Recently, we talked about how culture and mythology influence the perception of sleep paralysis in different countries, often leading to interpretations of the phenomenon as a demonic presence. In March 2020, another study was published on the topic, in which scientists led by Baland Jalal from the University of Cambridge in England attitudes toward sleep paralysis in Turkey.
The study involved 59 college students in Istanbul who had experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lives. When asked about the nature of this phenomenon, the overwhelming majority of students (88%) answered that it was an “attack of Karabasan” – a spiritual being mentioned in the Turkish folk tradition. In Turkish, kara means “black” and basan means “to crush, suppress”.
37% of respondents also reported using various religious methods to fight off the demon, such as dua (supplication to God), reading the Quran, and wearing the musqa talisman, on which verses from the Quran are written. As you can see, even the educated part of the Turkish population still adheres to supernatural explanations of this phenomenon.
Scientists believe that the fear of “spiritual punishment” may be critical to the experience of sleep paralysis. Thus, instead of the necessary relaxation, intense fear leads to a panic reaction, with the sleeper trying to move unsuccessfully. Especially impressionable sufferers may even begin to choke with horror, prolonging and aggravating the paralysis.
What do you do when you experience sleep paralysis? Write to us in the comments.
The article was published in March 2020 in the journal Transcultural Psychiatry.
