Hi,

I haven't posted in a long time here, because, well, I kinda quit the whole lucid dreaming thing and I would like to discuss this.

After being extremely interested in LDs for a long period, say 2/3 months, at the end of that time I really had to quit.

The problem with LDs, at least for me, is that I find them addictive in a way. There is no real addiction, per say, but since they can be so good and so engaging they kinda took control of my life in a very strict sense. Here's how.

Keeping a dream journal and being constantly recalling dreams, paying extreme importance to them, left me in a mood in which it was very difficult to wake up in the morning. As I woke up, I tried to remember everything in the dream before I forgot about it, and inevitably fell asleep again. I began to miss classes in the morning, feeling unproductive because I woke up always too late. If you have an extraordinary life, I can imagine it must be pretty easy to wake up in the morning, but when you're life is restrained by doing things you don't really love, a routine of seeing the same people over and over again, dreams are more appealing and the prospect of a new day isn't. Also on this topic I remember I was having a lot of trouble concentrating. The memories from dreams kind popped out, splashed in from my eyes, if you will, and I would find myself thinking about it without actually realizing it.

Another problem is this cycle of dedication I ended up locking myself in. Getting started with LDs can be quite hard, mastering a WILD for instance is a challenge, but once you get started it's easier. Much easier. And you see that the more time you give into it, the more LDs you can successfully have. I can say locked myself in it, because it was a very quick cycle of preparation-reward. Not only reward, but progress also, you find yourself staying lucid longer and longer, and it being better and better.

Of course this ends up affecting not only your life in terms of responsibilities you have, but also problems with the people you know. I am sure this has happened to everyone who recalls a lot of dreams or has a lot of LDs. Haven't you ever mistaken an event you dreamed about with an event in real life? Talked about something with a friend only to realize that that something never actually happened? Right. At the point I was having a lot of LDs this happened to me a lot. In the beginning it was funny, after a while it's not funny at all. You feel completely disconnected with life and ultimately alone. I started talking less and less with my friends because i guess in a way I didn't want for it to happen again, but on the other hand your "dream life", if you will, gains a lot of importance and tricks your mind.
As an example, at one point I didn't even realize I hadn't seen this guy in almost 3 weeks because I had dreams in which he was in at least 3 or 4 times during that period. My initial reaction was "But we..." only to conclude "Oh... right".

Having said all this, here's a couple of questions. Am I the only person this has happened to? If so, can you deal with it with some sort of auto-enforced discipline? I sure couldn't. Any comments would be appreciated.