Thread: Can lucid dreaming trigger schizophrenia?

To Arutad.....It's hard to be specific but the effect can be compared to trying to figure out a major math problem for the whole day, only it's for years and it stays, the mind gets so into it to the point that it affects normal thought patterns (thought signature of a person). I think it may lead to Schizophrenia in my case if I continue what I do actively because of the inward perspective that has been created and the isolating effects of it from the real world into the idea of dreaming. I have stopped my activities but find it difficult to restablish normal thought patterns without losing focus and going inward again toward lucid dreaming thoughts. At the same time I find it almost impossible to NOT think of it as it already has become a thought pattern by itself. The remedy I think is to allow the thoughts as random but not pay too much attention to it so after sometime it'll fade I guess.

IMJ

It sounds to me like you are on a kind of autopilot where you cant avoid constantly reality checking and thinking about lucid dreaming. I think it might be a good idea to practice some sort of basic mediation. Hopefully it will help you clear your mind and focus on the present while in real life.

I would look up some youtube videos on Jon Kabat-Zinn. I've watched a few and he makes a lot of sense about being in the exact moment that you are currently experiencing. Nothing in the past or the future matters but the very moment you are experiencing. It seems you are a little obsessed with what you plan on doing in future lucid dreaming experiences, so focusing on the present may help.

Try taking a break from all lucid dreaming attempts for as long as it takes for you to get a real grip on reality. Good luck with everything, I think you'll be fine. It's at least a good sign that you are recognizing the problem now and making attempts to fix it.

Yes that is what I'm aiming for...living in the moment.... Thanks.

IMJ

Originally Posted by imj

I think it may lead to Schizophrenia in my case if I continue

Schizophrenia is a scary word, but in reality you're unlikely to have it. It is not an illness per se but a collection of a few symptoms that gets labeled like that. Inward persective is not one of them.

I have stopped my activities but find it difficult to restablish normal thought patterns without losing focus and going inward again toward lucid dreaming thoughts. At the same time I find it almost impossible to NOT think of it as it already has become a thought pattern by itself. The remedy I think is to allow the thoughts as random but not pay too much attention to it so after sometime it'll fade I guess.

The remedy is to plunge yourself into reality, judging by your complaint about having no life it is the real root of your problem, and LDing might be a substitute for something else. So that really is the best advise I can give you! Dealing with reality a lot has a side-effect of destroying obsessions, too, by making you too busy to think of them.

And if you want to block out the annoying thought patterns at times when you're alone and happen to have nothing to do, you could instead study something very hard (non-school chemistry, math) or pick an addictive activity (gaming, watching movies), in other words do something that can temporarily blast out all thoughts unrelated to it by the amount of focus required to do it. But that alone is unlikely to help you, in my opinion.