In the dark hours of the middle of the night you are woken suddenly with a feeling of evil surrounding you, you cannot breathe and your chest is heavy, something is pressing down on you trying to suffocate you. To your horror you find can't move. You think you can see a strange figure swooping around your bed. 30 seconds later, you are able to move and the image disappears. Were you being visited by Demons, being abducted Aliens, or just suffering a sleeping disorder?
Old Hag Syndrome is both medical disorder and paranormal folklore that has roots in many different cultures. With not much study on this disorder, not much is know for sure, but there are many ideas surrounding it.
In the Medical and Scientific World Old Hag Syndrome is known as Sleep Paralysis. This is when the brain awakes from a REM (rapid eye movement) state, but the body stays paralyzed. This leaves the person fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by hallucinations. The most common hallucination is the shadow people, which are dark human-shape silhouettes, generally male. The personalities of these creatures can vary from mean and malicious to shy and skittish. It is likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since dream-like objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. All though no one is sure what causes this disorder for sure there are many theories such as Stress and anxiety, Narcolepsy, Sleeping on the back, Puberty, Bipolar Disorder, Artificial sleeping aids, ADD medications and/or antihistamines, and recent use of hallucinogenic drugs. One of the few treatments of this is aging because Sleep paralysis commonly starts at a young age and is most frequent during teenage years.
It would seem with all scientific evidence people would not see it is as more than a sleeping disorders, but there are many cultures that still see this as a spiritual thing. In Hmong (region of southern China) culture, sleep paralysis describes an experience called "dab tsog" which means, "crushing demon". Often times the person claims to be able to see a tiny figure, no larger than a child, sitting on their chest. What is alarming is that a vast number of American Hmong, mainly males, have died in their sleep prompting the Centers for Disease Control to create the term "Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome" or "SUNDS" for short. In Mexico, it's believed that sleep paralysis is in fact the spirit of a dead person getting on the person and impeding movement, they call this "se me subió el muerto" (the dead person got on me), and in many parts of the Southern United States, the phenomenon is known as a "hag", and the event is said to often be a sign of an approaching tragedy or accident.
Along with being linked to the spiritual, it is also being used to disprove paranormal experiences. In todays with the belief of alien abductions and ghostly encounters, many skeptics are using sleep paralysis to debunk them. There are many similarities between the abduction stories/ghost stories and the symptoms of sleep paralysis. Such as the inability to move or scream while being surrounded by unknown creatures. In addition, the description of the creatures given by both the abducted and the people with sleep paralysis seems to be similar. Giving skeptics a good rebuttal in new cases
In conclusion, Old Hag is multicultural event. It can be explained by the medical world and has roots in the paranormal world too. It is a very common thing a once it is understood it is no longer feared.
Old Hag Syndrome is both medical disorder and paranormal folklore that has roots in many different cultures. With not much study on this disorder, not much is know for sure, but there are many ideas surrounding it.
In the Medical and Scientific World Old Hag Syndrome is known as Sleep Paralysis. This is when the brain awakes from a REM (rapid eye movement) state, but the body stays paralyzed. This leaves the person fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be accompanied by hallucinations. The most common hallucination is the shadow people, which are dark human-shape silhouettes, generally male. The personalities of these creatures can vary from mean and malicious to shy and skittish. It is likely that someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since dream-like objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision. All though no one is sure what causes this disorder for sure there are many theories such as Stress and anxiety, Narcolepsy, Sleeping on the back, Puberty, Bipolar Disorder, Artificial sleeping aids, ADD medications and/or antihistamines, and recent use of hallucinogenic drugs. One of the few treatments of this is aging because Sleep paralysis commonly starts at a young age and is most frequent during teenage years.
It would seem with all scientific evidence people would not see it is as more than a sleeping disorders, but there are many cultures that still see this as a spiritual thing. In Hmong (region of southern China) culture, sleep paralysis describes an experience called "dab tsog" which means, "crushing demon". Often times the person claims to be able to see a tiny figure, no larger than a child, sitting on their chest. What is alarming is that a vast number of American Hmong, mainly males, have died in their sleep prompting the Centers for Disease Control to create the term "Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome" or "SUNDS" for short. In Mexico, it's believed that sleep paralysis is in fact the spirit of a dead person getting on the person and impeding movement, they call this "se me subió el muerto" (the dead person got on me), and in many parts of the Southern United States, the phenomenon is known as a "hag", and the event is said to often be a sign of an approaching tragedy or accident.
Along with being linked to the spiritual, it is also being used to disprove paranormal experiences. In todays with the belief of alien abductions and ghostly encounters, many skeptics are using sleep paralysis to debunk them. There are many similarities between the abduction stories/ghost stories and the symptoms of sleep paralysis. Such as the inability to move or scream while being surrounded by unknown creatures. In addition, the description of the creatures given by both the abducted and the people with sleep paralysis seems to be similar. Giving skeptics a good rebuttal in new cases
In conclusion, Old Hag is multicultural event. It can be explained by the medical world and has roots in the paranormal world too. It is a very common thing a once it is understood it is no longer feared.
