I've experienced sleep paralysis on several occasions, but nothing can come close to how terrifying it was the first time when I didn't know what was happening. I thought I was being attacked by some kind of invisible aliens wielding some futuristic weapon that prevented me from moving. It happened around 3 am on a night where I was tossing and turning, falling in and out of sleep. I didn't go back to sleep after that.

Once I realized what actually happened though, and what to do if it ever happened again, I handled it much better when it did eventually happen again. Great post @cristi!