Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

[Glen Miyashiro]

An interesting article in Science News about research into sleep paralysis. Obake watchers here in the islands know that this is usually attributed to a ghost who sits on your chest at night. It seems that all cultures have this, although the explanations differ from country to country.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

Or typically known as night tremors.

Sleep Paralysis is more commonly known as the Monday Morning hangover

[jdub]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

Or typically known as night tremors.

Sleep Paralysis is more commonly known as the Monday Morning hangover

i know it as the "Irish Flu"...and it is rarely confined to mondays...also, i suffer from what kramer from seinfeld called the "jimmy leg"...i may have been an afro-cuban dancer in a past life...we're all possessed of peculiar sleeping proclivities...do tell!

[1stwahine]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

Sleep Paralysis...I get um' all the time! Sometimes more than usual when my Angels visit...that's another story. My paralysis is not of one sitting on my chest and keeping me from breathing. I did have one encounter when my Tata Ben came to visit me in my room and nothing wanted to come out of my voice. When it did, I told him, "Dis my room. MAMA in the other room!" I haightailed it to MAMA, woke her up by shouting and told her about TATA Ben. She calmly asked me, "Wea he went?"

Auntie Lynn aka Auntie Pupule

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

When that happened to me I was sleeping on the floor of our rental deep in Manoa after moving in all the boxes that evening. My wife and kids were in the one bedroom with one bed assembled while I took a one hour nap from unloading from the van to the house.

Musta been around 2am when I felt like someone big and heavy sitting on my chest. The feeling was one of hate and like you I couldn't utter a single word, but I could pray and I did, asking for God's strength to overcome this evil spirit that was pressing down on me. Within seconds the pressure lifted off and I was free to get up.

Not being one to be highly amused by assholes (even spiritual ones) I stood up and demanded the spirit back off cuz if it killed me I'd be a spirit too and I'd kick his ghost ass. We never had any problems after that.

[kimo55]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

I would say there is a medical version and a very real "supernatural" version too, and they are quite different from each other, tho I don't subscribe to that label much...

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

Yeah the medical version is that you were on drugs. The supernatural version is that there is evil floating around everywhere and sometimes it just wants to sit down on your chest to relax.

[pinakboy]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

yah da pressing ghost crap... had dat b4 and not recently tho. my inlaws when dey stayed with us had saw some ghostly apparitions in their bedroom. our nextdoor neighbor past away, so my mother in law tinks it was da old man.

usually wen it happens i would have to will mahself to breakfree from da grip.

hey but Craig I loved da kickin da ghost's ass if u died bit...

[kimo55]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

hey but Craig I loved da kickin da ghost's ass if u died bit...

yea man i like hire you fo kik butt of some odda people i know.

haunt some who haven't gone yet, too.

eh dass a good business; pay me now, then when i die guarantee i haunt yer enemies...
reverse ghost busters kine.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Sleep paralysis - medical or supernatural?

The amazing thing is that I'm more afraid of the living than the dead. I've never been physically harmed by a ghost but man oh man there are a few live ones that really pushed my buttons!

For all practical reasons, we are all ghosts trapped inside our mortal bodies. If I can intimidate someone with my words then being a ghost won't stop me from giving it a piece of my mind.

Like I tell my kids who are scared to death of ghosts: If you're not afraid of that jerk life, why should you be afraid of him in death. For those of you who are Democrat and hate Bush, if he were to die and come back as a ghost, would you feel afraid or even more pissed off that he took the time to harass you?