![](https://simplyhealth.today/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/sleep-paralysis-feeling-fear-ordreadful.jpg)
11. Feelings of Fear and Dread
Patients who are dealing with the onset of sleep paralysis may notice that they experience feelings of fear and dread in the moments before they wake up. These feelings may occur, regardless of whether the person experienced a nightmare during their sleep. Terror and fear are two primal human emotions, produced by the limbic system.
The limbic system is one of the oldest primordial regions of the brain, and it’s responsible for creating the fight-and-flight response. The limbic system is also responsible for maintaining the safety and security of the body. This region is what helped our ancestors on the plains of savannas, as they watched out for predators.
These feelings of fear and dread are quite real, and they can play a role in the development of mental issues with the patient. Waking up in a constant state of fear will drastically reduce the person’s emotional health and mental state.