i am hoping that someone can help me with a reoccurring dream. i've had this dream off and on for the last 11 years. the surrounding content usually varies but the end result is the same.
the dream starts out normal enough but as it progresses a feeling of fear builds up. it culminates in me being attacked, for lack of a better way to describe it. the attacker is invisible and disembodied. in the dream i always assume it to be a ghost or demon although in waking life i wonder if there is something else going on here. anyway, the attack is quite painful. my limbs get very heavy and its very difficult to move. my entire body feels as though it is on pins and needles. it is extremely painful.
i have become a bit more sophisticated in these dreams and will usually recite mantras to make it stop. on rare occassions it actually works, most of the time though it only succeeds in keeping me calm.
i often then fight my way to consciousness but often times i'll think i'm awake but then that heavy painful feeling returns and i am forced to endure it till i think i fall back asleep.
sometimes i will have this sensation too and experience sleep paralysis before i even start dreaming. there have been a few times too where i have woken up from such dreams hanging head first off the side of my bed. if i hadn't caught myself on the dresser i would have fallen and received a painful injury as my bed was lofted at the time.
as i had mentioned this has been going on for the last 11 years. it's strange because i can go six months and not have any such dreams but then they always come back. there have been a few times when i had thought that i would not have such dreams again but then they always come back usually stronger than ever. they usually come in groups too. like i'll go a long time without having one then have three in as many days.
its been a few months since i have had such a dream and now i am scared because i know it is only a matter of time before they start up again.
any suggestions or thoughts about what might be going on here?
i really appreciate your help
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Kurukulla