Should I be worried about this?

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cloudheart

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I’ve been experiencing some things lately, that can be completely explained by the medical field, but I’m wondering if I should be worried anyway.

I often wake up and feel someone standing over me, or see a vague presence in my room. I’m always scared when this happens. Apparently this is quite common and is called hypnagogia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia) - it’s basically a kind of perception distortion to do with being half asleep. But should I be worried that it could be a demonic presence?

A few more specifics:
  • This has happened in more than one house.
  • I can’t quite remember if it happened at all before I started contemplating going to church, but it has certainly been happening a lot since I have been attending church (although the time period also coincides with me being stressed, which could trigger hypnagogia).
  • Sometimes I think I see a figure, but then realise it’s the shadow of something else in my room, but sometimes I turn on the light and there was nothing else there that could have made the shape.
  • One instance that basically convinced me that it was just a sleep/perception thing was this: I woke up, absolutely convinced that I had gone to bed lying on cushions, and since the cushions were gone, someone must have been in my room. I tried to clear my head for about 10 minutes, but was still really confused/scared, and still convinced I had fallen asleep on the cushions. I couldn’t shake out of it and just went back to sleep. In the morning my mind was clear, and I knew there had been no cushions. This actually doesn’t fit with hypnagogia, but it doesn’t sound like a demon thing either, does it?
  • I also often wake up exactly on the hour - either 12am or 1am (I go to sleep at 11pm). Once or twice it has been 2am or 3am. But it’s always right on the hour, or within a few minutes - never mid-way through the hour. I don’t know if this is related at all.
I guess I just want to know if I should be worried about this, or if the hypnagogia explanation is most likely.

I don’t really have anyone else to ask. I was about to start an RCIA program, but then I moved house and haven’t been able to find another (it took me 18 months to find the first one). I may be able to attend one later in the year, but the church isn’t sure it will run, and no other churches nearby are running one. I’ve gone to a few services at this new church, but don’t really know anyone yet, and don’t feel comfortable approaching a priest I don’t know. I don’t have any practising Catholic friends or family.

Thanks in advance for any response you can provide.
 
cloudheart said:
I’ve been experiencing some things lately, that can be completely explained by the medical field, but I’m wondering if I should be worried anyway.

I often wake up and feel someone standing over me, or see a vague presence in my room. I’m always scared when this happens. Apparently this is quite common and is called hypnagogia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia) - it’s basically a kind of perception distortion to do with being half asleep. But should I be worried that it could be a demonic presence?

A few more specifics:
  • This has happened in more than one house.
  • I can’t quite remember if it happened at all before I started contemplating going to church, but it has certainly been happening a lot since I have been attending church (although the time period also coincides with me being stressed, which could trigger hypnagogia).
  • Sometimes I think I see a figure, but then realise it’s the shadow of something else in my room, but sometimes I turn on the light and there was nothing else there that could have made the shape.
  • One instance that basically convinced me that it was just a sleep/perception thing was this: I woke up, absolutely convinced that I had gone to bed lying on cushions, and since the cushions were gone, someone must have been in my room. I tried to clear my head for about 10 minutes, but was still really confused/scared, and still convinced I had fallen asleep on the cushions. I couldn’t shake out of it and just went back to sleep. In the morning my mind was clear, and I knew there had been no cushions. This actually doesn’t fit with hypnagogia, but it doesn’t sound like a demon thing either, does it?
  • I also often wake up exactly on the hour - either 12am or 1am (I go to sleep at 11pm). Once or twice it has been 2am or 3am. But it’s always right on the hour, or within a few minutes - never mid-way through the hour. I don’t know if this is related at all.
I guess I just want to know if I should be worried about this, or if the hypnagogia explanation is most likely.

I don’t really have anyone else to ask. I was about to start an RCIA program, but then I moved house and haven’t been able to find another (it took me 18 months to find the first one). I may be able to attend one later in the year, but the church isn’t sure it will run, and no other churches nearby are running one. I’ve gone to a few services at this new church, but don’t really know anyone yet, and don’t feel comfortable approaching a priest I don’t know. I don’t have any practising Catholic friends or family.

Thanks in advance for any response you can provide.
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It sounds more like a hypnagogia. I seen that explained once in a movie. It is quite common with people who have sleep problems. This is just a suggestion: go get yourself checked out by a sleep lab. Or place a video camera in the room where you sleep and let it run all night and then view it in the morning. Take that clip to the sleep lab too. Hope this helps.

Becca3
 
Yes this may be the prescence of the Devil, often it will appear in hideous forms and will try to frighten you call on the name of jesus and pray also get your house blessed.
 
Transalosania said:
Yes this may be the prescence of the Devil, often it will appear in hideous forms and will try to frighten you call on the name of jesus and pray also get your house blessed.
Click to expand...
It’s possible, but cloudheart might want to eliminate any natural causes before assuming it’s the devil. S/he’ll want to do this because:
  1. A physical disorder is the most likely cause–using the horse vs. zebra principle, and,
  2. If it is a health issue it should be addressed by a health professional.
If s/he finds out there is no physical cause, then s/he’ll want to talk to his/her priest about it to see what spiritual remedy would be best in his case.
 
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