Automatically waking myself up from a bad dream

**Polaris** · 08-16-2015 11:12 PM

I have a problem where I will automatically realize I'm dreaming and immediately wake myself up if I am having a nightmare. Case in point, last night I had an unpleasant dream where I crashed my car and it was totaled, I said to myself automatically "oh man, please let this be a dream, I need to wake up" and then I rolled over in bed and woke up. I do this same thing EVERY time I have a nightmare or unpleasant dream, seems to be a reflex. How can I train myself to NOT wake up automatically, and instead become lucid? It was incredibly frustrating last night because I did realize I was dreaming but then sabotaged it.

**Sunfire** · 08-17-2015 10:40 AM

When i was younger i always used to wake myself up from nightmares, just by thinking 'Thats enough of that' followed by forcing my eyes open, only takes a second but worked everytime. Eventually i heard about Lucid Dreaming and read up on it. Now if i have a nightmare and i get to the point i want to wake myself up, i have that brief moment to think 'If im about to wake myself up, then it must be a dream,' and then im in control. I dont know how similarly this will work for you as you described it as more of a reflex but you need to get your mindset from 'Please let this be a dream, i need to wake up,' to 'This is a dream, im in total control.'
If you still struggle with this i would recommend practicing more with other dream signs. Spotting something less obvious or as shocking as a nightmare, will help you become lucid when you're still calm, hopefully this will stop you from waking. Best of luck!

**Hitokage** · 08-17-2015 01:30 PM

Visualize and imagine such scenes and connect them for example with reality checks.

**Earthatic** · 08-20-2015 12:33 PM

I used to do the same thing. Now, when something bad happens, I just endure it until sensory adaptation kicks in, the stimulus changes into something else, or I'll just confront the problem head-on (usually the best thing to do). Not sure how I conditioned myself to do it, but it helps if you have something you want to be doing in the dream.