Derealization Reality Check

So I was sitting at a red light and did a reality check - a real reality check. I questioned so hard if I was dreaming that something scary happened that had never happened to me before. Running off of 3 hours of sleep and it being 9 PM at the time, basically delirious, I had a panic attack. I suddenly did not believe in the world. A shiver of fear ran throughout my body and I just kind of freaked out. I googled what had happened to me when I got home and realized I had experienced a brisk moment of what is called derealization. It's been a few days since this happened and my reality checks have really been incorporating into my dreams more so I'm kind of glad this happened.. Has this ever happened to anyone? What are your thoughts?

I experience brief moments of mild derealization occasionally, usually if I'm tired. It's not because of lucid dreaming or reality checking, but I try to remember to RC when it happens because of the somewhat "dream-like" feel of things around me.

Not heard of anything like this before.

Usually it's clear as day that I'm in reality normally due to how logically I think - though I can imagine if you've experienced a very calm, vivid lucid dream you'd be able to compare just how similar waking and dreaming life really are. I'd not get to worried, just do your reality checks if you ever feel the same feeling and of course, being reality and all they should fail and it'll give you a little more confidence in reality really being reality.

:cheeky:

Wow, that is pretty scary.

I think, best time to ask yourself if you dreaming and to RC is exactly like that. When you really think you could be dreaming. This "OMG, this could be a dream and I didn't notice." Then this startling feeling starts happening in your regular dreams and it will either get you lucid out of the blue, or it will give you an urge to RC.

It's putting emotions into your RCs and awareness question and that's why they start to happen in your regular dreams.

This happens to me at night, as I'm going back to bed from restroom, when it hits me, that I could be in false awakening or other regular dream and something can jump out at me at any moment. Best time to RC.

Yea, I like how you worded that. Putting emotions into RCs are much more important than the actual finger through palm or holding your nose to see if you can breathe. Awareness is key, the physical RCs are only to double check you are dreaming. I dont think enough emphasis is put on this but it definitely makes you think!

I had one once. Was actually very scary for me, had it whilst training at a nearby military zone. Was very creepy and I didn't like it much at all, and as yours it happened when performing a RC.. defiantly not nice.

I have really strong emotion when i do RC after a series of weird confusing dreams/false awakenings/fake SP/WILDing in dreams etc, but not really fear, more of "Wow, surely this is another FA, right?" feeling. :-?
And as gab said, strong emotions with RC, when you can truly get them, are indeed good to increase awareness and increase chances of getting lucid. :)

Derealisation isn't fun, but reality checking is in a sense cultivated derealisation/dissociation/depersonalistion, you're training yourself to step back for a second and notice the contingency of what we call reality. Similar to Dali's 'paranoid criticism' (Dali was a WILDer) I suppose.