...This brings me to my research into Scientific explanation of Sleep Paralysis. My main source of this information was the Book “Sleep Paralysis- A guide to Hypnagogic Visions & Visitors of the Night” by Ryan Hurd (2011). The first thing I encountered in this book was the symptoms of Sleep Paralysis. The information gathered in the book state that these symptoms are “nearly universal and have been noted throughout history and across cultures.” Examples of these symptoms include, inability to move, feeling like being held down or experiencing a weight pushing down on the chest and throat, hearing strange noises such as buzzing, pounding heart, experiencing fear and terror, out of body experience, seeing weird creatures and difficulty in breathing....
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... Sleep Paralysis For many centuries, sleep paralysis has affected many people across the world, mostly young adults. Strange demonic forces and evil spirits seek out and torment individuals for reasons beyond imagination. Many cultures have different names for these entities, In the Malaysian culture they are known as demonic figures, the Ethiopian culture refers to them as some sort of evil spirit, and in the Chinese culture they are known as ghosts pressing down on the body. Because here in the United States, we have grown weary of the presence of demons, and demonic spirits, we tend to dismiss the beliefs of other cultures. This is not the case, because we can learn a lot from other cultures and their beliefs about sleep paralysis. According to Sleepparalysis.com, there are many reasons for this strange phenomenon, which can lead to sleep paralysis. Some causes and attacks, have been related to individuals opening doors to these evil spirits. Some ways of doing this, are by engaging in some sort of occult practices such as, tarot card readings, Ouija boards and channeling or meditation. There are many other ways that can open doors to these nightmares, some of them in which the person had no control of. For instance, it can be generational, if ones parents or grandparents have been involved in heavy occult rituals. This could be a father who has been initiated into the high Masonic arts, because of this, many people can experience sleep paralysis at an...
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...The theatrical film, The Fourth Kind, addresses the prospects of aliens through a basis on real events occurring in Nome, Alaska in 2000. The plot line follows Dr. Abigail Emily Tyler and her professional experiences with patients claiming alien abduction. The film begins with Tyler recounting a personal experience of her husband’s supposed murder that occurred in August of 2000. The Fourth Kind then takes focus on Tyler’s professional career as she tapes hypnotherapy sessions with patients experiencing a similar account of events. The correlation is summed up as a white owl staring at the patients through their windows each night. While under hypnosis, two of the patients describe similar stories of the creatures attempting to enter their homes. In addition, the film portrays one patient killing himself and his family after undergoing hypnosis. Following similarities in the individual’s stories, Tyler suspects the patients were abducted by aliens. The plot thickens as a patient requests Tyler to hypnotize him, which results in the disturbing act of him hovering above his bed while a voice informs Tyler to end her study. To further complicate the scene, the patient is paralyzed resulting from the hypnosis leading to Tyler being placed on house arrest. While confined, police camera footage shows a large dark object flying above the Tyler household and the officer describes people being pulled from the home. Tyler then claims that her daughter Ashley had been taken, however she...
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...detail what it is exactly. Then, you will learn a few of the benefits gained by this experience and some dangers. Last, I will give you a few simple steps to how it can be done. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I know I was! As explained in an article by Rebecca Turner, Lucid dreaming is the proven ability to become aware while you’re dreaming, to consciously “wake up” inside the dream world and control your dreams. In other words, it’s being able to do as you please while you dream. Marshall Brain researched that when you sleep, your brain goes through several stages of a sleep cycle. The cycle that deals with dreams is REM or rapid eye movement which takes up 20 to 25% of sleep and your brain is basically shut off during this period of time. Your body becomes paralyzed except for the eyelids and the part of the brain that deals with logic is shut off which is why most of the time our dreams don’t make sense. Lucid dreaming occurs during this stage of sleep with a slight difference. The part of the brain that deals with logic or the lateral prefrontal cortex “wakes up” so dreaming and logic is working at the same time. You are aware of what is going on in your dream and make what you want of it. I know it sounds a little insane but...
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...is said that everyone experiences sleeping paralysis at least once in his or her lifetime. With personal experiences with sleeping paralysis, and extended research on the subject, I’m going to tell you what sleeping paralysis is, symptoms, causes, and how it can be treated. Bruce from Night of the Crushers, defines sleep paralysis as the “inability to purposefully move one’s muscles at sleep onset or upon awakening. In sleep paralysis, components of REM sleep occur...
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...My initial research led me to the most famous and historic example of Sleep Paralysis, Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting “The Nightmare”. The painting portrays symptoms of sleep paralysis. The central figure is lying on her back with the demon sitting on her chest and some strange creatures in the background. The work is considered to be the greatest work of this artist. It is also believed that this is the first artistic impression of Sleep Paralysis. In the history of Western medicine, Sleep Paralysis has been documented for at least 300 years. Several cases were found to support this argument including the Dutch, Persian and Greek. The Dutch case report (“Of the Night-Mare”) was documented back in 1664 from a physician Isbrand Van Diemerbroeck. The case describes...
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...Sleep Paralysis Symone Clayton English Composition 1 Abstract I was a sophomore in High School in New Haven , Michigan when In school I decided to walk home and skip school, my house was empty at the time so I decided to go into my room and take a nap and that’s when it happened for the very first time. I had awakened and I felt this heavy weight on my body and another feeling that I can only describe as if someone is lying on top of me, forcing me down (hence holding my whole body down) holding my lips and eyelids shut. I could hear though. This lasted for about 10 seconds. During these 10 seconds all sorts of thoughts started running through my mind questioning the reality of this phenomenon and even extended to states where I thought I must be dead! Then all of a sudden, my eyelids opened and I could look around I could even see from my peripheral vision that my brother was sleeping. I shouted and shouted but in vain. Within the next minute I had fully awakened and all of a sudden jerked up into a seated position on the bed. This was one of the most horrific and frightening experiences I have ever had. At that time, I didn’t even know what to call this episode I had experienced. I felt quite embarrassed to talk about it in general for a reason I don’t know till today. About six months later I started to do my own researches on the incident which had happened to me. My mother wanted me to start reading the bible more and go see Pastor and they felt it was a trick...
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...during daytime (sleep attacks). You normally go through cycles when you sleep. After about 90 minutes of light sleep, your sleep should become deeper. When your sleep becomes deeper, your body moves less and you start dreaming. This type of deep sleep is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When you have narcolepsy, REM sleep is not well-regulated. Narcolepsy is a lifelong (chronic) disorder. CAUSES The cause of narcolepsy is not fully understood, but it may be related to: • Low levels of hypocretin, a chemical (neurotransmitter) in the brain that controls sleep and wake cycles. Hypocretin imbalance may be caused by: ○...
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...Gabriela Cankova 12/3 03/11/2010 The Paralysis Caused by Wealth through Milkman and Guitar’s Characters (Essay) The book “Song of Solomon” represents a coming of age, a change, a metamorphosis in a young man. Throughout their lives Milkman and Guitar experience different childhoods, have different friends and live their lives dissimilarly due to their financial situations. When an opportunity for wealth comes up both of them start dreaming of different things, belongings and experiences. This desire for money paralyses them in that they can’t do anything to achieve their dreams. So even though Milkman and Guitar’s financial situation in their childhood is different, their longing to be rich and have money is equally strong, leaving them paralyzed. However, Milkman is able to escape the stillness in his life and does more than just “yearn”, he works towards achieving his dreams. Growing up Milkman and Guitar develop a different view on money because of their families wealth. In his childhood, Milkman had everything he wanted and grew up being the center of attention. As his family is driving down Not Doctor Street the reaction of the neighbors is described as, “In 1936 there were very few among them who lived as well as Macon Dead. Others watched the family gliding by with a tiny bit of jealousy and a whole lot of amusement…” (Morrison 32). The author is showing a picture in which Milkman and his family are better than everyone else, especially better than most...
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...Throughout James Joyce’s work, he depicts a pervasive theme of paralysis through the characters and realistic stories presented. Joyce believed that Ireland had been frozen by the conflict between Protestants and Catholics and therefore it became an under-developed country. He chose Dublin as it was the ‘centre of paralysis’ and had a particularly dramatic effect in ‘Eveline’ (a story of adolescence). Firstly, to portray Eveline’s dilemma, the window symbolises the parallel between Eveline’s current situation on one side and the world she has the opportunity to explore on the other. She sits at ‘the window watching the evening invade the avenue’ as she ponders her past, present and future life. The personification of the ‘evening’ invading her hometown implies how she feels threatened, after being constrained to a repetitive life for years, the possibility of escape has risen and she is not sure if she wants to give up her predictable life. Despite her indecisiveness, she does not want a ‘life of commonplace sacrifices’ similar to her Mothers. Eveline’s repetitive routine has formed a prison around her, capturing her in an unhappy life she finds difficult to leave, despite her abusive father. Through the first part of the story, Joyce uses a semantic field of verbs: ‘divided’, ‘leave’, ‘running out’ and ‘escape’ to elicit her confusion. Ideas of distance between Eveline and her penultimate decision are instilled upon the reader’s thoughts by the semantic field of uncertainty...
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...REP RI N TED F ROM To subscribe: www.emc.com/on | issue NO. 1, 200 9 Reprinted with permission from ON magazine. Copyright © 2009 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. adversity happens. it happened to me, and some form of adversity will happen to you. do you have the strength and will to bounce back? iN search Of by glenn e. mangurian resilieNt leaders 22 ON Number 1, 2009 illustratiON by hadley hOOper On May 26, 2001, i suffered an unprovoked disk rupture that pressed against my spinal cord, leaving the lower half of my body permanently paralyzed. at the prime of my life as a successful business executive and father, it was the last thing i ever expected. since then, i’ve come to realize it’s very likely that we will each experience some form of adversity: a career crisis, financial disaster, devastating relationship breakup, or frightening diagnosis. in business, we are trained to examine various scenarios and prepare responses in advance, but life-altering experiences like these are not something we can anticipate. Who has a contingency plan for living life from a wheelchair? for me, becoming paralyzed is, without question, the worst thing that has ever happened. at the same time, the experience has allowed me to come back, not just changed but stronger. i’ve learned that our innate ability to survive and adapt is greater than we imagine. resilience is one of the key qualities desired in business leaders today, but many people confuse it with toughness...
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...Introduction: Paralysis due to physical injury or disease is a systemic and debilitating condition. Data from the Christopher and Dana Reeve foundation suggest that approximately 1.9% of Americans suffer from some form of paralysis (paralysis, 2014). This loss of freedom is not limited to the patient and can have a marked effect on their loved ones as well. The exoskeleton is designed to restore both the mobility and self-sufficiency of the wearer. The basic idea for an extra skeletal lower-limb support system can be traced back to the 1890’s. However, it wasn't until 1971 - with the birth of General Electric’s Hardiman - that the premise was modernized with the incorporation of electrically powered components (Dollar, 2008). Later still was...
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...heroic act just to refuse the paralysis of fear and straighten up and step into another day.” This quote is saying that to overcome fear or anything that holds a person back is simply an act of heroism. So, what exactly does paralysis mean? The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “paralysis” as “a loss or impairment of voluntary muscular movement caused by structural abnormalities of nervous or muscular tissue or by metabolic disturbances in neuromuscular function” (“Paralysis”). This means a muscle or part of a muscle can no longer move. Physically, paralysis is the loss of the ability to move. Some people understand the impact and life changing habits when they experience paralysis in their body, but not everyone can grasp the true meaning of physical paralysis. The term paralysis has a negative connotation. When most people think of paralysis they think of a person being is a wheelchair. That is a stereotype because there...
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...occurrence of ulcers in the initial phase. 5. During an injury, the spinal column and the spinal cord can be injured anywhere along their length. The majority of the damage to the spinal cord occurs at the time of injury, but further damage can be caused by improper handling of the unstable spine and by the disruption of the blood supply, which can cause hypoxia and necrosis. Immediately following SCI, spinal shock occurs in the portion of the spinal cord that is injured and results in a complete loss of all motor, sensory, reflex, and autonomic function below the level of the injury. This loss is manifested in loss of bowel and bladder tone and peripheral vascular tone, which result in bladder distention, paralytic ileus, flaccid paralysis, and hypotension. After a period that varies from hours to months, but which usually lasts for 1 to 6 weeks, the spinal neurons gradually regain their excitability and the period of spinal shock ends. 6. Physical therapy: Range of motion exercises, Mobility training, Muscle strengthening. Occupational therapy (Splints, activities of daily living training) Bowel and bladder training Autonomic dysreflexia prevention Pressure ulcer prevention Recreational...
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...Go, Bryan Psychology 1 Professor Travelbee 23, January 2012 Article Review: Freaky Sleep Paralysis: Being Awake in Your Nightmares Did you ever awaken and find yourself unable to move? Perhaps you sensed a presence in your room or a pressure on your chest. I never knew that it was just a sleep paralysis until Professor Travelbee informed us about the Limb paralysis reflex. It is a common disorder that affects millions of people. Most believe it occurs as we are on the edge of REM sleep. The disorder has been connected with such hallucinogenic events such as alien abduction or an evil presence. Sleep paralysis is an inability to move or speak, occasionally accompanied by hallucinations, for up to several minutes upon awakening or just before falling asleep. I have had this about five times in my life, and I truly believe its Demons! It is the scariest thing you will ever experience in your life! The worst time that it happened was when I slept on my living room couch one night, and sometime around 4am I awoke to hearing footsteps getting closer to me. I could open my eyes, but could not move, no matter how hard I tried. Suddenly, I heard a whispering in my left ear could not make out what it was saying. I could only feel its presence, but not see it. My heart was pounding, and I struggled to get up, but could not, and then I felt it holding me down on my chest, I tried to fight it, but it was too strong. Because it was a deep, dark, cold thing, all I knew to do was...
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