I only learned what this is called a couple of years ago. I didn't know it had a name, or that others where experiencing it too. Now, a Google search delivers plenty of information.
I started to experience sleep paralysis at the age of 19 - I'm now 33. In my early to mid 20's, I would have an experience every few weeks to a couple of months. As I grew older, they weren't as frequent. They were spread out over 8 to 13 months. My last experience of the classic type of sleep paralysis was over a year ago. By classic I mean: When it happens while you are sleeping while lying on your back, you gain conscienceness, but you can't move, you sense a presence, its at the foot of the bed, it feels evil and dark, you feel it crawling on top of you - enveloping you until it reaches your chest and neck and it becomes hard to breathe, you feel as if you're you're being choked, you try to move, but can't, you feel as if you've been shrink wrapped by your sheets and blankets.
During my first few experiences of it, when it got to the point that I couldn't breathe, I would try to move and scream. It was difficult, but I would manage to wake up, although I would be screaming and hollering. My family thought I was going crazy. With time, I learned to relax and not to freak out. I would see it through and fall back asleep - without any screaming.
From what I've read online, it only happens when one is sleeping while laying on one's back.
However...
A few weeks ago I started to experience a new type of sleep paralysis (new to me anyway). It happens while I'm sleeping on my side and so far its been the same scenario every time:
I'll be asleep, somewhat curled up with my back to the closet and the door to enter the bedroom. I wake up and right away I sense a wide presence behind me, standing next to the bed. It feels feminine, friendly and full of light (kind of angelic). Even though I can't see it, it doesn't feel threatening, but I'm still a bit creeped out by it. It communicates with me in a telepathic kind of a way. I can't hear what it says, I just sense its thoughts. I don't understand the language its communicating in, but it comes across as soothing and peaceful. It kneels on the bed next to me. I can feel its weight on the mattress. It places it's hands on my side that is facing up and on my back - I can feel the pressure. Its energy spreads from it hands and envelopes me - it feels like goosebumps, but its not terrifying and I'm able to breathe fine. I feel the presence lie next to me on its side facing me. I can feel its weight spread out on the mattress. The entire time I'm trying open my eyes and turn to be able to see it, but I can't. I eventually fall back asleep and wake up shortly after.
I hadn't experience sleep paralysis in over a year and especially not like this, so when this happened, at first I thought it was a spirit or ghost visiting me. But after experiencing it a lot more times and analyzing it - its definiteley sleep paralysis.
The last time I experience it, I tried to fight it. For whatever reason, I was determined to get away from it. When the sleep paralysis began as described above, I thought of having an object in my hand to poke the presence away from me. Then as if I were having a dream within a dream (lucid dreaming?), I looked at my hand and I was holding a long nail. I tried swingin my arm around but I kept missing the presence. I then thought of just rolling away from the presence until I fell off the bed. Then again, in a dream within a dream, I rolled and rolled away from the presence until I fell off the bed, but when I looked up, there was nothing there. I returned to the original state of sleep paralysis thinking I couldn't escape the presence and fell asleep.
