Freak out during dreams where i relize im asleep.

39% Normal
8 Comments

I have had this problem now for about 2.5 years. It started after I had minor surgery and stopped for a bit but has now returned. Everytime I have a dream, I always figure out that I'm sleeping and panic,trying to wake myself up. Sometimes after I figure out I'm asleep I cant wake up and I dream that I cant breath, or that I'm being hurt in some way. I try to move and cant or I try to open my eyes but cant. I always wake up so freaked out. Sometimes I am not even if sure I am awake or not. Last night I had a dream that I had one of these dreams..."woke up" to a very real household setting much like the actual morning would have been. Then in the dream I went back to bed...only to have the same problem within the dream! It was nuts! A dream within a dream and when I figure out its happening I cant stop it and just wake up. Whats up with that!?

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39% Normal
Based on 49 votes (19 yes)
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Comments ( 8 )
  • sept2088jm
    13 years ago

    Inception!.. probably no relation. Hope it gets better for you!

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  • PeterThePolishKiryluk
    14 years ago

    Sleep Paralasis is scary and I had that happen but if you can go past that and not panic, you could control your dreams about stuff that happens to you in your dreams.

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  • abhishek_t87
    14 years ago

    You are PERFECTLY NORMAL. What u are facing is called REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep... Just dont force yourself to wake up but try to realise that u need rest and go back to sleep. i am facing the same thing from last 15 years and this seems to be a perfect solution for me.

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  • awatcher
    14 years ago

    jellokart got it right. It could be a side affect of the anesthesia you had. I have had issues off and on since my first child was born. I was sedated. Try not sleeping on your stomache. It seems to bring them on for me.

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  • dagreat
    14 years ago

    i have had that problem a few years back, i thought i was simply dreaming, when i tried to wake, i couldn't move and when i thought i was up i was still dreaming !! i hated it, but i wasn't truely scared. i'm glad i wasn't the only one and that there's a name for it.

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  • jellokatt
    14 years ago

    sleep paralysis..... it's scary, but not that uncommon. usually accompanied by lucid dreams where you dream that you wake up, over and over again, trying to force yourself awake.... and it's utterly terrifying. when you finally wake up, it may feel like there is someone in the room watching you, or there may be a horrifying feeling of impending doom, and as much as you try to scream for help, or move, you can't.

    try sleeping on your side. sleep paralysis tends to happen more often when sleeping on your back. it also tends to occur more often when you're really super tired. i could be wrong, but i think it's attributed to your brain waking up before your body does (when you sleep, your body enters a sort of paralysis).

    i was very freaked out by this phenomena until i found out what it was. i still sleep with the tv on in my room to give me something to occupy my mind until i can move again.

    here's the wiki article on it:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

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  • Guess_Who
    15 years ago

    It's called Hypnogogic state with sleep paralysis. Look it up. Some people told me about it, it helps. I have the same thing. Goodluck. :)

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  • Jim_Pfoss
    15 years ago

    Suggest you read some of the Carlos Castaneda stuff from the '70s. Some very interesting stuff there about lucid dreaming.

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