To LD or to not LD?

Okay so I pretty much only discovered lucid dreaming today and was very intrigued. But upon researching it and thinking about it I developed some second thoughts. I'm rather worried that I will have a nightmare and realize that I'm dreaming but not be able to exert any control over the dream, so I'm forced to live out that nightmare.*
Also the fear of waking up still in a state of sleep paralysis.
I'm very interested in lucid dreaming and would love to be able to enjoy it. Any pointers to help me conquer these fears?*

From my experience, holding my breath has so far always taken me out of sleep paralysis and/or woken me up. So if you find yourself in those situations I guess holding your breath will allow you to escape. It has always worked for me, but I don't know if it will work for anyone else...
Regardless, there are more positive sides to lucid dreaming than negative, so I would suggest the "to LD" option. Good luck!

First of all, you don't simply get sleep paralysis just because you know what is it. Loads of techniques are SP free, and just because you are a lucid dreamer doesn't mean you'll experience one every night (or every week, or every month).
Secondly, if you're having a nightmare, it will be more frightening than if you were lucid. Wouldn't you feel more calm if you knew that knife can't kill you?
Besides, having a nightmare while being lucid, you can wake yourself up and perform DEILD (which is a technique to chain lucid dreams) while being at another scenario.

So in summary: there are ONLY advantages in lucid dreaming. And dream control happens even at a lower level, it's something you have and slowly improve. But it's not that rare people being able to fly in their first lucids so you get an idea ;)

Thanks for the breathing technique, ill try that.
I suppose so, if something bad happens in a LD and you find yourself unable to alter the situation (eg. Being held hostage at gunpoint), any tips to deal with that or improve control? If that's even possible scenario..

It may seem scary at first, but after some experience you will realize that you are in control, and that there is nothing to be afraid of.
When I began lucid dreaming I had some scary encounters with SP, but the worst that it has done to me was waking me up. (after trying to lucid dream for so long T.T)

I would actually advise people to start lucid dreaming if they are being bothered by nightmares.
Some time ago I had a nightmare in which I was almost eaten alive by lions o.o
But right before it the lion got to me I just knew I had to wake up, so I woke up.
I don't know what would've happened if I didn't lucid dream x)

So my answer is a definite Yes, you should lucid dream, and with experience comes the power to wake up on command (which really isn't hard at all, its more likely that you will wake up when you want to dream on :cheeky:)

If you have not checked out the tutorials in DV Wiki, there are some great articles about dream control, content and other useful stuff. I know some dreamers are talking about spinning in the dream to invoke new dreamscape/scenario. Maybe someone here who is more experienced can elaborate on that. Spinning may work for you, if having control in dream is out of the question.
About waking in sleep paralysis - happened to me once or twice. I'm hoping that just reading about it and learning what I'm against will allow me to not be so scared, when it happens next time. Someone also talked about getting out of SP by starting to move your toes or fingers, since small muscles are most likely to get out of paralysis first. Good luck.

Really appreciate all the help guys. I have absolutely no idea what to do in my first dream though? Anything basic, nothing scary, just to ease into it?

Whatever you decide to do, think about it before you go to sleep, so you don't end up like me - had a lucid and didn't know what to do:).

First you should probably stabilize your dream, so it doesn't end prematurely. And if you don't know what to do, you can always just go with the dream and see what happens. That's probably the easiest way, untill you get a hang of it. Or get some ideas by reading posts like "1000 things to do in a LD" - that's what I do:)

Thanks. I'm very intimidated though. If I accidentally picture a horde of zombies running towards me during the dream, will that then happen? Or do I have to command it. And if it did happen, is it as simple as making the zombies disappear by saying so? I'm a little scared I might put myself in a sticky situation and not be able to control it well enough to get out of.

If you think it, it will happen. But you can stop it as easily as you started. So there's nothing to worry about.
Also when you get your first LD, fears will propably go away. (I had almost the same fears, but after my first LD I got over them, trust me I know. ;))
So, bravely into the unknown!!!:D

I'd say DEFO go for it.
There is nothing scary in lucid dreams, because you know that they're not real although you often end up wishing they were.
And if you wake up in sleep paralysis it's not like it's permanent or in any way dangerous, and it happens very rarely.
:D

Any bad situation you get into would be a 100x worse if you were not lucid. So remember, whether you can control the situation or not (which is really just a matter of confidence), being lucid in a nightmare is an advantage. Going back to the confidence thing, you seem extremely anxious/intimidated/scared. Don't be. In the end, that fear is a crutch, and it's not necessary. Lucidity is a way of being empowered in the dream state.

In fact, 'held at gunpoint' is often my favorite situation to become lucid in. It's so gratifying when, after being gripped by fear while thinking you just might be about to die, you realize that it's all just a dream. I usually just laugh and egg the gunmen on to shoot me. I'll dare them too. I'll laugh and start walking toward them, threatening them. Then, when they start shooting, I'll either catch the bullets in my hands, or just let them hit me and either bounce off of me or absorb into me. Depending on how vivid the dream is, there still might be just a little pain, but usually it just feels like the equivalent of someone throwing marbles at me. Lol.

But it's your dream, man. The longer you remain afraid of your dreams, the more scary content you're going to have in them. To answer your question about 'thinking something bad will happen,' the brief answer is "Yes!". If you are apprehensive or anxious about something bad happening, it usually will. The good thing about this is that, when you're lucid, it's often just more of an annoyance than it is a horrifying situation. Although, if you have any extreme phobias, of course it can be kind of jarring, but learning to wake yourself up from a lucid dream is an invaluable skill, also, for situations like that. :)

Hi Scott,

Lucidity is knowing that you're dreaming, being conscious and aware. Because of this, if you have a nightmare you'll be aware of what's happening around you, which can be a bit scary at times. I won't say you'll never experience a lucid nightmare, because that's certainly possible. Like Oneironaut said, the longer you lucid dream for, the more scary dreams you may have, just because as the frequency of your regular dreams increase, so will that of the nightmares. I've been LDing for two years and have had a couple lucid nightmares where I had no control, but they're nothing compared to the many other dreams I've had, these dreams where I had amazing control and experiences. The good far outweighs the bad, at least in my book. A good majority of your lucids will be controllable, simply through expectations - "knowing" something will be around the corner, and passively expecting someone to be standing beside you. This same principle can be applied to flying, falling great heights, leaping long distances... Essentially, everything else. The fear of having a few lucid nightmares should not keep you from trying it out.

I've also never woken up into sleep paralysis before, even after exiting lucids. Ironically, I did wake up into SP a few times before I even heard of lucid dreaming, but when I actually started inducing them it never happened again. SP happens more frequently if you have a poor sleeping schedule, narcolepsy, or don't get a lot of sleep during the night. While something optional you can do to induce LDs is WBTB, or "wake back to bed" (it involves waking up in the middle of the night for a little while), this will not cause a big enough discrepancy in your sleeping pattern to account for SP.