Alien abductions: A case of sleep paralysis

Abstract

Sleep paralysis (SP) is a benign, transient episode of immobility lasting a few seconds to a few minutes that can occur while falling asleep or on awakening. It is a condition of unknown etiology. During the episode, all the skeletal muscles are virtually ‘paralyzed’, resulting in an inability to move or speak but individual remains conscious. Because it occurs in a clear sensorium, the individual is able to describe the experience vividly. It is associated with extreme anxiety, phobia, and nervousness, restless and, sometime, hallucinations. We present a case of 35 year old male personal driver, who had recurrent episode of sleep paralysis, we must rule out physical, psychological or social suffering and the subject must be examined by sleep clinicians or psychiatrist. “Supernatural” experiences associated to SP have been interpreted as pathological. We must enrich the knowledge about these experiences of SP and their psychological and cultural aspects. SP may be misdiagnosed as being due to depression and psychosis (e.g. schizophrenia) and alternatively depending on how they construe these experiences.