this is only something i’ve caught onto recently but it’s happened multiple times before and i’ve just brushed it off.
i don’t dream very often (or i just don’t remember most dreams) but when i DO dream they’re never very nice often involving some sort of unpleasant experience. last night i was having an unpleasant dream - i don’t remember what it was about i just know it was unpleasant - but then i realised it was a dream and wanted to like stop dreaming and wake up? and i was aware of sensations of my body, notably this gripping or pressure sensation on both my sides just between my waist and hips. this is a sensation i actually realised i feel a lot when i dream. so i was aware of the dream and i could feel my body and sensations on my body but i couldn’t get out the dream really and it made me feel really panicked, and then suddenly i was properly awake and felt very spooked you know like a heavy feeling in my chest, looking around my room because i needed to be grounded. that feeling stuck with me for a while i tried to calm it with going on my phone to distract myself and then i eventually fell back asleep and was fine.
like i said earlier, i realised this gripping sensation seems to be a common occurrence when i dream. i wake feeling spooked and scared and still feel this sensation on me and i eventually calm down and fall back asleep after 10-20 mins of calming and distracting myself.
is this sleep paralysis? i do struggle with my sleep a lot - lots of unreliable sleep patterns, under sleeping, insomnia etc. i also don’t sleep on my back and definitely noticed i woke up on my side yesterday after that ‘episode’