''Danger'' of Lucid Dreaming

**machiavelli** · 05-09-2009 08:19 PM

Lucid dreaming is a very interesting concept. Personaly i had never heard of it. Until half a year ago. I was procrastinating, and thus decided to check out wikipedia. I thought i'd search sleep for fun. Because sleeping has always managed to amaze me, and i love sleeping, more then anything.
Then i stumbled upon Lucid dreaming. I was amazed, because since the age of 9, i had, had the abillity to do so. I thought i was unique, the only one who could do it. At the time i used lucid dreaming to avoid the frequent nightmares.
Since then ive gotten older. I now use lucid dreaming for personal amuse, but only achieve it rather randomly, and lucid dreaming still, mostly accures in nightmares.

But recently i had the worst nightmare of my life. And it was due to lucid dreaming. This brings me to the matter of the topic. Because the letters were flying around i quickly realised it was a dream. My brain tried to deceive me, and i ''woke up'' in my bed again... in a new dream. I knew it was a dream again.

But then it went wrong. I saw a shadowy figure outside my room, due to the light in my dream. I was completely paralized in my bed. And the rest was like the ring. I could not do anything, was completely frozen. A woman pretty womand appeared and came closer. I tried to think her away, it nearly worked. She dissapeared. Only to reapear next to me. Next thing i know, the most scary face was right infront of me, it came as if the beast had bent in over me. I actually woke up again. But fell asleep again and i was not able to prevent nearly the same happening twice. With different figues, one being a clown.
Being so sure in my abillity to control my dreaming nearly got me scared to death. Ofcourse i also thought of it as a rather amuzing experience after i woke up. But all i really wanted to do is sleep.

After i woke up i was not able to tell if i was dreaming. A problem ive had alot. But here i could not sleep for the rest of the night.

So anyone else tried this? Having the lucid dreaming turn into your worst nightmare. Ofcourse i see no physical danger in lucid dreaming. But it seems it can end up ruining your nights sleep

. Your thoughts?

**slayer** · 05-09-2009 08:24 PM

Yeah, LDing can have some negatives toward sleep. Some of the techniques that induce lucid dreams make you lose sleep. It sounds like you've had a couple False Awakenings, and a good way to tell if you're dreaming or not is to do Reality Checks, like looking at a clock, shoving one hand through the other, or plugging your nose and seeing if you can still breathe.

But remember, a dream is a dream and nothing more! (unless you're like a psychic or something and can see in the future o__o )

**machiavelli** · 05-09-2009 08:28 PM

The problem is not maintaining the lucid dream. Its quiet the oppisit. Becuase i realise im lucid dreaming, my dream becomes so much worse, because im unable to prevent some of the things going on in the dream. Being limited to change some things.

**slayer** · 05-09-2009 09:17 PM

Then you must work on your Dream Control. Try searching for different Dream Control techniques.

Like, if you don't like the place you're in, try spinning around and thinking of a new place.

**Hazel** · 05-09-2009 10:02 PM

Whenever something in my lucid dreams frighten me, I usually stand up to them. (Unless I'm in the mood for a chase.) Every single time that I faced a fear in a lucid dream, it has gone away.

**Hukif** · 05-09-2009 10:28 PM

Oh I has done that of turning a lucid into a nightmare, its so much fun, though while dreaming its far scarier than funny but whatever <.<

**Mariano** · 05-09-2009 11:19 PM

hey...but that's wasn't a complete dream!
you were in Sleep paralysis!
look for it...
when something like that happen, remember that is only a dream, that you can't get harmed, that it's only an illusion, only a projection of your mind, they exists because you want them to exist..
think about it

**PuppyCat** · 05-10-2009 12:22 AM

A good way to end a dream (if you were wanting to end that dream) is to close your eyes for a long time. Either that, or do something really exciting, like.... have sex or something.

**hellohihello** · 05-10-2009 12:52 AM

I was thinking SP too.

**Shift** · 05-10-2009 02:05 AM

Yes although it's possible it could be either it sounds more like sleep paralysis + sensed presence than a lucid nightmare.
If you're a natural, you should really work on your dream control and learn to turn this all around, as Slay said.

**yuriythebest** · 05-10-2009 11:09 AM

yeah man you could've been seriously injured

**sunsetzero** · 05-10-2009 02:14 PM

Personally, in some of my normal dreams, I tend to think of the surreal. In one of my dreams, in the bathroom, I thought "I wonder what would happen if I say Bloody Ma----" Then a very horrible scream filled the room! Blood splattered on the walls, and I quickly broke the door and ran out. When I woke up I thought it was fun to experience things which are.... surreal.
I don't sense any danger in nightmares though, besides its psychological effects on the 'victim'.

**MotleyCrue666** · 05-10-2009 05:48 PM

What you were experiencing was Sleep Paralysis. It's really nothing to worry about, the next time it happens just think of happy thoughts or something lol. I also heard that praying can stop those scary hallucinations.

**Oneironaut Zero** · 05-10-2009 06:16 PM

This isn't really a 'danger of lucid dreaming', so much as it is a danger of your own anxiety. Waking up during sleep paralysis can (and does) happen to anyone, even if they aren't lucid dreamers, and it can be pretty jarring experience.

It may just be a defense mechanism that, when we wake up in a darkened room, in an unusual state (as not being able to movie) our minds instinctively begin wondering if we are truly safe and alone. Couple this with the idea that, during sleep paralysis, you still may be seeing some residual dream imagery, this would explain why so many people often see shadowy creatures or other images while otherwise 'awake.' It's possibly this initial shock that made the bad experience even worse by making the face appear right in front of you. It's a case of anxiety making a bad dream spiral into a nightmare, which happens often, whether one is lucid or not.

**BigFan** · 05-10-2009 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

This isn't really a 'danger of lucid dreaming', so much as it is a danger of your own anxiety. Waking up during sleep paralysis can (and does) happen to anyone, even if they aren't lucid dreamers, and it can be pretty jarring experience.

It may just be a defense mechanism that, when we wake up in a darkened room, in an unusual state (as not being able to movie) our minds instinctively begin wondering if we are truly safe and alone. Couple this with the idea that, during sleep paralysis, you still may be seeing some residual dream imagery, this would explain why so many people often see shadowy creatures or other images while otherwise 'awake.' It's possibly this initial shock that made the bad experience even worse by making the face appear right in front of you. It's a case of anxiety making a bad dream spiral into a nightmare, which happens often, whether one is lucid or not.

100% agree with this

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