Why Can't I Move?

I have had this strange phenomena happen to me which I think began in my teenage or early adult years. It was so petrifying that I would dread nights and bed time. On certain occasions, mostly when I was over-tired or exhausted, and laying in bed preparing to sleep, I would feel like my whole body was being pressed down into the mattress. I would be fully conscious but not able to move a muscle, not even blink if my eyes happened to be open, and not able to resist once the process had started.

I knew I was awake because if the T.V. happened to be on I could still see the same show on and the surroundings in my room etc. It was even more terrifying to me if my mouth happened to be closed because I sometimes suffer from blocked nasal passages and I would literally be struggling to breathe.

On many occasions I feared I would die from lack of air if the demons or devils or whatever don't get me first. In addition to this, I would hear loud screeching noises or sometimes inexplicable sounds directly in my ears. I would be straining to move or even just take a deep breath but to no avail, so I would just panic and struggle until I finally burst out of this condition gasping and panting for air and out of fright. If I attempted to calm down and go back sleep, it would happen repeatedly.

I have been reading a lot about astral projection, out of body experiences and so on and I think I may have had an episode of sorts once when I decided to relax instead of panicking the last time this strange occurrence happened but am not entirely sure.

Here is what happened: Instead of panicking, I just relaxed into the state and almost immediately had the sensation of moving through blackness. Swiftly, then slowly almost to the point of a standstill, then swiftly again and so on. Although it was dark, wherever I focused my sight it would be illuminated and I could see. I saw a wall, which I passed through (I didn't see or feel my body), I passed through an old wooden type of window covering with some type of wicker, geometrical design and a ragged hole down in the right hand corner and it was very dusty and seemingly old. I passed through something else and ended up inside a large, high-ceilinged hall which I had the feeling to be a mausoleum. I wasn't afraid (which is a miracle for me) and I drifted down and to and then through one of the drawers. At the end of the long drawer, there was a plaque with my last name, but the first two names weren't mine and I know this because even though I didn't remember them, the initials stuck out in my mind. Then I just 'woke up'. I didn't have the sensation of returning to my body. After this episode it hasn't happened again.

If anything like this has happened to anyone, I would love to hear about it. If anyone has any possible explanations as to what the phenomena might be, I would love to know.

Sincerely, Timeless*