Thread: Scared of hallucinations

So I've been trying to WILD for a couple of days. I get that feeling like my body is being rocked side to side and pulled into some sort of abyss. I don't see any hallucinations but since I know they might be coming since I know I'm in a period of Sleep Paralysis, I somehow force myself to wake up not wanting to see the hallucinations. Would I have to see the hallucinations in order to LD or could I just get sucked right into a lucid dream?

You could get sucked right in. Don't be afraid or that will cause halucinations.

So you mean don't try to struggle with the feeling and just go along with it. So your saying if I try to resist the feeling I'll be seeing hallucinations right

Your fear of them is what would likely cause them. Even if you did get them the only way they could be negative experiences is if you fear them. Just go along with it and transfer into the dream. If you do get some halucinations enjoy it and know it means your close to a lucid.

Originally Posted by MadMonkey

Your fear of them is what would likely cause them. Even if you did get them the only way they could be negative experiences is if you fear them. Just go along with it and transfer into the dream. If you do get some halucinations enjoy it and know it means your close to a lucid.

I agree 100%. Your fear of the negative hallucinations is causing them. When you go into something like dreaming, which feeds heavily off of your thoughts, emotions and subconscious, and your coming at it with some fear/negativity, your brain is going to use that to populate the dream world. Instead see where it takes you - it can't hurt you, it's only a dream and there's never anything to fear in a dream. Even if you come across something dreadful in a dream the best way to conquer it is not to run or force yourself to wake up, but confront it. Usually it will turn into something innocuous.

Good luck!

If you sleep with covers on (and I'm guessing most people do), make sure you have them on; it helps me. Probably because you don't feel as open to whatever you're hallucinating about.

Also, like the others have said, try not to go overkill on the fear - a bit is okay, but if you start imagining scary hallucinations, they can happen (I've been afraid before and the hallucinations haven't become scary, though). It all depends on the single experience, just like how the actual hallucinations differ from time to time. Take your mind off the hallucinations and start thinking about the dream you want to have. Keep telling yourself that you'll remain conscious into the dream, and imagine sensations you think will occur in the dream - if you want to end up somewhere else, for instance a city, think about how the sidewalk feels as you walk on it, or whether or not it's windy in the area.

I used to be terrified of SP! I used to get it all the time, before I even knew what it was. But many of the hallucinations didn't become scary, even though I was terrified. That should provide a bit of reassurance.

I had two in the space of 2 minutes a week ago. The main reason why they didnt give me lucidity was because I was scared of hallucinations. Where they going to be monsters that came through my door? Would everything melt and lots of spiders crawl through?
I looked it up and it turns out you dont have trippy "OMG EVERYTHING IS COVERED IN BLOOD AND TEETH" hallucinations, all you get are:

Colour swirls, stars that appear and shine then go, wind rushing sounds and probably the funnest of all, the tossing and pulling feeling you get like your on a rollercoaster.

Thats it. I got S.P a few days ago, I got all of these. I never heard of or had anything else.

So your telling me if I just sit through the 10-15 seconds of hallucinations, I'll be able to start lucid dreaming?

Originally Posted by psp219

So your telling me if I just sit through the 10-15 seconds of hallucinations, I'll be able to start lucid dreaming?

I obviously cannot guarantee it, but for me I can see that happening, why not you? Don't even think about the hallucinations- if you do, you will remember this thread and what you were immediately scared of, and they will flood your thoughts. Just focus on where you want to be in 10 seconds, not what is happening right now. It's not like to gain lucidity you have to fall through the 7 circles of hell, you just have to sit through weird colours and stars until you get into your dream.

Originally Posted by psp219

So I've been trying to WILD for a couple of days. I get that feeling like my body is being rocked side to side and pulled into some sort of abyss. I don't see any hallucinations but since I know they might be coming since I know I'm in a period of Sleep Paralysis, I somehow force myself to wake up not wanting to see the hallucinations. Would I have to see the hallucinations in order to LD or could I just get sucked right into a lucid dream?

Awareness is affected by our inability to dissasociate ourselves from emotion. Awareness training uses emotion for the express purpose of learning to dissasociate.

We are not emotion, we are not reasoning. we use both to construct our behavior.

Halucinations doesn't have to be scary during SP.
Most of them are, but for me they're never frightening.

Since I started WILD I've only thought that I'm the master of myself and that nothing can hurt me, which makes that halucinations goes along with that too.
Halucinations can be scary, but they're not dangerous in any way.

Someone please tell me how someone starts to feel the 'tug and pull' you guys are decribing or the vibrations? Does it just occur after laying stilll for a really long time. I try every single night to have a WILD but no sucess. I end up getting really bored trying to concentrate on it for hours that I end up never going back to bed after I get up to pee every night at 4 am. Its so frusterating!!

Originally Posted by cmmgibson

I end up getting really bored trying to concentrate on it for hours

When you're trying to fall asleep normally, you generally try to concentrate on nothing. That does not change while WILDing. Your primary objective is still to fall asleep, thus if you're doing anything that might normally interfere with that you'll get nowhere.

It's about striking a difficult-to-find balance between being able to fall asleep and not totally losing awareness.

You shouldn't have to go through sleep paralysis in order to lucid dream anyway. I don't. Sometimes it happens, on accident... but during those times I never end up lucid dreaming anyway.

Sleep paralysis usually hits me if I haven't gotten the RIGHT amount of sleep beforehand.

i had bad expriences with SP when i was younger but actually when i learnt more about it and thought doesnt matter what happens nothing can happen to me i lost alot of fear of it. Last time i had it few weeks ago, that feeling of fear automatically comes in as that adreline viberating feeling comes up that makes you think something bad is about to happen, so i just layed still and didnt think of anything bad will happen so i just started hearing pleasant music from a radio. eventually when your used to them youd know straight away and just as if you have fear fearfull events will occure if you get excited and happy pleasant expriences will happen, shortly youd find your self in a dream it will just appear front of your eyes

Fear is powerful.

In dreams, when you expect something to happen it normally does. If you say to yourself, "I want to have a lucid dream but I would be terrified if XXX happened..." Well, XXX will happen.

The same thing can apply to pre-lucid hypnagogic hallucinations.

My advice would be to just not even think about them or give them that power over you. Get excited, hope to see rainbows or cute little winged puppies. Normally the hallucinations I get aren't bad at all. I'll see some pretty colors here and there, or get a small glimpse of an image here and there.... You'll be fine

Try to control the hallucinations, or if that wont work just know it wont harm you.

Hallucinations can sometimes be fun. I know that before started lucid dreaming, i would go into a form of hallucination which let me know i was about to sleep. I used to here voices here and there on the brink of sp and sleep. these voices would be either talking about random things, or casually saying my name. i was almost comfortable with it