Does LDing Scare Anyone Here?

This is kind of weird I guess, but I am afraid of lucid dreaming. It's just too bizarre for me to comprehend that I enter an "alternate world" once I fall asleep, and there's a part of me that keeps telling myself that once I'm in a LD, I'll ask for a nightmare, and receive one. I don't remember my dreams much (although I have since I started trying), which means that I rarely remember a nightmare. I'm so afraid that once I start remembering my dreams every night, I'll start to remember nightmares all the time. This is something I DO NOT want, and it frankly scares the hell out of me. I'm to the point where I don't want to fall asleep at night in fear of having a horrible long nightmare that I remember everything about.

Has anybody else ever felt like this?

There is really nothing to fear in LDing...I actually find it really relaxing....& like you said earlier, you're the one who is asking the dreams to become nightmares.... Once you get better, you can do anything that you desire in them... it just takes practice..
Are you stressing from anything, b/c that can effect Dream Control, as I've noticed? It is almost like living life, but from your own world....

Well it's normal to be afraid of something that you have never experienced before. But think about it...if there was anything bad or scary about lucid dreaming why would hundreds and hundreds of people be here on this forum or other dreaming forums trying to learn how to LD? Why would they make lucid dream induction devices so DAMN expensive? Because it's amazing!!!

When you are lucid YOU have control of your dream, so you can turn your worst nightmare into the most amazing fantasy. Don't be afraid of it...really. Alot of people become lucid as a result of a nightmare and then tend to just wake up...instead stick around and turn that monster or whatever is in your nightmare into something else. Fly away and go to the beach. It's really awesome what you can do in your LDs. ;)

Re: nightmares - I don't think having better dream recall will increase them. Nightmares are nightmares because they freak you out, and cause you to eventually wake up... so anything you'd consider to be a serious nightmare, you'll remember, dream recall or not. I could be wrong, though... but since I've worked on my recall, I haven't had any nightmares at all, really (some close calls, but nothing of highly nightmarish nature).

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Originally posted by Replicon
Re: nightmares - I don't think having better dream recall will increase them. Nightmares are nightmares because they freak you out, and cause you to eventually wake up... so anything you'd consider to be a serious nightmare, you'll remember, dream recall or not. I could be wrong, though... but since I've worked on my recall, I haven't had any nightmares at all, really (some close calls, but nothing of highly nightmarish nature).

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Yeah actually now that I think about it. Since I've been LDing I really haven't had any bad nightmares like I used to. I used to have tornado dreams alot but once I recognized them as my dream sign I stopped having those dreams :( Go figure...

Alright, I've pretty much gotten over the fear of this. Now it's just making my dreams feel real. All of my dreams are bizarre and have not much normal to them, the whole thing is like a dream sign. I never recall simply turning on a light or looking at a clock in my dream, I'm either fighting a Star Wars character or at some weird house at a party. Also, my dreams are from the third person, and I can't get them to be first person. This seems like it would make lucid dreaming impossible.

Same here..when i read about LDing at night, it freaks me out.. im a newbie..i only had LD once.. since i started coming here..and i lost control over it in 10 second..

its like when i think im going to LD..i think of zombies,skeletons,undeads..all kind of ghostly thing..and i cant really off the light and go to bed..im abit scared of LDing right now thats why i cant do it..

i got rid of the fear last time..and did it once..but now it came back..im scared -_-;;

The only time I can remember being afraid of lucid dreaming was when my mother told me, several years ago, that I'd been talking in my sleep quite a bit. I do tend to act out my dreams, at times, if only by throwing a pillow across the room or uttering a short yelp of delight. The last thing I want is my family knowing the content of some of my lucid dreams! Even though I know sleep talking doesn't always correspond with actual dream content, the bits that have been repeated to me have corresponded quite accurately with my dreams. After a few instances of this, I started telling myself in trance that anything verbal in my dreams would be confined to my own headspace, and that the other characters would continue to respond appropriately - Problem solved. The thought of a repeat does still send a soft prick of worry down my spine, sometimes.

Regarding dreams in the third person: As someone else said to you in another thread, you aren't normally going to see the back of your head - Watch for that as a dream sign. You may even want to try first-person video games, before going to bed, a genre you enjoy and that you don't think would result in scary scenarios if carried into your dreams. I think everyone who games has had at least ONE such dream - It's rather common!

Even though you've gotten over the fear: Nightmares, however scary and cumbersome, are often the mind's last ditch attempt to get our attention. Sometimes we ignore the negative emotional aspects of ourselves, or simply become too busy with matters of everyday life to recognize when we're having adverse reactions to things; fears, discomfort, uncertainty, aren't always properly recognized, and not much is required to elicit such reactions. This may sound Freudian - and it kind of is - but it's true, and something far too many people genuinely overlook. The more something is not dealt with, the more dramatic it will seem when it is dealt with, no matter how trivial it is. If you do start remembering, or having, lots of nightmares, pay attention to them - Comb through them, you'll definitely find patterns, and you may be surprised by the kinds of feelings you experience during and in response to them. If you pay attention to them, take them seriously, they'll more than likely diminish on their own. When you find yourself lucid in a nightmare, ask yourself what's really bothering you, if you feel comfortable doing such, or simply change or exit your surroundings.

You WILL get there! Desire alone is more powerful than you might think.

Fat-Huntress: Even if you do encounter such scary entities in a lucid dream, you are in control of at least your own actions. You could turn the experience into an amusing visit with these creatures on safe terms, perhaps taunt them by leaping over them, or ask them silly questions. Seriously. What did you experience in the lucid dream you do remember? Perhaps reliving that memory as you drift off to sleep will help; you can also use it to counter any thoughts you have of the horror movie scenarios. If you can't yet respond as you'd like physically, you are still in control of your own thoughts. Refuse to accept that these creatures can hurt you - You are completely safe in a lucid dream, and you can, after all, simply decide to wake up.

Yeah I never have a Nightmare in a Lucid Dream the focal point has changed to more positive adventures. The control is what you are aiming for. You want to have control over the dream and not the other way around. While in a Lucid Dream most of the Bizzare issues that happen in normal dreaming are pretty much obsolete as long as your focuse is maintain. Remember you can always use Lucid Dreaming to tackle nightmares and turn it around to something more welcoming for you.

I wasn't having nightmares..i mean..if i try to LD..in my imagination, i would think of Ghost..zombies..and scary stuff..and im scared.

I think i only had 2 nightmares in my entire life which woke me up and tremble in fear.
In my first LD.. i was just waking up in my room.. dark. trying to create a person..i got frustrated because the person wont appear i keep calling out the name..i keep saying "Create XXX" person for about 10 times and i got angry and i lost control and woke up.

i felt the electricity thingy before that. my first time =P

Lucid dreaming used to scare me when i first started, because i was worried that i would have a slightly lucid nightmare, that would just end up being a very horrible experience that i was very aware of but could not control. I find now that i can never have a nightmare without becoming lucid because the intense fear just tips me off right away, so in fact for me atleast lucid dreams have stopped nightmares totally. One thing i am afraid of is when this thought creeps into my head "man this feels so real, there is no way im not humping my bed right now. I hope no one walks into my room."

I hear ya, White Boy! I sometimes wonder if I move or make noise... :shock:
But I hate to hear of folks being afraid in their LD's. If anything, I've learned that I'm able to control things, so if I don't like something I can change it quite easily. (i.e. fly away, grow 10 ft. tall, or produce a flame-thrower out of nowhere... whatever) I agree it would be terrible to find yourself in a nightmare, but I'm happy to report too, that most of my LD's are very pleasant. Maybe too pleasant... :D

lmbfao