Waking Imobile Nightmares Help? *Trigger Warning*

Been having a waking nightmare problem... I hear whats going on around me, I'm lucid enough to hear myself saying it's okay. It's a dream, not real. But I can't move. I keep making myself do the same thing over and over, trying to make it happen with my body too... But it doesn't... It's like I'm stuck in my body, watching a dream and feeling that... And watching and feeling my body too. Being imobile...
Music helps because I listen to it when I start to sleep, but then I'm not asleep, and dreaming and not able to move. But it lets me know I'm not asleep when all else is quiet. That means I just have to move.The dream isn't reality if the music exists. I move in my head the same thing over and over, trying to make it move. It won't. Body is lead. And I watch my family die again in twisted ways, or have effed up nightmares. But I know what's going on around me. Like a waking coma... reality feels like it crumbles for a while. And it's weird...
I'm not aware of any turbulence or even anything bad really. I just clear my mind and watch the weird thoughts that don't feel like my own. (If that makes sense) They're never chaotic. Often Whimsical really... Then Every thing stops existing for a while, then dreams start and reality sets in again. I hear my surroundings at the same time the dreams start. and I realize that it's dreams? But I can't control me in them.
Do you know any thing to do about this? It happens almost every time I sleep...

Sorry for the long windedness.

Do you have the feeling that if you could only do as much as move your pinkie finger a BIT it would stop?

I'm trying to figure out if this is the thing I also had for years, or not. If yes I will have a lot to say.

This sounds to me like sleep paralysis. Does that seem to fit?

Wikipedia: Sleep paralysis

It's like... If I could just twitch, it would stop. It's still hard to move, but then I can. The problem is that I can't so much as change my breathing. I do the same thing in my body trying to make my body copy it, but it doesn't work so well.

So far it looks rather simalar, butI have to read the whole thing first.

Thank you guys for trying to help.

I am doing research on the brain, to see if there is some chemical or genetic problem with the sleep paralysis. Evedence suggests it is related to Sleep apnia and if it is recurent very often, it could be genetic.

Defensive immobilization: the precursor of dreams

According to Tsoukalas (2012) REM sleep is an evolutionary transformation of a well-known defensive mechanism, the tonic immobility reflex. This reflex, also known as animal hypnosis or death feigning, functions as the last line of defense against an attacking predator and consists of the total immobilization of the animal: the animal appears dead (cf. “playing possum”). The neurophysiology and phenomenology of this reaction shows striking similarities to REM sleep, a fact which betrays a deep evolutionary kinship. For example, both reactions exhibit brainstem control, paralysis, sympathetic activation, and controlled hypothermia. This theory integrates many earlier findings into a unified, and evolutionary well informed, framework.

This would be likely, considering the nightmares that accompany said problem, however it could be a mear trigger for a sleep apnia or genetic problem.

-Ace

Do you share a bed with anyone? They could tell you if you have any signs of sleep apnea; you would not know this yourself. Brief breath-holding associated with congestion or snoring is not sleep apnea, by the way.

My understanding of sleep paralysis is that what happens is, your body releases a paralytic while you sleep to prevent you from physically acting out your dreams. In sleep paralysis, you're consciously waking up, but the paralytic hasn't worn off yet, so you can't move. (Very non-technical explanation).

I'm sorry you're experiencing this. I know it can be terrifying. It might be a good idea to see your doctor (who I imagine will refer you to a neurologist, so if you're already seeing a neurologist, you might skip the middle man and go right to him/her) to make sure nothing else is going on.

Speaking personally, when I've experienced it in the past, unfortunately, I've found that the only thing I can do is tell myself it's okay and to go back to sleep. (For me, when I woke up again, things would be fine. I don't know what happens for you.) Which can be very hard to do, but when I managed it, it was very effective.

If that doesn't work for you, maybe you can try meditating or using other relaxation or distraction techniques to get through it? My personal favorites are: daydreaming, telling myself over and over to relax and breathe (kind of a mantra thing), and thinking about a movie or book I'm in the middle of or have seen recently in detail so I lose myself in it a little.

Good luck, and I hope things get better for you.

Juniper