I actually recommend against waking up when that happens. I have anxiety issues so the same happens to me from time to time in dreams, as well as in sleep paralysis (and I mean I have full-blown genuine SP); I get scared that it'll be scary so it just turns scary. The best thing to do when that happens is to just focus on the dreamworld and what you want to do, taking your mind off of your fears. In the middle of a nightmare, try to face your fears and take control--after all, it's just a dream, and nothing can hurt you. It's much more relieving to turn a nightmare into a pleasant dream than to wake up and miss a chance to have an amazing lucid dream.
But, if you really want to wake up, I'll go over quite a bit of tricks I have myself that have worked throughout the years. For starters, I used to have a trick when I was little and having spontaneous LDs of just blinking rapidly and for some reason that woke me up. Closing my eyes does the same thing. Sometimes it doesn't always work for me, though, and a few years later I discovered a better trick of focusing on my body in the real world; the feeling of being in bed, my head against the pillow, the sounds outside in waking life. This would take my attention away from the dream and to waking life, so I'd just wake up. A few months ago I discovered something else (rather strange, but it works) that works: jumping from somewhere high (heights are one of my frequent dreamsigns so I have lots of opportunities to do so, but this might be different for you) and shutting your eyes when doing so, not focusing on the ground or the dream or anything whatsoever besides waking life. I would never hit the ground and the dream would always fade away until all I felt was the feeling of falling and all I saw was just blackness, and I'd wake up not exactly instantly, but more slowly and naturally. And finally, of course, if all else fails, dying sometimes works too.
Oh, and it's important to note as well that when trying any of this you really need to expect you'll wake up: the expectation is definitely helpful.
Those are just a few tricks I've used myself in my life. There's no real one way to do it, you just need to find what works for you. But of course, I still recommend trying to face a nightmare in hopes of getting a nice lucid dream, but it's okay if you prefer to wake up!
I hope I helped, mate!
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