Thread: Ludic dreaming mentally unhealthy?

i seriously doubt its unhealthy.

lets say ur in the astral plane- no damage there, its like taking a walk in a physical park

lets say you access all your brains functions: how could it physically
damage you? if anything, its mentally healthy because it brings you closer to *enlightenment* and it lets you fully utilize your mental abilities (in my opinion thats a very healthy thing!)

lets say its just an induced *very vivid imagination*: wont bother explaining.

Everyone has dreams and lucid dreams are basicly just dreams. I don't see how a dream can harm you in anyway. If it was unhealth you brain would just "shut off" like it does in the other stages of sleep and it would be impossbile to dream.

Nice answers. However, assuming you've done "inner exploring" as I tried at one point and were exactly after your "inner functions" to see what you're like on the inside.

I dropped the project as I've mentionned in another thread because things were simply starting to have odd effects on me when I woke up. That's where my friend suggests that it may not be meantally healthy (don't worry, I'm quite fine just incase anyone was wonderring). Of course it has nothing to do with yourself physically though and I asked because we keep thinking "What if I went deeper?"...

Odd scenario.

In a sense it's like looking inside your own organs...I guess...

People may think it's unhealthy because you may become obsessed with the dream world and withdrawl from the real world.

We sleep 1/3 of our lifes away, why not cotinue living during that time and learn something about ourselves at the same time?

And there was a really cool quote from a LD book I read, it's below but really paraphrased:

"Life is real while we are alive, the same goes with dreams."

I agree. A lot of people assume that we are addicted to dreaming, and label it as bad. Well first of all I can hopefully claim that we aren't addicts. (Most of us anyways. ), and second Jessica's right, we need to take advantage of opportunities like this to have fun, solve problems, etc.

I can surtenly understand that people feel you may be mettallying with somthing you are not suppose to do. However through all the books I have read and the so many posts in this forum alone I do not recall people complaining of any ill side affects.
Like all things though you must do everything in moderation.

Its not like you can sleep to much, if your not tired your not going to fall asleep and your not going to have dreams.

I'm already insane.

You said they've never done LD , then *HOW DO THEY KNOW* ?

I mean you can be brainwashed into thinking anything is bad.

Stupid people! grrrrrrrrrr

Lucid dreaming in itself is healty, IMHO.
It is when it becomes an obsession to you and begins to have a negative affect on your life and the life of those around you that it becomes a problem.

But of course, that is true of everything like drinking, sex, or spending too much time posting on lucid dreaming forums =P

Originally posted by Lord of the Flies
What do you think of this idea?

Hogwash. If it was a real problem, the media would have it everywhere: "DREAMING KILLS", for example. It is perfectly safe.

I think the only problem you can get is that you spend to much time comming here to talk about it, which some people here might do heh. I wouldn't really call that a negative though.

if i managed to go deep enough in my own head in a dream to screw something up, that'd be kinda a breakthrough, dontcha think? obviously then dreams would be able to impact the physical world!

I could see it as potentially unhealthy for someone who ALREADY HAS certain problems like schizophrenia, extreme paranoia... I know a person who started having extremely bad dreams and she thought she was going insane -she had a minor nervous breakdown but she's fine now.

There was a point in my LD life when I wondered about my own sanity and was very emotionally burdened, but on the whole I think it is generally healthy and mind-expanding... Some people who have LDs may be convinced they're "talking to God" or to "voices" that convince them to do evil things or assume strange/psychotic thoughts... The mind can be fragile thing

Originally posted by WerBurN
if i managed to go deep enough in my own head in a dream to screw something up, that'd be kinda a breakthrough, dontcha think? obviously then dreams would be able to impact the physical world!

Actually, with my personal experience, when I woke up I was rather...confused. Not about what was real or not, but as some have mentioned, getting deep into your own mind and fooling around with the "mechanics" can't necessarily be good. Of course I'm not super-dreamer so I didn't do much, but like I said, I was confused. Mainly with my emotions though.

In my oppinion dreams can't effect you physically...although this one time I was dreaming that I was swimming underwater and all of a sudden I realized humans can't breath under water and I lost my breath. When I woke up I had my face in the pillow.

Originally posted by Lord of the Flies

In my oppinion dreams can't effect you physically....

HOPEfully not...

I've mentioned this a couple other times but got no "substantial" responses on this forum. I'm concerned that long-term LDers like myself could be negatively affected physically due to things like the adrenal glands working overtime, increased heart rate, blood pressure, chemical activity in the brain, etc.? Anybody done any research on this? There's probably been no in-depth studies yet, or they may be in progress, but I'm wondering if my fears may be substantiated or if I'm just paranoid. I mentioned my concern to my physician, and he looked at me kinda sideways, then said something like "I wouldn't worry about it." I'm convinced that he's clueless about LDs or their propensity for extreme intensity. any thoughts on this?

I really think lucid dreams are the same as normal dreams, which people have ALL the time. I really don't believe there is a chemical released which makes you have a lucid dream. If there isn't then I don't see how becomming more aware can have any effect on your brain.

Its like saying if you day dream to much your going to fall over dead, I don't think anyone buys that. I think the only real problem you can have is if your dreams cause you to wake up to much or something and it messes up your sleeping habits, but then sleeping for like an extra hour might solve that.

lucid dreams are just modified normal dreams...

Even if they are not, I'll give 10 years of my "Real life" for 1 year of LD

I really think lucid dreams are the same as normal dreams, [/b]

Actually I would disagree totally with that assertion based on my own experience with LDs (which occur every time I fall asleep).

My LDs are very different than my \"normal dreams\" (and VERY different from daydreams) in that my conscious mind is engaged (sometimes completely, sometimes partially). I come to the conclusion, therefore, that there are many chemicals coursing through my brain (melatonin for one) and my body that are not while I'm awake -or these chemicals are at least minimal while awake.

While I am in certain LDs, I am very conscious of my physical body and have detected several times that my heart is beating very rapidly, whereas other times I am aware that it is beating very faintly (almost undetectable). I have woken up after some LDs unable to find a pulse or even sometimes feeling nearly completely numb even though I have full mobility. I have also been able to enter states of constant adrenaline rush, and even others where I feel ecstatic or \"high\". I would never be able to achieve this while awake.

Its like saying if you day dream to much your going to fall over dead,[/b]

Day dreams CANNOT EVEN COME CLOSE when compared to lucid dreams unless you have somehow mastered a "nirvanic" meditative state of consciousness or something. Even those who have achieved this are in an obvious state where they cannot control their bodies at the same time. The brain is capable -along with the help of certain glands -of producing all kinds of powerful chemicals, hormones, and hallucinogenic/mind altertering substances that are only secreted in tiny amounts if at all, while awake, but maybe moreso while asleep...

Well thats what I was saying, the chemicals that are already there in normal dreams are not harmful. I am not saying that there isn't any in lucid dreams but that there are no added chemicals that are not already there in normal dreams. I really don't believe that there are any chemicals that make you more aware.

Well, and that's what I am saying: the over-extended barrage of these natural chemicals (I never meant anything other than what the brain or the body produces) may have harmful physical effects - because they are being used over what is normal - and especially over long periods of time.

Adrenaline is one chemical that does make you more aware... This is what happens with athletes and extremists who get off on "natural highs" by sky-diving, base-jumping, etc. -endorphins and adrenaline and perhaps other chemicals kick in to help sharpen the mind and fascilitate the use of the body when it is tired or needs the ability to react quickly.

If someone on the forum has a lot of time, or has a job as a researcher/lab technician or something, maybe they can conduct an experiment or a survey on the "long-term extreme LDers."

I feel like the only member here that agrees with Evangel.

As you all probably know, there are actually researches done on dreams and labs for them. When I was in grade 2 and told my teacher I could control them she told me that it was amazing and that scientists search people like me for their researches.

I felt hunted. (I was about 6!)

To the point: maybe it's a suggestion that should be made if anyone here ever volonteers to be a "lucid dreamer guinee pig".

Hey. I like your avatar Lord of the Flies!?!?

Another topic on this thought=
http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....1297&highlight=


The Lucidity institute asks if you would like to engage in stidies when you become a member. They also have a couple of weeks reteats to where you have LD experts on hand to guide you. I wonder if they do any actual monitoring of the pysical nature?
I do know that while dreaming your mind thinks that the events that are taking place are really happening. So while you are Lucid dreaming I personally don't think anything would be going on anymore than it would be if you were in a regular dream. My worry is that since you are concious while Lucid, that your concious mind will not get the rest that it requires. In a sense it would be working night and day.

Yea thats what I think howetzer, I think your brain might rest during the other dream stages though which would mean your safe. If not I think an extra hour sleep or a nap would fix any problems from that.