I’m a pretty seasoned SPer. I hope that doesn’t sound too boastful, but what I mean to say is that I have it a lot. I’ve been having it on frequent occasions for about 5, 6 years now. Sometimes it’s bearable; like if it happens past sunrise, I’m not so scared. In fact, I enjoy it. But if it ever happens in the middle of the night, I’m usually terrified. How can I get past that? Maybe I have this weird idea in the back of my mind that it’s a ghost/poltergeist that’s the cause of it, and that always scares me. Funny thing is I sleep with an eye mask and ear plugs in, largely in part to avoid thinking the sounds I’m hearing are external and then (providing the mask is on) not being able to see scary stuff.
The reason for my post is… how can I NOT be afraid to have SP? I mean, I have it so often, I wish I could embrace it every time and use it to my advantage. On record I think I’ve had it up to 4 times in one night. Last night I had it three seperate times (it was a rough night, lemme tell ya.) Any suggestions? Does turning on a little night light seem to help anyone?
I have read quite a bit about SP and it seems that I am getting too excited and losing it. This is while falling to sleep. I am not sure if it actually qualifies as a SP though. My heartbeat rises, my whole body feels numb and it feels like I am floating. I always get curious and move my arm and it stops.
related to the “Old Hag” phenomenon is a similar event that seems to happen to young, Laotian Hmong refugees. I heard a lecture on this once. Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome
As it said in the article they were under a lot of stress anyway due to war/migration etc. They also had a real belief that ‘the entity’ was real.
We all know the biggest factor in old hag is the fear element and not knowing that it is an illusion made by the subconscious to explain the feelings felt during SP.
So it is an interesting article but i hope it doesn’t add to any SP fears that members have.
moved from general lucidness forum to the Big SP and Old Hag topic
I dont know if this is the right section to ask in but its general so ill ask it here.
last night around 3 or 4 am i woke up and started nodding back off to sleep, i opened my eyes but i couldnt see anything except a small peice of the ceiling i was looking at, the rest was darkness. I couldnt move my body and then i couldnt keep my eyes open any longer, I was straining very hard to keep my eyes open. when my eyes closed it felt like I was being pulled against my bed so I couldnt move or get up, about 3-4 seconds later I could move my body again and open my eyes.
my question is if this is sleep paralysis seeing as how I couldnt move at all and I had just woken up and kind of drifted back into sleep.
i once felt like a packed sausage i could move only a little bit and i had a dream of some kinda wars and generals… everything looked pink… is that a SP?
Usually in sleep paralysis, it is possible to move first the eyes, then the fingers and toes, before the paralysis wears off and we are able to fully move again. Could the pink come from partially open eyes? That used to happen to me quite a lot in my childhood and teens. It is also not uncommon to be aware of both the physical, paralysed body and a dream at the same time, and it can be used to start a lucid dream from. Were you waking up, or falling asleep when you had this experience? I get sleep paralysis quite easily if i wake myself up from a dream on purpose.
Moved from the Quest for Lucidty
If the old hag and other terrifying hallucinations that go with sleep paralysis ever attack you- kill them. Don’t sit there and tremble like a little baby, KILL THEM. Close your eyes, imagine your favorite fight song in the background (mine is Stain of Mind by Slayer) and imagine yourself with a chainsaw, or any other weapon of your choice.
Tell the hallucinations that you’re not afraid of them. Yell at them with all of your rage (inside of your head of course) and just beat the living s*** out of them! Send that she-devil or whatever monster there is back to hell!
Once you break out of the SP with your clothes stained in blood and guts, get up from your bed, and talking out loud, threaten the hallucination that if were ever to come back again, you would take your rage to even further lengths.
(It’d even be better if you could go into an LD beating up the hallucination )
The whole event itself is just an hallucination- It’s all in your head.
The only way you can fight it is in your head. Just imagine yourself killing it- show no mercy. How dare it scare you like that!? Eventually, you might just slip into a dream, and hopefully you will see the old hag in your dream. Become lucid, and this time really fight it
Why bother killing them? That seems so negative. I’ve only ever encountered the Old Hag once before, in the form of a shadow with glowing eyes who tried to strangle me. How did I defeat it? I just laughed. I laughed as hard as I could. I even tried shaking the shadow’s hand.
You see, Old Hag results from your mind’s fear during paralysis in the dark. Change that fear into happiness, and the attacking demon becomes something much more benign. In my case, the shadow degenerated and reformed into a Buddhist-looking monk, who then guided me into a lucid dream.
I find the state of SP fun. I honestly do. The voices, cries, knocks on the wall, and shaking are humorous However, some people can’t stay calm and laugh at the hallucinations. I probably could, but for now, it’s easier converting my fear of the hallucinations into anger. That’s why I suggest slaughtering these hallucinations
But, to each their own ways, I guess. I guess I could try making peace with the hallucinations…
I think what you are doing by suggesting this is saying, believe you can overpower the hallucinations. By saying to kill them, and believing you can do this. You are saying you have enough belief in your physical strength to be able to best them in combat. This would mean you should have nothing to fear from them since you can beat them. If this belief stops you fearing them, it will most likely help to stop the hallucinations putting you in a state of fear. The only drawbacks I can see is, this method wouldn’t work for everyone, and a slight risk that you might get so fired up you can’t get to sleep fully and dream If it works for you, good luck
Well, I have been really interested in LDing for awhile but just recently got serious about it. I just read about an “old hag” experience and the reason I dont watch scary movies anymore is bc i dont want to see any old hags. So i was just wondering, does this usually only occur during a WILD? i mean, generally speaking, and can your eyes be open or are they closed when this happens? does this happen to a lot of people? sorry for all the noob questions.
Oh, and when I was like 8 years old I woke up in the middle of the night and i had a bunkbed so above me was some wooden boards to stabilize the mattress on the top bunk. The wood had like those darker wood swirls in it and i saw my dad’s face in one of them but really EVIL looking. I was so spooked but i kept on staring figuring it would fade away quickly but it didnt so i covered my face with a blanket, counted to 3, and looked again and it was still there. so then i was nearly frozen with fear and just managed to jump out of bed and run to my moms as fast as i could. what was that? was that like an old hag exp? i dont get how you can be awake and paralyzed though in an old hag exp. and why is it always something creepy? or is it ever something good?
Sp is just when your body is asleep while you are awake and with the ‘old hag’ thing, it’s not real so technically there’s nothing to worry about. Can’t hurt ya
SP in and of itself is rare for a WILD, and Old Hag is even rarer. When it does happen, there are two things you must realize in order to minimize the negativity of the experience. First, whatever it is that is attacking you is a hallucination. It is not real. It cannot hurt you.
The second, and most important thing to realize is that your fear of the Old Hag makes it worse. When you enter SP, your brain becomes scared, as it is dark and you cannot move your body. Your brain is still partially in dream-mode, leading to an increased susceptibility to hallucinations. Thus, your natural fear from not being able to move in the darkness is expressed as a scary hallucination of a monster. This is important: Your fear is what’s creating the Old Hag!
The best way to defeat and even avoid Old Hag is to, pardon the cliché, think happy thoughts. When you first see the Old Hag, laugh. Laugh long and heartily. Even though you’re not physically moving, your brain is still experience the release of seratonin from the laughter, lightening your mood, and changing the Old Hag into something less fearsome. The one time I had Old Hag, I tried laughing, and the ghostly shadow tormenting me transformed into a Zen monk, who lead me into a lucid dream.
This advice is good for when you experience Old Hag, but in all honesty your odds of experience it are less than one in a thousand. Good luck trying WILD!
it’s SP
)
However, some people can’t stay calm and laugh at the hallucinations. I probably could, but for now, it’s easier converting my fear of the hallucinations into anger. That’s why I suggest slaughtering these hallucinations 
If it works for you, good luck