Sleep Paralysis

<p>Truthfully, these past couple of weeks it's been difficult for me to fall asleep. One of my biggest fears is the dark, and I'm not talking about a classroom with the lights turned off, with light coming through the barely closed windows, but an actual pitch black room.<br/>Places where shadows are endless, and it feels like almost anything could be lurking there.<br/>It's almost as if I place my hand close enough to the emptiness, something will just latch onto me and drag me away forever.<br/>That is why I'm afraid of the dark. Sitting in my room while trying to fall asleep is horrifying.<br/>My bedroom becomes a whole nother dimension when the lights are turned off<br/>When I finally manage to sleep, I'm self aware in my dreams. The feeling of knowing you're dreaming but not being able to wake up is terrifying.<br/>I'm trapped in my own mind, thinking that I'll never wake up again. But somehow I always manage to grasp back into reality, even though my heart is pounding and I wake up in a pool of my own sweat.<br/>It's one of the most relieving feelings to know you're still alive.<br/>One night, i went to bed and began having a nightmare. I was in a hospital, and someone was chasing me. It was a woman with a disfigured face.<br/>I didn't know why she was chasing me, but I knew I couldn't let her catch up to me. But she was persistent in trying to grab me.<br/>After running for what felt like forever, I managed to lock myself into a patient's room, barely catching my breath. The thing chasing me definitely knew I was there, because something was pounding on the door.<br/>I didn't know what to do, so i just stood there. Waiting for it to open the door as the light from the window slowly faded away.<br/>Suddenly the room I trapped myself in was pitch black. I held my breath as I heard the door opening, not knowing what was gonna happen to me.<br/>When I woke up, I found myself completely frozen.<br/>I tried to move my fingers, but they wouldn't budge. My eyes were the only thing I was able to control.<br/>I rolled my eyes to the darkest corner of my room to find a lady standing there. She stared straight at me and I recognized her as the monster in my dream. I wanted to scream, but nothing came out of my mouth.<br/>All I did was watch in horror as the woman slowly stepped out of the shadows, revealing her horrifying face.<br/>She was looking over me, almost like we were having a staring contest. My eyelids wouldn't shut, so I was stuck there staring at her face as I tried desperately to scream for anyone.<br/>After what felt like forever, the woman stepped back and let herself fade into the shadows.<br/>I was still frozen in fear.<br/>My eyes were finally able to close, and by the time I opened them again it was morning. The light from the windows let me see my empty room.<br/>The woman's face randomly appears in my mind sometimes. It's like she wanted to take me with her, but decided to leave me instead.<br/>I stay away from shadows at night, fearing that she might come back and decide to take me anyways.</p>