Traumatic Experiences

[idonteven]

Good evening! I'm not quite sure if this is the subforum for these kinds of questions, but here goes. Like the subject implies, I have a few questions, or rather want a few opinions on using lucid dreaming as a tool to cope with traumatic experiences. I have a friend who had a quite traumatic experience, and has had reoccurring nightmares of the scenario every night for several months now. I suggested giving lucid dreaming a try, to hopefully change the outcome of the dream, making it less terrifying, or at the very least making going to bed suck less. I introduced him to the basics, like dream recall, reality checks, talking about the nightmares in detail and whatnot, but it has not yet been successful, (I know this isn't a over the night progress thingie) and i'd really appreciate any input if you guys have any suggestions or ideas, anything from how to attain lucidity, and/or what to do when that happens. Thank you -idonteven

[paigeyemps]

Hi there, that's very nice of you to be thoughtful and help out your friend. Like you said, it isn't an overnight progress and will take some time for your mind to get accustomed to the idea of taking control. I suggest telling your friend to practice daydreaming exercises where he visualizes a different, more ideal outcome. Daydreaming (and dream incubation) are very helpful in planning out what to do during the dream, and even if it takes some time to get lucid, just by filling his mind with a more positive scenario over and over can help make it more likely to happen. Good luck