2. The dying feeling that accompanies sleep paralysis
Fear of death is written in the very DNA of human beings. We are all very aware of the fact that we are all going to die. It is not a possibility. It is a certainty. And yet, we fear it. We dread it, and we even pour billions of dollars into researching how we can actually prolong life. There are many reasons why people fear their own mortality. If they believe that there is nothing after death, then they fear the total cessation of their existence. Those who are unsure of what comes after may fear the unknown, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. Then there are people who don’t want to die because they simply enjoy living. They enjoy the experience as a whole, with the heartaches and happiness that it offers.
This fear is a constant feature of human existence. And death becomes even more terrifying when we actually come face-to-face with it. This can happen to some degree in sleep paralysis. It is not because you stand there looking at the chopping block. This fear emanating from the feeling of death and despair which may be inspired by sleep paralysis.
There are times when the dread and the fear is so overwhelming that people actually think they are dying. It becomes a reality all too suddenly. Once they realize that they are not dying there is generally an overwhelming sense of relief.
Once a person has regained autonomy over their body they can breathe a sigh of relief as the realization dawns that they are alive and will probably be alive for the foreseeable future. This is all well and good. But, there is a time when you can’t move, you have no power or control and do truly believe that this is the end. This element is possibly the most terrifying part of sleep paralysis.