Hi guys. As you can see I'm new here - meaning that I've recently been introduced into Lucid dreaming!
I found out about Lucid dreaming with somebody sharing their experience on a YouTube video, and prior to seeing the video there was also a thread on another forum I use about it. I was quite intrigued and wanted to find out what it was about, and what can I say, it sounds absolutely fascinating!
I've been researching Lucid dreaming over the last couple of days, and as many of you guys know, there are a lot of misconceptions on the internet, about anything and everything. I was getting really into it and so close to trying it before I encountered something part of the process; sleep paralysis.
I know you guys here probably get a lot of hassle about sleep paralysis and how idiotic people on the internet are using it as a weapon to scare people from trying to lucid dream, but I really am concerned. I found out that generally, with sleep paralysis, the hallucinations are the things that you are seeing just as you're going into/out of a dream. My problem is, I'm generally a very cynical person, and even though I'm scared to death of anything considering frightening, I always induce it no matter what. For example, I'm very scared of any types off horror films, yet I still watch the trailers for these films to scare myself. I don't like being scared, but in every situation my mind wants me to be scared, it's weird. My problem is that once and if I induce a lucid dream, the only thing I will get out of it is nightmares. I've had VERY few nightmares in my lifetime, and very rarely pay attention to my dreams at all to be honest. If I start doing this and I encounter sleep paralysis, I KNOW that this will happen, that's just how my mind works - and I will be absolutely terrified to death. I know that this experience is simply a figment of the mind and nothing is real, but, you know...
I've also been afraid of the dark since whenever I can remember, I'm 15 right now, nearly 16, and still use a bedside light at night. Everytime I go into a room that has a light off - I'll switch it on. For example, I go to the toilet at night, I will even switch the light on for my room when the switch is right next to the door. It's pathetic. I know that during these lucid dreams, YOU control what's going on, but no matter how much I'd want to change something that's scaring me, I won't. It's like I get some sort of thrill over scary things even though they terrify me.

Another concern of mine is that I've never really tried to remember my dreams, and I know that people have 3-7 dreams per night because of the releasing of DMT into the body but it feels like I never have dreams either. I think I'd find it hard to make a journal, like what's the best way to remember dreams?

I also have a question regarding methods to start lucid dreaming. I've heard of the WILD and the DILD methods, and in one of them you have to initiate sleep paralysis in order to become lucid? I feel that I don't really want to do that, and I'd simply rather use the method whereby you just keep a dream journal and take notes of recurring events in dreams, and doing reality checks every so often in real life in order for them to be implemented into dreams. Is it necessary to use the WILD/DILD methods in order to lucid dream?

Thankyou for responding to my concerns, and any advice given is greatly appreciated.