SLEEP PARALYSIS: A HETEROGENEOUS CONCEPTION IN THE SUBJECT'S PSYCHE

Abstract

Sleep paralysis is a multifaceted phenomenon that combines biological, psychic, and social aspects in the formation of the clinical case. This study aims to analyze the structural and subjective bases from a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective. It is common for individuals to experience episodes of muscular atonia and sensory hallucinations. Although the DSM-5, ICD-11, and diagnostic manuals address this phenomenon, it is still often reduced to a simplified condition, with the patient’s psychic subjectivity being severely overlooked. Psychoanalysis contributes by demonstrating the uniqueness of each case, considering that the phenomenon has a singular formation. Sleep paralysis leads the subject to a new ego configuration, involving an attempt to reintegrate traumatic contents. The repression of affect and representation lies at the core of this psychic process. Structurally, the phenomenon is observed in hysterical and psychotic manifestations. Although the event is associated with anguish and estrangement, it represents an ego attempt to resolve the core of the conflict.

Descriptors: theoretical essay, psychoanalysis, sleep paralysis;