Incubus, Succubus, Nightmare, Sleep Paralysis
Maggie:
Nightmare/Incubus/Succubus
some of the accused;
"A nightmare is a dream which causes a strong unpleasant emotional response from the sleeper, typically fear or horror, or the sensations of pain, falling, drowning or death. Such dreams can be related to physical causes such as a high fever, or psychological ones such as psychological trauma or stress in the sleeper's life, or can have no apparent cause. If a person has experienced a psychologically traumatic situation in life—for example, a person who may have been captured and tortured—the experience may come back to haunt them in their nightmares. Sleepers may waken in a state of distress and be unable to get back to sleep for some time. Eating before bed, which triggers an increase in the body's metabolism and brain activity, is another potential stimulus for nightmares..
Occasional nightmares are commonplace, but recurrent nightmares can interfere with sleep and may cause people to seek medical help. A recently proposed treatment consists of imagery rehearsal. This approach appears to reduce the effects of nightmares and other symptoms in acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Practitioners of lucid dreaming claim that it can help conquer nightmares of this type, rather than of the traditional type.
In Western medieval legend, an incubus (plural incubi) is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have sexual intercourse with them. It was believed to do this in order to spawn other incubi. The incubus drains energy from the woman on whom it performs sexual intercourse in order to sustain itself,[citation needed] and some sources indicate that it may be identified by its unnaturally cold penis. Religious tradition holds that repeated intercourse with such a spirit by either males or females (the female version of the incubus is called a succubus) may result in the deterioration of health, or even death.
In Western medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) or succuba (plural succubae) is a demon, who takes the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men, especially monks in dreams to have sexual intercourse. They draw energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death of the victim.[citation needed] From mythology and fantasy, Lilith and the Lilin (Jewish) and Lilitu (Sumerian) are in redactive Christian fables (folktales not part of official Christian theology), considered succubi.
Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or, less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic paralysis).
Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by terrifying hallucinations (hypnopompic or hypnagogic) which cause an acute sense of danger . Sleep paralysis is particularly frightening to the individual due to the vividness of such hallucinations. The hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely fanciful, or dream-like, objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. Some scientists have proposed this condition as a theory for alien abductions and ghostly encounters.
The paralysis can last from several seconds to several minutes "after which the individual may experience panic symptoms and the realization that the distorted perceptions were false" . When there is an absence of narcolepsy, sleep paralysis is referred to as isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) . "ISP appears to be far more common and recurrent among African Americans than among White Americans or Nigerian Blacks" , and is often referred to within African American communities as "the witch riding your back"
enigma:
Sleep paralysis can be very scary indeed.
I experienced a particularly bad one about 1 year ago.
I couldn't move and I felt a weight on my chest.
I was gasping for breath but the scariest of all was when I realized that my own hands were actually strangling my neck! Only then once I realized this and loosened my grip could I breathe....
Not sure if this qualifies as a regular type of sleep paralysis though.
Highlander:
Quote from: enigma on January 04, 2009, 05:15:59 PM
Sleep paralysis can be very scary indeed.
I experienced a particularly bad one about 1 year ago.
I couldn't move and I felt a weight on my chest.
I was gasping for breath but the scariest of all was when I realized that my own hands were actually strangling my neck! Only then once I realized this and loosened my grip could I breathe....
Not sure if this qualifies as a regular type of sleep paralysis though.
Trying to off yourself in your sleep? Definitely not regular!
Riggs:
ive actually tried to help someone who had an incubus in their sisters living space.....a detached garage. She didnt want it to come into the house, so, i gave her the basics and as far as i know, it hasnt happened. But the sister was also known to be mentally unstable as well as drug/alcohol problems. Not a good situation to begin with.......
chevellechic:
I have a history of "sleep paralysis" accompanied by "night terrors", but what I experienced last night was so far beyond anything I have ever experienced before. Usually when I have these episodes, I am completely aware of the fact that I have fallen asleep and I am "dreaming," but last night was something different. I was by all accounts awake and aware of what was going on around me. I could even still hear the episode of Criminal Minds playing on my TV. I closed my eyes and as soon as my eyes were closed, I heard the TV in the living room come on all by itself. I tried to get out of bed but I was completely paralyzed. I opened my eyes and my older brother was laying face down in my bedroom doorway and he was not moving. Try as I may I could not get to him. I tried to call out to him, but my tongue was just as paralyzed as the rest of me. As I lay there desperately trying to roll myself out of bed, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again. I willed myself to snap out of whatever "phenomenon" was happening and when I reopened my eyes, the tingling sensation that had been coursing through my body was gone and I was able to move. I climbed out of bed but my brother was gone (of course he was never really there to begin with. It was 1:00 in the morning so he was in his own house sleeping in his own bed.) and the TV was not on in the living room either. I walked out to the living room, looked around and when I was satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary, I went back to bed. Now, normally I would have attributed this incident to my normal sleeping problems (they happen quite frequently). However, when I laid back down and closed my eyes again, the same tingling sensation came over me and again, I heard the living room TV come on. I could still hear Criminal Minds on my TV in my room and again, when I tried to get up, I couldn't. My brother was again laying face down in my doorway unresponsive. Again, I was unable to speak. I repeated the steps I had done not five minutes before and when I opened my eyes again, I was able to move and my brother was gone. The TV was no longer playing in the living room and nothing was out of the ordinary. This cycle repeated itself for over an hour before I decided maybe I would try sleeping on the couch in the living room. Once I laid down on the couch, everything stopped and I was able to drift into a peaceful dreamless sleep.
Now as I said, I have a history of things like this happening but this is the first time it has repeated itself once I have gotten out of bed and walked around the house. I have never gotten an uneasy feeling in this house before, it's always been quite peaceful here, but last night I was absolutely terrified to be here.
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