anyone ever had...

have any of you ever suffered the "old hag syndrome"

http://paranormal.about.com/library/.../aa112000a.htm
(is on the page)

nope, havent had that experience! actually, i hadn't ever heard of it till now either... weird, but sorta interesting

I'm not sure how to answer your poll, so I'll just reply. I had something sort of like this happen once. I was still asleep and I was having a really bad dream (had watched some sort of freaky movie). Well I was trying so hard to wake up from the dream, but I just couldn't make my eyes open or force myself to wake up. I don't really remember if I could move or not. It was definitely pretty freaky and thankfully has only happend once.

Nope, but I've heard of it and watched TV shows about it.

Amber

my friend has got it and she says she can hardly breath and she is pinned down. the website has freaked me out now. hope i never get it.

What the heck is it??? Maybe I do have it - I just don't realize it! Is it when you wake up and your body aches and then the commute takes 2 days to get to work, and then your office has no air circulation and everyone is crabby, and then your boyfriend leaves the cat out all day in the rain, and then you have an empty 'fridge for dinner, and then you are too tired to cook, and then you notice little wrinkles and bags your eyes that weren't there yesterday - and new grey hair you thought you dyed?????

Is that it???? If so, then may be I HAVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, yes. It's a sleep phenomenon. I've had it happen several times, although not so often as I've gotten older. The thing is, although you think you're awake, you're not really, and that's why you can't move. If you could you'd be sleepwalking .

Originally Posted by RoseHawke

Oh, yes. It's a sleep phenomenon. I've had it happen several times, although not so often as I've gotten older. The thing is, although you think you're awake, you're not really, and that's why you can't move. If you could you'd be sleepwalking

.

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It is not a good experience!

ive had something happen similar to that-- i was awake when it happened-- it was my first year in college. I had been out in a drizzle the nite before with a friend playing tennis at the college tennis courts until around 2 am when campus police told us to go back home. I went back to my dorm ( i was an RA and had my own room and bathroom in my dorm) and went to bed like every other nite. I woke up the next morning and could hardly breathe, couldnt move, and couldnt get a word out of my mouth. Scared the crap out of me. I managed to fall out of bed about 10 minutes after i woke up and still couldnt get up. the residents in the room next to me heard the comotion and got my hall director to unlock my door. They ended up calling 911 and my parents-- it took me several hours to stop shaking, i was soo scared. The hospital told me it was a sinus infection. Gave me antibiotics and sent me on my way. didnt draw blood or anything. It never happened again, and i hope i never have to experience that again. Nor would i wish that horror on anyone.

The dormitory we lived in was very old and there are stories about girls commiting suicide off the top of the building and one girl being murdered on the second floor in the room directly above mine. Never knew if any of those stories were true though. Scary anyway.

Sounds scary. I haven't experienced it.

My first husbands family used to tell stories of this happening to them but never said anything about an "old hag".

They had me convinced the house was haunted.
They said they would wake up and be pinned to the bed like someone was sitting on them and they could not move or speak.
That's crazy!
I hope it never happens to me either, it would scare the crap outa me!

Nope..never

I've had it, I think that it was induced by my fear of something happening to my kids and I sort of awake and fear that someone is in the house and you're frozen, can't do anything, move, speak. Very scary. You honestly think someone is there in the house with you. It's a very wierd feeling that comes over you and you freak. When I could actually move I woke up my husband and had him help my look thoughout the the house to make sure no one was in there and the kids were alright. Thank God they were!!

Originally Posted by milopixie

I had something sort of like this happen once. I was still asleep and I was having a really bad dream (had watched some sort of freaky movie). Well I was trying so hard to wake up from the dream, but I just couldn't make my eyes open or force myself to wake up.

I don't really remember if I could move or not. It was definitely pretty freaky and thankfully has only happend once.

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Now that I've had before, but not the old hag thing! Mind you, some days I sure feel like an old hag! :
It's unsettling for the whole day when you have a horrible dream like that...

I voted yes before I read the article!
I thought you meant feeling like you sounded or looked like an old hag!

But after reading the article, no. Oops!

Nope, but I have dreams so vivid and lifelike that I think they were real.

Like the dream I had last night. I went to school, and I went to work, and this morning, I thought I was waking up to a Friday. And I have to double and triple check to make sure that I really did all of the things at work that I thought I did.

Originally Posted by Me-n-my guys

I voted yes before I read the article!
I thought you meant feeling like you sounded or looked like an old hag!

But after reading the article, no. Oops!

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That's exactly what I thought, too! I wrote out an entire list of why I was feeling like an old hag!

I've experienced a sleep phenomenon called, I think, "night terrors" where I'm not dreaming anymore but my body is in sleep paralysis and I can't move. It is indeed terrifying but I never thought to attribute it to ghosts or witches as it is scientifically documented as something else.

Originally Posted by SnowLeop

I've experienced a sleep phenomenon called, I think, "night terrors" where I'm not dreaming anymore but my body is in sleep paralysis and I can't move. It is indeed terrifying but I never thought to attribute it to ghosts or witches as it is scientifically documented as something else.

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Actually, you've used the correct term for it. It's called sleep paralysis. My husband and other members of his family are prone to it. It's basically your brain being awake while your body is still paralyzed by sleep. (Normally, when you are asleep, the part of your brain that controls movement is "turned off" so that you don't actually do the things you think you're doing in your dreams. This is also the part that perceives movement, which is why you can dream you are moving when, in fact, you are lying motionless in bed.)

So your brain is awake, but your body is asleep. Basically, you are trapped in your own body. The crushing weight on the chest and sensing a presence in the room are physiological symptoms of this phenomenon. It is common throughout all cultures, and many cultures have come up with their own ways to explain what is happening.

Even when you know what it is, though, it is still terrifying, precisely because you are awake and cannot move. My husband can, with the utmost effort, "scream" (actually he is moaning, but he is trying to scream as loudly as he can), which wakes me up, and then I wake him all the way up. It is difficult; I have to say his name over and over and shake him really hard.

I remember something like that when I was a child. I remember being so scared and trying to scream but nothing would come out and I was actually paralyzed with fear. I don't want that to happen as an adult.