep paralysis?

So, for the purposes of this post, I am referring to both when I am specifically discussing Sleep Paralysis

Some of the common reported details in sleep paralysis are:

• fear and terror
• immobility or paralysis
• a sense of impending doom
• sinister or demonic presences, intruders
• intense light
• humming or buzzing noises

The paralysis comes from the transition from a dreaming state to a woken state; since your body locks down while dreaming, to keep you from doing harm to yourself acting your dreams out. Since you aren't really awake enough to grock that, you freak out and your brain invents a reason to freak out.

At least, that's the rational explanation ;>

The advice I found on the web for if you suffer from this?
Try and move your little finger or toe if you find yourself paralyzed...focus on THAT
I have never experienced any further instances after learning that tidbit.

Further References

Sleep paralysis
Night terror

Happy Halloween, And Sleep Tight ;> Don't let...ANYTHING...bite ;>

Le Cauchemar (The Nightmare), by Eugène Thivier (1894)

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