Occasionally, they are extremely difficult to distinguish from reality. Sleep paralysis is a momentary inability to move when waking up or falling asleep. This condition can be terrifying, especially if it occurs with a frightening hallucination. Narcolepsy is a lifelong illness. There is no known cure, and no report of lasting remission has been confirmed.
Symptoms are subtle at first but become increasingly severe over the years.
Patients usually learn to pinpoint conditions likely to induce sleep or cataplexy, and they try either to avoid such conditions or, with proper medication, control the symptoms. Control is especially important when patients are driving or engaging in other potentially dangerous activities. The mild beginning symptoms of narcolepsy may cause no more than minor inconveniences. As they become increasingly severe, however, symptoms cause greater disruptions in patients' social and professional lives and may become profoundly disabling. Parents, teachers, spouses, and employers often mistake the patient's sleepiness for lack of interest, or misconstrue it as a sign of hostility, rejection, or laziness.