HELP!! Lucid= panic

Hi, I'm new to this forum and wanted to share my lucid dream experiences. Its very common for me to have lucid dreams and when I do (although they are not nightmares) once I realize that I am dreaming it always freaks me out! It never fails and I always try to wake myself up which is rather difficult by either trying to move or scream. I also noticed when I usually have these dreams I seem to be in a very deep deep sleep and my breathing is very shallow (its almost as if I am having a very hard time breathing) Also most of the time, if I am having one of these nights, after awaking if I do not get up, move around and try to stay awake for 10 min. I will easly and very agressivly fall back into the deep sleep and the dream will either return or rerun itself again. I know if I could manipulate my dream into something (showing that i had some type of control) I could probably feel comfotable with these dreams, but only once have I been able to create and make things happen they way i wanted (which I must say was one of the best dreams in my life:) So anyways I guess my question is has anyone had similar experiences (especially with the breathing problems) or any advice that would be helpful... I'd definitely appreciate it :)
Thank you!!

You must be a natural. After how many hours of sleep do these experiences usually occur? Early in the night? In the morning?

As for advice, what you want to do is have a plan and remember it when you become lucid. Start with something really simple. Looking at your hands is a common choice. When you become lucid, just try to remember to look at your hands. Count your fingers, from right to left. Whatever happens after that is okay. If you want to wake yourself up after, that's okay for now. The real goal is to bring some memory and rationality into your mind. With some practice, you'll be more calm and collected. You can choose to act instead of just react.

The only time I've ever had breathing problems was the first time that I woke during sleep paralysis and had no idea what it was! Very scary, I think I just kind of freaked myself out to the point of almost hyperventilating.

I can definitely relate to getting overly emotional, so to speak, when you first get lucid. When I first started having lucid dreams, I would get overly excited. This isn't good since it just immediately would wake me up. I worked on this by reading lots of dream control tutorials, along with Stephen Laberges book - Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming (highly recommended!).

Some advice: read everything on dream control that you can get your hands on!
Also, a technique that has helped me keep control and stabilize is rubbing your hands together while in a dream.

Good luck!

I have the same problem. Knowing that I'm dreaming immediately wakes me up for some reason. I've heard that rubbing your hands together or spinning around should help you calm down and prolong the dream.

Thank you all for the advice. To Sisyphus- The dreams can start anywhere from an hour to probably around 3 hours after I have fallen asleep. I will definitly try to focus on my hands next time.
To Cacophony and Gmoney- As for prolonging the dream, I've never really wanted to do that, bc like I said it just kinda freaks me out for some reason. It sounds like you wake up sunddenly when you realize you are dreaming...? Its opposite for me, it seems to take me awhile, I actually have to fight and scream myself awake (most of the time awaking in mid-scream).

Also I was touring around this forum and actually found something about sleep paralysis... this has only happened to me once, I woke up but couldnt open my eyes, nor move my body. I also experienced a muffled but constant ringing in my ears while I was paralyzed. When I woke up I was completely terrified that I called my doctor who then told me about sleep paralysis (which I had never heard of before- this was years ago). I was also seeing that people here on this site actually try to obtain lucid dreams on purpose... this baffled me at first bc of my own experiences, I couldnt understand why anyone would want to do that... but since I have the dreams (uncontrollably on my part) now I'm thinking that if I can somehow control my fear and anxity that come with these dreams I would not have to dread them and they could possibly be pleasent experiences...? (like I said only once have I willed or felt the ability to be able to will the actions in these type of dreams) Wow, this is a really cool place, glad I found it so I can talk to people about this! :). Again, thank you all for your advice! I will definitely try the thing with my hands. Hope it works! :)

"if I can somehow control my fear and anxity that come with these dreams I would not have to dread them and they could possibly be pleasent experiences"

That's the key, right there! If you can find a way to calm down in your dreams, you have a great opportunity. Dreaming is one of the most fun things you can do - it's a fantasy world where you can do whatever you want. Rather than stop your dreams, you instead should be looking to find a way to enjoy your dreams. You sleep 8 hours each day anyways, so why not do something you enjoy? Ride a roller coaster, eat your favorite food, spend time with someone you love, etc. If you can control your dreams (which seems well within the realm of possibility, judging by your lucid dream frequency), you can do amazing things you otherwise couldn't even consider - fly, fight zombies, be a pirate, visit France, go to the moon, whatever you want to do. Literally: whatever you want to do.

This is a great opportunity. There's so much fun you can have, but you just need to find a way to enjoy it. You already have the power; now you just need to tap into it and use it to your advantage, rather than have it use you. Next time, don't wake yourself up - take a deep breathe and enjoy the world around you. Have some fun!

Ok, so last night while I was dreaming for some reason I was curious to see if I was dreaming. I decided to follow some advice I found on here by holding my nose and trying to breathe thru it, and lo and behold I could. So then I knew I was dreaming and I tried to relax myself so the panic would not set in... and at first it worked! Finally I didn't have that panic to want to wake myself up... didn't last very long tho, I saw a very frightening image and forced myself awake... again I agressivaly fell back asleep and then knew I was dreaming (which I did the nose thing again, just to make sure, which made me start laughing in the dream, it was really cool to be able to pinch my nose and still breathe thru it- for some reason thats what triggered my sense of having some sort of control :)) This time I felt a little more at ease, but I still could not control my surroundings/actions of the dream. Eventually I would get freaked out again and wake myself up... this repeated several times before ending. But now I seem to be finding a little more control. I forgot to do the hand thing. I dunno, I guess my biggest anxiety about knowing I'm dreaming is the slower breathing (which I tried to control last night for the very first time) and also for some reason when I have these dreams the fear of getting stuck in them, never waking up always enters my thoughts...? But it was awesome to be able to control some portion of the dream and fear, which was very calming. Just thought I'd share my progress. :) I will definitly keep working on this.

Wow, great! That was quick. Let me say that curiosity is great. It is the most wholesome and productive human state. It is better than desire, fear, and ignorance. That doesn't have much to do with dreaming. I just had a positive response when you used the word "curious".

Keep doing the nose pinch to give you confidence that you are dreaming. The next thing you might try is some dream control. Possibly flying or teleporting to a new, more friendly place. My lucids are never scary, so I can't say from experience how to confront the frightening images. Having a plan beforehand will help you focus on what you want to do, like taking the reins of a horse. The dream will usually bend to your will.