Recalling awful nightmares considering stopping lucidity attempts.

**Skyblue** · 01-18-2013 06:27 PM

so as I've mentioned on my introduction thread part of the reason why I want to learn to have lucid dreams is to help me stop the occasional nightmares that blight me aswell as other aspects of introspective curiosity into my own mind. I couldn't even recall any of my dreams aside from the odd faint nightmare that would wake me up or otherwise make me feel naff.

Using memorization techniques partly suggested by users here I now have excellent dream recall... Recalling 3 or 4 a night usually (or just 1 really big dream) I've been doing this for alittle bit and I've recalled a few of the nightmares in question. They are rather gruesome but nothing I couldn't handle afterall they are just dreams afterall and seeing them is the first step to controlling them.

However last night using my memory recall trick I remembered a night terror that I had no idea I even got, It was very vivid and truly horrid to the point of haunting all through me the next day.

Basically I was exploring a landscape and I kept seeing a man about 6'2 11stone medium/muscular build mid 20's early 30's and he kept appearing in my dream-scape however he appeared right behind me I tried to speak to him but he grabbed me slammed me down then proceeded to rape me which was indescribably awful, The dream was extremely vivid so after 20 seconds of the of the attack I woke up.
However it gets worse I was afflicted with sleep paralysis upon awakening so I knew I'd woken up but I felt like someone was ontop of me pinning my limbs along with tension below, (potentially raping me I tried to hyperventilate but I couldn't so it felt like I was begin strangled.

In my semi awake state you know what I thought, (Oh god no it's not just a dream HE'S REAL! HELP!! WHY CANT I SCREAM??!!? NO! NO! NO! NO!) ect
This absolute panic went on for what felt like ages but must have been 5 seconds eventually I passed out in fear.

I would have forgotten the incident but I used my dream recall trick that morning and recalled the event, I wish I hadn't... This has only happened once but I don't know if I do this often. Has anyone had a similar problem? If these are common occurrences I don't know if I can handle them. Also potentially any techniques to avoid that happening again would be much appreciated.

**sloth** · 01-18-2013 10:00 PM

I really don't see that this would happen very often. I strongly discourage you from discontinuing your studies based on this.

**paigeyemps** · 01-26-2013 11:26 AM

I agree with sloth. I hope you don't let this outweigh all the good things lucid dreaming could bring. If it makes you feel better, it is totally normal to feel strong bouts of fear and anxiety (even over senseless things) while in sleep paralysis. And considering you just had a nightmare, it would be absolutely understandable that you would recall the dream once you hit SP, flooding you with those intense emotions. Moreover, since you were already thinking of it, that further enhanced the hallucinations and feelings of someone on top of you.

I hope it doesn't happen again, but if it does, you now know better

Cheers