Thread: I've had natural lucid dreams since I was four and want to stop. Can anyone help?

Originally Posted by pippy

I'm very new here and am at my wit's end. Here's a brief synopsis:

Started sleepwalking when I was four.
Became confused about what was real and what wasn't (in my dreams) in early teens.
Began serious LDing late teens.
Dream most nights now.
Lie to hubby about whether I'm 'awake' or 'dreaming'.
Getting worried as last night I dreamed our two year old daughter choked to death even though hubby did CPR.
Concerned that I might try to pick up our daughter or hurt her accidentally.

My lucid dreams are basically my body waking up but my mind stays in the dream but I'M AWARE THAT I'M DREAMING. I can do all the reality checks to confirm that I'm in a LD but I can't turn the dream off.

If anyone can help, I'm desperate.

Thank you.

Why would you do that?

Originally Posted by pippy

Lie to hubby about whether I'm 'awake' or 'dreaming'.
...
My lucid dreams are basically my body waking up but my mind stays in the dream but I'M AWARE THAT I'M DREAMING. I can do all the reality checks to confirm that I'm in a LD but I can't turn the dream off.

Are you becoming confused between waking and dreaming life while in real life? Everybody has moments when they remember parts of dreams and then realize they are dreams -- for me almost instantly. Have you seen a psychiatrist? You may want to take it upon yourself to talk to your physician about your mental health. This can be a symptom of schizophrenia. I am not a mental health expert nor a physician so don't take that as a diagnosis, it's just what I've heard and read about.

Another thing, can you clarify what you mean by your body "waking up" while your mind stays in the dream? If you are dreaming while you are awake, that can be another symptom of schizophrenia. If, on the other hand, you just become conscious of your dream then it's probably nothing to worry about.

You should read about dream control. If you think your dreams are too similar to waking life and you truly are lucid during these dreams then you should be able to control these dreams and leave real life situations behind. Visualizing a new dreamscape and spinning in circles seems to be a common technique.

If you want to exit a dream, spinning may or may not end it. The last time I had a scary lucid experience I shook my head violently (it was almost a knee-jerk reaction to the vividness of this dream) and I woke up from it.