I was never able to go though my nightmares, they always ended in my death. However, right before I hit the ground or got bitten by an alligator, I instinctively thought "I'm in a nightmare, WAKE UP!!" Then I would close my eyes in the dream world, opening them in real life. Does this count as lucidity, and could it induce a lucid dream?

In fact, I actually remember a couple years back I had a nightmare that I had to get around an alligator infested pond. I didn't think the alligators were hostile, so I swam. Next thing I knew a gator was chasing me as I back-pedaled to the shore to get away from it. I then realized I was dreaming and closed my eyes, but didn't wake up, so I thought if I let the gator bite my leg the shock would wake me up. however I was overcome with fear that the bite would actually hurt me, so I swam to shore and cowered. The crocodile tried to chase me, but couldn't survive on land, so it left. Then, at the calmest point of the dream, I closed my eyes and woke up. I don't think I've had a single nightmare since.

So I was wondering, are these really LDs, and could I induce nightmares and turn them into LDs?