Anxiety limiting LD?

Hi, I posted this in the general dream discussion which I've noticed is probably the wrong place (sorry!).

Would love to hear some of your thoughts!

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Hi all,

My first thread here yay.

I am interested in hearing from you all, your thoughts on whether anyone has experienced anxiety toward achieving LDs - that is wanting to have them but then get anxious you might not succeed - and over come it?

Essentially this is how I'm feeling as I try to begin my journey toward regularly LD. In a sense I am recognising that my eagerness to get into it, could be generating this 'anxiety' in me that I might not be able to! Silly I know but I feel as though this thought process may actually be self-fulfilling and become a limiting factor.

Has anyone dealt with this and or have some advice how I might be able to get on the right track?

Bit of context: Around 10 years ago I was introduced to LD and worked to the point where I was Lucid once or twice. But my recall as always a bit hit and miss - never as vivid or lengthy as I read others here experience. Having let my practise wane I've got a renewed determination to do it right this time.

Cheers!
John

I think it does not limit LD but the opposite; being anxious and excited so you have LD thoughts in your head is basically the key to succed in lucid dreaming. Don't get me wrong, there's a step from being excited and anxious to being obsessed. Sweet dreams and good luck :D

Hi there John,

most of the anxiety that I have read about and also partly experienced had to do with people trying to have an ld from the waking state, i.e. a WILD. People get too excited or involved with analyzing the steps towards an ld that it may be hard for them to fall asleep for example. Is this the type of anxiety you are referring to? It can usually be overcome with having more experiences.

Or are you referring to some general fear of failure of not being able to have an ld? I think that with some practice and the right efforts everyone should be able to have an ld. Actually, to be able to succeed one has to have a certain level of confidence. Everything we think or believe is amplified by our subcon, which does some of the work to help us become lucid. Therefore, even if we may be a bit uncertain about the results of our efforts, we have to strive to have positive expectations and reinforce them with everything we do. With regards to that, using mantras like "I can become lucid" and "I will become lucid" or "I am a lucid dreamer" over a couple of months will become part of our subcon, and our thinking can slowly change. (Note: for direct ld induction when going to bed, we recommend using the present tense "I realize that I am dreaming", "I am lucid" but at other times you can use any tense mantras to modify your way of thinking and behavior).

Quote:

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Hi, I posted this in the general dream discussion which I've noticed is probably the wrong place (sorry!).

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No worries! I deleted the other post since it's a cross-post and it's not allowed to have the same stuff at multiple places. :P

Thank you both,

NyxCC, I was describing the second option above.
I am do have a definite sense that I will be very disappointed if I cannot improve to the level I'd like.

In truth I think I'm on a good path. I've been more or less just concentrating on my dream recall this first week without to much worry about achieving lucidity - as many say what's the point if I don't remember it.

Going from a point of not really remembering any dreams, I've found the last two night I'm actually waking up directly after my dreams. Last night I woke 3 times each time remembering a dream. The dreams themselves weren't movie epics but I remember a good amount of detail. In one case I could remember two separate dreams. This seems like good progress to me.

I'm keen to remain focus on dream recall to build that confidence in myself before adding extra pressure by asking 'was I lucid'. That's not to say I'm not RCing and using mantra as well but it's probably true my subconscious is aware that recall is my priority - perhaps why I'm waking after my dreams?

Any thoughts in this you might be willing to share?

Thanks!

Anxiety is bad. Dont be anxious for LDs, be confident, believe, look forward to, but anxious is bad for you (physically and Ldingly)

You're on the right path. Focus on developing the skills and habits. Trust the process and the results will come. Don't be discouraged if it sometimes seems slow. As you noticed, your waking intent and habits will start to creep into your dreams, like your intent to wake after each dream cycle.

Simply writing about your feelings can help disspell them, either here on a forum or in a private journal. I think it also helps to write down your goals, starting very small and working up so that you can track your progress and be reminded of your successes.

That's really good. :goodjob2:We tend to wake up naturally at the end of REM cycles, which facilitates remembering dreams and using certain induction techniques. Focusing on the fundamentals is really important and as you said, you can still do RCs and work on improving daily awareness, without putting too much pressure on when to have an ld. I think it really helps to have a confident, but at the same time casual approach to lding, taking as much time as you need and most importantly not fretting or worrying about not having an ld.

By the way, I think all of us are prone to an anxiety like this from time to time. The thing to do when this happens is to first chill out and know that you are going to have an ld and slowly work your way towards one. The experience is a great one, so naturally we want to have lds all the time but sometimes this may not be a realistic expectation (not because it's not possible in general, but because things from real life may come into the way). Lding is like learning a language and it's not done overnight, but the skills stay with you for quite a while. Hence, there really is no need to put too much pressure on oneself because this is not a competition, but something we do for enjoyment. And because of that it is much better to do all the preparations and inductions with gusto rather than rushing through and then being frustrated about the results.

So, enjoy the journey! :)