I'm Going to Start a Dream Journal Tonight

[LucasJC]

The first step. But I'm afraid that in a dream I'll get scared, and the moment that I'm scared in a dream it turns into a horrible nightmare. I know the solution is to not be scared, but it's pretty hard. Any suggestions?

[Seroquel]

I don't see how it can become a nightmare if you're lucid. I mean, the fact that you're lucid itself implies that you know you're only in a dream, your mind.

[Puffin]

Feelings are powerful in dreams - fear, love, happiness - they can strongly influence a dream. But what's the worst that can happen? Think about it - you get scared, and you wake up. Maybe you'll wake up for real, ending the nightmare you created by getting too scared. Or, you might enter a false awakening, in which case you're still free of the nightmare and can do something else. Just make sure you do a reality check if you think you woke up. The best thing I can suggest is to not think of ANYTHING at first, except the fact that you're dreaming (and possibly shouting it out which can help), once you become lucid. That's all I have, though. You may be excited or frightened the first time (or two), but it'll go away fast. Stay positive!

[Erii]

this has happened to many people before, so its common just realize you are in the dream, you have control. You are in charge of whatever happens, and likely, the scary part will go away good luck

[GMoney]

It's very unlikely that you'll be scared. I've written down over 800 dreams over the past 18 months or so, and less than 5% of them have been frightening, if that. But really, those were some of the best one. Sure, it's terrifying when you're in there, but you can laugh about when you wake up. Those dreams are some of my most memorable, since they often contain elements not normally found in waking life. Like erible said, the thrill of emotion is extremely intensified. Even intense negative emotions can be enjoyed. It seems paradoxical, but try it out. You'll probably have very few dreams like that, but the ones you do have will be fun. The content of your dreams is often connected to what you do in waking life. If you're routinely getting chased by cops and arrested in waking life, you'll probably have more frightening dreams than someone who files papers all day. I've had a few dreams lately where I'm being chased and hunted down by DV staff, "lol." That's because I got in trouble a few times that day. A lot of dreams are completely random and unrelated to anything, though. Try it out! You never know what might happen, but starting a DJ will help your recall. And if you're ever lucky enough to be able to LD, you can just make the nightmare go away and summon nicer things.