Sleep paralysis. Science or Spiritual??

You’re fast asleep. Suddenly, you feel this urge to wake up but you cannot because it seems like someone or something is sitting right on top of you. You try to claw your way out but nothing works, and so you keep trying until your eyes finally opens and you sit up with a fright. Right.

Perhaps you’ve heard of ‘sleep paralysis’ . Or you haven’t. Now, sleep paralysis is  a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or when you wake. Sounds scary, right?

There’s been so many myths and beliefs about this. Some persons say it’s purely science and nothing spiritual while others believe that it is characterized by demons( or village people 🙄) who haunt people while they sleep. Well, everyone has their own perspectives isn’t it?

I’m going to talk based on my personal experience of sleep paralysis. No I don’t experience it anymore actually. Thank God😪. Sleep paralysis can be pretty scary actually ’cause it’s like you want to wake up but you can’t…. More like there’s a someone out there holding a pillow to your face or something. I literally stopped sleeping during that period because I was afraid of going through that. I literally dreaded sleeping actually cause the whole experience was becoming frequent and very scary.

Enough of the gory stuff. How do you deal with sleep paralysis? Well, I’m a spiritual person so I prayed of course but you have to also work on your sleep habits:

1. Avoid sleeping on your back. It has been shown that sleeping on your back increases your chances of sleep paralysis. Try lying on your side(or another position apart from your back)

2. Stress actually adds to sleep paralysis experiences so try to destress or take a timeout of whatever is causing you to stress.

3. Relax. Basically relax and try to get fear out of your mind and if it helps… Talk to yourself and speak reassuring words to yourself.

4. Talk to someone. If things get worse then you need to talk to someone about this because it can adversely affect your level of productivity. Talk to your family, or a trusted friend or confidante.

Sleep paralysis can be really scary but trust me, you can get past it. I would usually meditate on these two Bible verses and they helped me a lot( Psalms 3:5& Psalms 4:8).

Do you think sleep paralysis is purely scientific or it’s spiritual?

Have you had such experiences? And how did you cope?

I’d love to hear from you. Thank you 😊😊

🧡&💡

Fae.

Messing Up, inevitable??

I have always felt the need to be perfect. I don’t like making mistakes and so I carefully plan every decision and every move such that all goes well but still, I mess up sometimes. That’s because messing up is inevitable y’all. As well as farting.

There are different levels to messing up. There’s the ‘ You burnt dinner’ mess up, the ” you had an F in organic chemistry” mess up ( although if you had an awful chemistry teacher in high school like I did then you’re in the clear)… And also, the ‘ he was a douche but you fell for him’ mess up… It’s very much okay to mess up really.

Trying so hard to not make mistakes is futile. Rather, what’s important is dealing with our ‘messes’ as they come and learning from them. Okay. Enough of that. How can you deal with your spilled milk??

1. Acknowledge that you messed up. No point trying to blame the rain for falling on the night of your exam which led to your oversleeping or blaming your innocent hormones for making you crush on your ex. Uh- uh. Simply admit that you overslept or you actually once liked that ex.

2. Let it out. Cry if you must, rant to a friend, write in your diary… Just don’t keep it in. Fling your iPhone against the wall. Yeah. Yeah. Whatever works for you.

3. Bear the consequences and take responsibility. Accept the fact that you may have to resit the exam or deal with the memories of your toxic ex.

4. Understand what you did wrong and make up your mind to avoid repeating it. Finis.

5. Move On. Accept that what has happened has happened and simply move on. After all, people have done worse💁.

Know that mistakes are like Traffic jam in Lagos. They are inevitable 😏. How do you deal with your mistakes, what’s your reaction to messing up??

De-stressing in Times Like This….

As a Nigerian right now who’s been keeping up with the recent happenings, there’s a probability that you’re mentally, emotionally and even physically worked up. I believe this cause is for the greater good ( hey Gryffindors😏) and I encourage the efforts Nigerians are putting in to change things for the better.

However, your mental health is of top priority so I’d like to share a few tips I think would help save your sanity this period…

1. Avoid Overthinking: I’m guilty of this as well. Creating scenarios in my head before they even happen and getting worked up over trivial issues. Stop. Really, just stop. Rather focus on the moment and as the Holy Book says, let tomorrow worry over itself 🙂

2. Loosen Up Guys…: Yeah! I mean it. You’ve got to try not to take things or people seriously all the time. Humans are annoying,and will get on every last nerve If they could. That’s unavoidable Because you get on some people’s nerves too..ha ha! Be like the happy-go-lucky SpongeBob and let the whole worries drain out of you. 🙂

3. Take A Break Off Social Media: This is really important. If you can, deactivate those apps for a couple of days(or hours),but I recommend days. Instead, see a movie(preferably Chick flicks not a Zombie Apocalypse 🙄,we could really use some Happy endings) , play games or read a book. There’s so much on the net these days guys. Take. A. Break.

4. Avoid the News: I know you need to keep up with stuff but it’d be wise to steer clear for a while right now. Lots of gory stuff out there people.

5. Socialize More: Oh yeah.. I can see my introvert buddies shrinking away. I’m serious y’all. Hang around real people ( not online friends),have healthy discussions, laugh at their corny jokes. You may be thinking, ‘ but I ain’t got no friends’… I feel there’s at least someone you can talk to… But if you still insist, then come hang out with me, just bring pizza🙃.

How’ve you been coping guys and what have you been doing to de-stress?? I want to hear all of it🌝

Welcome…

Oftentimes, I did find it a tad difficult to articulate my thoughts clearly… And it would mostly end in a stutter or the listener getting confused as to what I’m saying 😅.

Then an idea occured to me, perhaps I could still relate my thoughts without fear of embarrassing myself and tah-dahh…. MapleDrips 🙂

This blog was borne out of a desire to share my experiences and ideas with others freely. I look forward to going on this rocket ride with y’all…

Strap your seatbelts on guys, we’re taking off nowww🚀🚀🙃🙃…..