So about an hour ago I discovered that I'm one of those people who experience panic when entering sleep paralysis. This was my first attempt at WILD and I did it during the day so it would be less scary. I've read a lot about sleep paralysis and how it causes hallucinations if you open your eyes. This seriously freaks me out!! Even though the logical part of my brain knows it's irrational to be afraid of hallucinations and they could never harm me the thought of it still gives me the chills. Anyways, I figured I'd man up and give it a shot. I grabbed my laptop and pulled up an hour long delta wave video on youtube to help me sleep and layed face up, hands by my side, and began to breathe slowly as I closed my eyes. At first it was very relaxing and enjoyable. I tried to ignore random thoughts and just focused on my breathing and visualizing my third eye. After a while my body got really numb and I suddenly heard a noise. When that happened my body went from calm and relaxed to panicked and anxious. I've never had a panic attack before but I imagine this was a similar experience. My heart began to beat vigorously and my eyes involuntarily twitched(REM sleep maybe?) I was kind of excited because I thought I was about to enter a lucid dream but also really scared because it felt like someone was shaking my bed. I tried telling myself it wasn't real and to stay calm as I continued to breathe deep but It didn't seem to work. I though I had already entered sleep paralysis so I did want to open my eyes for fear of seeing a hallucination. I tried to move my fingers to check if I was in SP and they still worked. Once I knew I wasn't fully paralyzed I opened my eyes. I checked the duration on the youtube video and it was at 21 minutes and from what I've read SP is suppose to kick in at around 20-30 minutes of laying completely still. I know the feeling of a shaking bed is normal because I googled it after the experience, but my question is this - Is it even possible to do WILD if you experience these panic symptoms? Would it have worked if I had just kept my eyes closed a little longer or should I just stick to other methods of LD? I'd also like to hear from anyone who had a similar experience with WILD or any advice on staying calm when these symptoms arise.
Thanks in advance,
-Jesse