One of the hardest aspects of working with people who have had negative experiences with a haunting is to educate them about the common sleep disorder known as sleep paralysis. This was originally called the Old Hag Syndrome where it was thought that an old hag sat on your chest, or tried to choke you or to hold you down at night when you would awaken. We get people calling us claiming that a terrible ghost is holding them down or they are being attacked by a ghost at night that holds them down. Often these victims will display bruises as evidence of their ghost attack. While this may sound valid, if we examine it closely we will find that bruises are common with some people. My aunt always got bruises and had a hard time explaining that her husband did not beat her, but her skin was so sensitive that any pressure to it would leave a bruise.  Sharon will often get bruises that she has no idea where they came from, yet these same bruises would become the evidence of ghostly attacks by others.
 
When we sleep soundly and we remain in the same position all night so that we have not moved, this is a form of sleep paralysis. If we moved in correlation to our dreams, we would be acting out our dreams during the night, which can be related to sleep walking. The relaxation of the body during sleep is a form of paralysis that protects us from any type of acting out during sleep. I have awakened at night unable to move, unable to get up. This type of paralysis is natural and is important so our body can bet some rest at night. Those who do not understand this natural process will become alarmed and claim they are being attacked. It seems our worst fears are realized when we cannot move. If our fears are of aliens then it will be aliens holding us down. If it is fear of the dead, they will imagine it is an evil ghost after them. Check out the articles on our website regarding this condition, for more information.
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