Thread: serial Dream' dream- my big problem

First off, you should not fear going to sleep. Fear is the enemy. The more you fear a dream the more you may have it.

Your symptom of a dream within a dream is common. Just accept that it can happen and forget about it.

Before going to bed, tell yourself that dreaming is normal, dreaming is safe, when I realize that I am dreaming I will wake up. Not ideal for lucidity but good for waking up.

Try to visualize a location like the beach or a meadow before going to bed. The idea is to change what you dream about. If you keep thinking - I hope I won’t have that stupid dream - it will not help you.

Others have reported what is called false awakenings where you think you woke up but you are still dreaming. Is this like you experience? If so, just go back to bed and tell yourself - I‘m dreaming.. I’ll wake up now. - and close your eyes and sleep.

To me it sounds like you are having false awakenings. These are nothing to be afraid of, and if I were you I would be happy, as they are a great tool for achieving lucidity. What I think you should do is everytime you wake up do a reality check. If you discover you are dreaming, then try to stabilize your dream and go somewhere you want to be. If you successfully do this, you could turn an annoying scary experience into a great Lucid Dreaming tool which gives you the upper hand in achieving LDs. The most important thing is to not be afraid; if you look at these false awakenings in a good light, then they will seem a lot less frightening to you.t