MRI therapy is an intervention designed for sleep paralysis (PS). This disorder is characterized by an involuntary state of muscle paralysis. This can happen when you sleep or wake up. It is caused by an imbalance in the mechanisms that regulate the REM sleep cycle.
The one who experiences it regains consciousness and sensory perception, but not the ability to control the muscles, a situation that causes anxiety, fear and is accompanied by hypnogic and hypnonomic hallucinations.
- This is a primary sleep disorder and is not caused by another psychiatric.
- Medical or substance abuse disorder.
- The Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV.
- 1994) classifies it as parasomnia because it is a disorder that affects sleep quality and quantity.
This phenomenon occurs between the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep phase and awakening, depending on the international classification of sleep disorders, can occur both in isolation and chronically, so its development may be linked to totally circumstantial factors.
During REM sleep, the electrical activity of the brain is similar to that of awakening; at this point the most complex and emotional dreams occur; for conservation, non-self-contained muscles are paralyzed; changes in the sleep routine can alter the blocking process. and unlock the muscles.
Thanks to GABA neurotransmitters and glycine, muscle tone is suppressed, this is how motor neurons in the spinal cord are inhibited.
Discord after awakening causes the person to regain consciousness before they can move and react. The limbic (emotional) system processes and interprets the whole situation.
From the amygdala develops a principle of response based on emotion, the most common circumstances, such as being in the dark and not being able to react, provoke a quick negative assessment.
This is why the most common feelings are fear and terror. This emotional treatment causes perceptual changes, interpreted as visual, tactile, and auditory hallucinations.
One of the most common sensations in sleep paralysis, the inability to move with sleep anxiety and imagination increases expectations of a visual manifestation, attention is sesarising to detect potential threats as well, the feeling that something or someone is close to us, without having any real evidence of that presence , it’s very common.
Few authors dare formulate specific psychological treatment for this problem. Baland Jalal, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge ( United Kingdom), proposed ANR (meditation and relaxation) therapy in 2016.
The author argues that the reciprocal increase in fear, anxiety and anxiety generates a feedback loop that aggravates the attack and content of hallucinations, on this basis develops its model of intervention according to the following pillars:
MRI therapy for sleep paralysis requires training. The affected person may mimic the position in which paralysis occurs (usually looking up) to practice the steps.
Given the overwhelming nature of the event, the practice prepares the person without the stress that a real situation can generate.
The goal is to predispose to passively responding and recreating positive images in the face of threatening stimuli.
According to experts such as Dr. Ramachandran, the lack or lack of synchronization between the limbs and the motor system alters multisensory treatment, so if you try to escape and perform this action mentally, there is no body response, self-perception deteriorates.
This shows the feeling of flotation, extracorporeal experiences and dark images. Through relaxation as a first response, the exhaust pulse and perceptual change are modified.
It can be classified as cognitive behavioral treatment. It focuses on changing behaviors and avoids negative comments. On the other hand, the success of the intervention is sensitive to the attitude of the person.
Second, its success is also conditioned, as noted above, by the degree of control over the person’s attention. The ability to concentrate, as well as the interpretation of sensations, goes in this direction. The model offers a direct shift of attention, relaxation, the situation would change from potentially unpleasant external stimuli to neutral or positive internal stimuli.
In conclusion, no matter how curious the experience, we are not talking about a strange phenomenon, in fact, this is generally not worrying in itself, what concerns are its consequences, given the degree of anxiety it can cause. it is advisable to consult a specialist.