How to stop nightmares?

[scorqyon]

When I was little (and even now occasionally) I used to have many frightening/disturbing dreams. I was looking myself at the mirror and see myself bloody, hurt, horribly deformed. Every of my nightmares were at home. Like I was staying at home and suddenly a giant monster comes out of a painting. Or I was staying at home and strange entities and shadows were coming out of my room. Those nightmares used to haunt my childhood... As I said, even now I occasionally have dreams like those...like my mom cloned herself and was trying to kill me for no reason. Or my whole family was possessed by demons. Or frightening noises or loud noises that would wake me up. (Like last morning when I heard in my dream a loud noise like if a window just crashed and I woke up frightened and my sister was like WTF???) When I was young I had1 lucid dream! I knew it was a dream, through I couldn't control it and when I tried it would get even worse...I tried to suicide everytime with no result...except they would send me in other rooms and I would still not wake up. I wanna try learn how to lucid dream, but first I want to not be afraid of what crap I would dream next night So...do you know any methods on how can I stop nightmares?

[A_Citrus]

Scorqyon, welcome to DV . Usually nightmares are based on something real in your life, like something you're afraid of, or even thoughts from a movie you just watched. There isn't really a way to make a nightmare less frightening while in the dream, if you don't know that you're dreaming. My best advice would be to take your fears head-on, and try to conquer them. If you think that you have fears, but you don't know what they are, then you should first start a dream journal. That's a must if you want to lucid dream as well, because you need to improve your recall. Once you've started to build up your dream journal, you should look for recurring themes in your nightmares, the things that usually frighten you, and then maybe you'll understand what it is that you're afraid of. If you have any other questions about this, or anything else to do with dreaming, feel free to ask in a post, or send me a private message! ShockWave.

[hprib012]

I agree with Shockwave, most things in a nightmare become even more scary when you try to run or hide from it. It fuels it. I think if you stand up to it you will find that it's not as terrifying as before and that you have a strong sense of power after defeating it. Not only stand up to it but KNOW you will win. No doubt. Doubt is the single most crippling thing when it comes to the dream world. Good Luck and wish for big guns.

[scorqyon]

So you say I should actually try to recall my dreams better? I shall wish myself good luck then >_> By the way of LD. Does this has anything to do with sleep paralysis? I really don't want to encounter this...I heard it's a really frightening experience. And as I already have nightmare problems sometimes this thing could just make it worse BTW! I posted my most frightening and vivid dream I had in the DJ...the dream that actually scared me when I was little so much I was screaming even when someone was passing by in my room

[hprib012]

Well as far as I know the sleep paralysis only really occurs when you try the WILD technique....otherwise it wouldn't interfere as much....I believe. Seek someone of "dream guide" status to be sure

[A_Citrus]

There are plenty of great resources on the site on improving dream recall . Regarding sleep paralysis, you may be interested to know that have encountered sleep paralysis every time you have fallen asleep in your entire life. The difference in encountering it to try and have a lucid dream is that you're conscious. I know how hard it is to try and change your opinion on sleep paralysis being scary - believe me, I was the same - but what you experience in sleep paralysis is all in your mind, and it won't be a bad experience unless you believe that it will be, or you have doubt in your mind. To quote something that I said once in the DV chat room: Sleep paralysis is scary if you are scared of it ShockWave.

[scorqyon]

It happened to me after having a very faded and short lucid dreaming that I woke up and couldn't move...I heard already about SP before this happened and I was freaking scared! I didn't actually tried to move anymore when I saw I couldn't...I was trying to imagine of nice things and not think about scary stuff. It lasted like 10 seconds... When I was younger I dreamed Chester from those cheetos commercials. The dream suddenly stopped and I heard a loud buzz (like in SP symptoms). I was still dreaming and yet feeling those strange sensations. When I woke up it was all right.

[IAMHaven]

Now, i'm very new to all this, but When i was 3 or 4, my dad told me that if i was having a nightmare, to look down at my hands and say "123, wake up!" it worked a few times, except for during a really intense, scary dream. i have no idea how you would try that lucid, or if it would even work, but it's all ive got for now haha

[VladP]

So, you had a dream where your mom cloned and attacked you?! Oh my God, I had a similar dream two nights ago. And we are from the same city. Is it a thing that happens to all citizens of Bucharest? This is not the first time it happened to me. My mom cloning and trying to attack me happened to me like 10 times. But the nightmare gets worse after I kill her (in 8 out of the 10 I killed her) . I wasn't lucid when I did that, though. Also, about your SP encounter, don't be scared of it. In fact, for me, it is Heaven when I actually succeed doing it. Since I joined the forum, I managed to get some SPs. Its still weird, as after I get it, I find it easy to concentrate on one thing. Is this due my prior concentration on my breathing or is it due the SP?

[scorqyon]

Well maybe it really does happen to all citizens of Bucharest...maybe Traian Basescu had invented an evil machine that puts that nightmare into our subconscious so many of us would die of heart attack ^_^