Guest Post: Deirdre Swinden

Today I am pleased to host a guest post from author Deirdre Swinden relating to her new release Somnium from Crystal Lake Publishing.

Take it away, Deirdre!

Sleep Paralysis: Trapped In the Nightmare Realm

By Deirdre Swinden

Several weeks ago, I woke to a massive black shadow standing in my doorway. Fear flooded my body, but there was nothing I could do. My limbs wouldn’t respond. I could see every detail of my room, every contour of the hulking shadow that stole ever closer. As it turned out, I was still asleep. The nerves that kept my arms and legs from living out my dreams were in control during a rapid eye movement (REM) state—a term called “REM atonia.” I was experiencing sleep paralysis, and my nightmare was not all that uncommon.

Sleep paralysis is defined by the National Institutes of Health as a “phenomenon in which resumption of consciousness occurs while muscle atonia of REM sleep is maintained, leading to intense fear and apprehension in the patients as the patient lies awake without the ability to use any part of their body.”

If you’ve ever experienced it, you know the strange sense of frustration where your mind is quite lucid—even if you are dreaming—but your body won’t do a thing in response. For many, sleep paralysis is accompanied by intense feelings of fear. Others describe a weight on the chest or an imposing presence in the room. It’s almost as if your body has trapped you in a nightmare state—which became a critical plot point for my novel Somnium.

When I finally broke the paralysis and woke, the shadow dispersed into nothing. I was left breathless and afraid. Such dreams, which I’ve had since my youth, were the basis for a lifelong fascination with sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. I wanted to learn how to stop the nightmares. Becoming a lucid dreamer offered me the ability to take control of my nightmares—but only if I could recognize I was dreaming.

In Somnium, Gillian has mastered the art of lucid dreaming, but will it help her wake when an accident traps her in a nightmare realm? Will it save her when the virus-like technology that has caused her persistent nightmares becomes sentient?

Have you ever had an episode of sleep paralysis? Share your experience!

Reference:

Farooq, M., & Anjum, F. (2023, September 4). Sleep paralysis. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562322/#:~:text=Sleep%20paralysis%20refers%20to%20the,any%20part%20of%20their%20body