Fear of Sleep due to OBE

[Deleted]

Hey y'all. Two days ago I was laying on my back with my eyes closed and at some point I heard a noise (like a thud) and I felt the sensation of floating upwards while moving closer toward the ceiling. It felt almost like something pulled me out. I jerked myself up, felt a thud, realized my eyes were still closed, and turned on all the lights.

I often get sleep paralysis experiences while on my back, but this was a sensation of floating instead of being crushed. I'm afraid to go back to sleep for fear this is something real and I'm being pulled away from myself by some outside force. I know this sounds ridiculous, but my parents' very strict religion has led me to believe that just about any uncanny experience has something to do with demons, despite the fact that I am now an agnostic without a strong belief in biblical demons. I wanted to ask, if you've had OBE's and sleep paralysis before, did you do anything to make the experience more positive and less a cause for insomnia?

[Deleted]

I have had OBE and sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is natural and can't hurt you. My OBE was linked to my religion, and a positive experience. However, some psychologist's believe OBE is caused by a state of exhaustion. But it's up to you to decide what caused it... all I can say is, meditate on it if you need to, but don't let it worry you. That's really the only way to avoid insomnia, that is, not letting your mind get busy. That's what always keeps me up, is thinking about things. I used to be afraid to sleep because I have sleep apnea, but I found a solution to that, (and sleep apnea can't kill you; you're body wakes you up via instinct if you can't breathe) and now it doesn't worry me.

Again, the best thing to get sleep is to just relax and clear your mind. I hope that helps.

[Re Harakhti]

I've experienced sleep paralysis only a handful of times but most of them have been bizarre in a not-that-unpleasant kind of way, for me the feeling is always as though.. Gravity is not only holding me still, but pushing me into the actual ground.
Only once did I experience real discomfort and fear, when I was coming our of a dream in which I was actually being swallowed by the ground, and I awoke mentally, but my body was still experiencing the dream, and I could not move to fight it off.

Some interesting ones have left me waking up with my body completely cold and numb, and unable to move, but they've never been particularly unpleasant.. if that makes sense.

I'm not sure about the sensation of being pulled as opposed to pushed, that would be something to experience, but I wouldn't know what to suggest aside from Seric's solution.

[Deleted]

I wish I was able to help you with this, but I've only just heard about this problem now in your post, and I don't recall experiencing anything like it before.

[Deleted]

I've had only one OBE, but I'd recommend looking at neurological explanations.