Yesterday, a person described a classic case of sleep paralysis where the mind half-wakes during REM's body-paralysis stage, becomes scared of the paralysis, and projects the fear as a real form based on one's belief system. This is a well-known phenomenon and is treatable. Yet others were supporting her belief in demon possession, saying that she should do these religious rituals. Is it helpful to her to support her delusion? I'm really interested in whether this is harmful or helpful...
2006-12-30 15:48:23 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No, its dangerous to support such delusional ideas. It is never good to convince someone of anything that isn't true. It would be best to get her medical treatment as soon as possible and let her thank God or whatever deity she may believe in for providing her with a cure. Although the "dreams" she may have in this semi-conscious state may be harmless, the fear she is experiencing is all too real and can cause serious damage. Not just emotionally either, I'm talking physical illness, mental collapse in the form of adaptive disorder (nervous breakdown).
2006-12-30 15:55:30 · answer #1 · answered by Enigma®Ragnarökin' 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sleep paralysis is something that most people experience once in a while, but you seem to have a severe case. In my opinion , the following is happening: When we sleep, the part of our brain that is responsible for movement gets shut down, in order to prevent you from wandering around and potentially hurt yourself during your dreams. Sleepwalkers have this system being defective (or even absent). You on the other hand, might have one working "too good", and thus being active at inappropriate times. The fact that it often happens when you're alone is no surprise. In most cases, we sleep alone, not in the company of others. (The exception is of course if you're married/have a fixed partner) Another typical aspect of dreams is that our brain tends to synchronize the events in the dreams with the real world, e.g: often a loud sound outside that woke you up happened seemingly at the same time as an event in your dream (like an exploding balloon, a gunshot, etc.) This might explain why you're seeing/experiencing strange things during those moments; you might not be 100% awake, but still partly dreaming. Anyway, there is no indication that anything supernatural is involved. You can find much information on this topic online. Whatever is the case, I hope you get better. All the best
2016-03-29 01:35:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it does not sound like demon possesion. There is a big debate if there is a thing called sleep paralysis or if it's a spiritual thing. From my expierience I have to say that it was an spiritual attack. I could not get my body to move or talk, but I could move my eyes and yes I did see I guess you could call them demons. On one of these occasions Jesus appeared before me and I knew what to do. I rebuked them and renounced them in the name of Jesus. Granted, I couldn't speak out loud so I had to say it in my head over and over again, and the demon left. Another time an angel of the Lord appeared before me and said "Praise the Lord" and when he said that the 5 demons that I saw were at bay, it was like he paused them and then the the other demon I just kept singing songs worship songs, and his whole face distorted and he looked as though he melted into the floor and I was free. So, no I don't believe in sleep paralysis it's like if people can't understand it or don't want to believe that it happens they label it with a name and say maybe it was stress induced, or you ate too much food before bed etc... And if there really is a thing called sleep paralysis how come people don't see happy things, why do they only see scary things?
2007-01-01 03:57:35 · answer #3 · answered by kangamonkey 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You said that a person half wakes and THEN becomes scared of the paralysis, and THEN projects fear in a case of 'classic sleep paralysis'.
Did her case go in that order?
It was not the same for me. In my experiences, I was attacked by demons in my sleep, it went on and my way to get out of it was to try to wake up, and I found myself immediately unable to do so. And it was after the demons were 'taken away' that I tried to get out of the dream. So the initial fear was gone before I tried to get out of it.
So I would NOT discount her side of the story, just because I might not believe in demons ( as some would not believe, I have reason to believe).
If you do not know how demons operate, I would try to get someone who did. Attempting to help someone who needed it, and not knowing how to proceed could be dangerous for her, and for yourself.
The truth is, that Jesus Christ gives power over those things, you just have to be covered by Him, and trust Him at the time of the attack, even in the dream.
I would like to hear from her, if possible. I can be E-mailed.
2006-12-30 16:10:54 · answer #4 · answered by Christian Sinner 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, it's obviously not demons, but...
It could be that the cause is an underlying phsychological issue, or a certain element of stress that is causing it. If this lady truly BELIEVES that she is possessed by a demon, and she gets an exorcism or whatever, and ends up truly BELIEVING that she is cured, she may stop having the symptoms.
Religion is clap-trap. Demons, Gods, Faeries and goblins are mythical creatures. Belief on the other hand, is a very powerful thing in the environment of the human mind.
2006-12-30 15:55:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
This is a belief that has existed for many many years. It was one believed that it was becuase a succubus was on top of them ( or in the case of a female an incubus). It also served to explain wet dreams ( it was the demons fault) and pregnancies ( knocked up by a demon ). A child of such a union was called a cambion.
2006-12-30 16:01:57 · answer #6 · answered by Zarathustra 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You should always consider illness to be natural before you jump to the supernatural. There are times when people are possessed and they will just get thrown across the room against a wall. There is no medical condition that causes that, but one should not be ignorant and assume any illness is possession. My dad sometimes stops breathing at night, and then wakes up gasping for breath. I know that is pretty common. So not everyone is so superstitious about common illnesses even if they do believe in the supernatural.
2006-12-30 15:54:29 · answer #7 · answered by The GMC 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
So many people who are demon possessed are call delusional.
Many many are put away and called crazy when actually they are truly demon possessed.
Maybe she is truly possessed and should be treated by someone who can help with that instead of filling her with medication that will only keep her quiet while still being possessed.
God Bless and have a safe and
HAPPY NEW YEAR !
2006-12-30 15:59:02 · answer #8 · answered by Bridget 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Wow, the true believers have spoken! No wonder the faith healer revivalists are so rich. Matbe, for a small fee I could pray for her, for a real decent chunk of change I could drive them demons out with a shout and a good solid wave of my jacket "a la Hinn".
2006-12-30 15:58:09 · answer #9 · answered by Barabas 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Some people just cannot be helped.
I suffer from sleep paralysis as well. In no way is this demonic possession... (demonic possession is just in the mind)
2006-12-30 15:54:05 · answer #10 · answered by Whatever 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋