Years ago, I used to get dreams where I would be held down by something, unable to move and would struggle to scream, finding myself unable to scream. Over time, I was able to make guttural noises and finally able to scream, waking up with the screams. I thought of it as nightmare, if not fighting forces of darkness. Last night, I had the same dream, or nightmare. It was terrifying. This morning, I decided to google dream paralysis. Surprise! It is common and by no means a struggle with dark forces.

It is actually quite fascinating. I never knew in sleep, we fall into something like paralysis. Next time it happens, I will tell myself not to be afraid or fight it and instead observe the entire phenomena.