Thread: hi

If you know your dreaming you should have some control

at least control of your own dream body, you should try something simple like not moving, just stand there even if the dream wants you to move or run or something. Refusing to move would be a form of control

next thing to try or even try first is to raise your dream hand up, being able to move your dream hand is a type of dream control too

your dream may be putting things in front of you and leaving you feeling helpless to face what ever it wants you to face, so mess with it try walking backwards without looking and see what happens your dream will be forced to create new stuff as you back up

you probably should be able to wake yourself up, even if narcolepsy makes you go right back to sleep.

A different approach might be to take 200mg of 5HTP since you have a sleep disorder ask doctor first, you don't want to end up sleep walking or something, this drug goes to your brain where it gets converted to Serotonin, but it also tends to suppress dreams for like 3 hours, tho if you aren't waking up I suppose your getting some sleep

When you do wake from sleeping now on med do you feel rested?
How about before the med did you feel rested?

are you able to sleep more now (in the same period of time)?

When you are in a nightmare if you do have control of your body, try to do something like spin around (A technique that often wakes some people up, but also often causes others to get a new dream or false awakening), if you can't spin then try to fall backwards (might achieve the same thing if you don't like where you are)

Mostly dreams are based on expectation and one of the main supposed purposes of Dreams (besides memory consolidation) is to be a Threat Simulator so people in dreams are always expecting the worst, but if you know your dreaming try expecting good stuff, like an ice cream truck or something. You might be surprised to find that you can just imagine things and they show up most of the time.

If you have near perfect recall you should be able to quickly learn what works and what doesn't
Although this will be no guarantee that you'll remember what to try in the dream, being aware, being in control, and being able to remember your intentions are three separate things.

In any case plan to try some simple stuff, and plan to write down the results.

Like attempt to spin: succeed vs fail / Effect: wake vs FA vs new dream vs no effect
and just keep learning what works for you!

Welcome to DV!

I'm sorry to hear you've been plagued by nightmares.
Is there a recurring theme/feeling or are they random?
I struggled a lot with recurring nightmares a few years ago. A very helpful member of staff, PercyLucid, gave me some great advice that helped me to overcome them. I'm sure he'd be happy to help if you sent him a PM with any questions.

I've also had lucid nightmares where I was aware that I was dreaming, but felt like I had no control and couldn't wake myself up. Practising relaxation techniques in waking life was helpful for this, because I could use the same techniques to relax myself in dreams. The thing that helped the most was that I stopped trying to fight/struggle - I just accepted that I was having an unpleasant dream and tried to focus on the thing I did have control of: my own emotions and perception of the situation. Even if you don't have good control of the dream environment around you, you can still work on calming yourself and making it into a more peaceful experience.

I think using lucid dreaming to take control of the nightmares is a great idea, I hope it works for you!