Natrual lucid dreamer or the cause of medication?

To start I am very new to this sight and to the research of Lucid Dreaming. I've looked at it the past but after 3 times of sleeping (night of sleep, nap,night of sleep) and past experiences that sound very much like lucid dreaming I am very very interested on this subject, specially when many say it is all theory. As well I find out of body experiences to be a compelling thought.

So, naturally a lucid dreamer or is it a side effect of medication or has medication brought this hidden dreaming experience to light? Like many I am bipolar and suffer most from long major depression episodes. Also, probably from being bipolar I am a chronic insomniac, so I take Lamtical, Celexa, Ambien , Birth Control, and of course Kolonapin (anxiety medication) sometimes Seroquel. Obviously the big red flag in this is ambien since it is a hallucinogen many have reported tripping while on it. This does not happen to me though.

A little history. When I was younger I specifically remember sleeping at friends houses waking up in a dream state feeling, smelling, hearing, and seeing as if I was in my own bed at home. Then I would wake up in a bit of a panic to see I'm not at home.

In the midst of my teen years I do not remember dreams and was not on medication. Then I was on mood stabilizers for about a year and then on no medication for about two years.

In the most depressing days of my life at 16-18 I was forced into a living situation that is not conventional; living in a small hotel room. Still not on any medication. Then I started having very odd dreams. A lot of dreams I had were things that would happen months or even years later. I was kinda freaked out by that idea when it started to occur. I would have dreams of sitting in a room with people then a year later find myself in the situation with the same faces as in my dreams with people I had just met! Believe it or not. This is when I became more aware of when I was dreaming and what I was dreaming about. Many times I would have dreams and did notice I could control a certain extent of my dreams.

Along, came my first psychologist in almost 2 years. I was confirmed of bipolar/ major depression, and chronic insomnia, and adhd, but was refused any medication for adhd. This is when I was but on Lamictal which seemed to almost balance me out and seroquel. Well I did not dream at all on seroquel. I would only become extremely tired and sleep for about 12 hours a day and was unable to wake up. My whole body would be paralyzed, so I stopped taking it. Then I was on no sleep medication and was very aware of my dreams.

A savior arises! My good friend Ambien. This for a long time now has been the only sleep aid that has been able to give me a normal night of sleep as well as control my sleeping patterns. Now the thing is ambien is very well known for enhancing your dreaming experience. I love my dreams! I've had many many dreams that show me signs of myself through animals and or disasters and I've become very invested in deciphering dreams. But I have always been very aware of when I was dreaming and what I was able to control in my dreams and even wake up then fall back asleep to have the same dream sometimes good and sometimes nightmarish, but I already love horror as it is so I don't mind and most of the time I find more meaning and personality in my nightmares. Odd.

A big thing I've noticed that has brought me hear is my latest episodes. The last 3 times I have fallen asleep I have this dream that I traveled to Massachusetts (I live in Chicago such a state does not interest a city girl) to a high school and am unable to leave. The first time I was riding a unicycle to a song by Real Big Fish and was able to control playing the song over and over and able to control where I would go on my unicycle expect when I tried to leave I would lose control of where I went. Second time I was back at the same school with my dad riding a motorcycle unable to leave once again but could control where I went and what I said and what others said. Third time was out of control chaos. It was much longer than the previous ones and involved several of my friends and other various people from my real life and t.v. The main focus on this third one was religion and virginity. I had control over a few things. Who I was hanging around, clothing, hair color, some speech, and tried and tried to leave on a bike but every time I would be thrusted back to the high school and every time I came back the more the place looked like it was turning into hell. Scary right.

Anyway, the last 3 times I have fallen asleep I have not taken any ambien. Could taking ambien for so long have helped me get in touch with my dreams more? Possibly the other medication I'm on also plays a factor? Since I've had experiences when I was young was I suppressing my dreams in my teen years? Well, in my opinion it is a bit of both, but I believe ambien has opened my dreams more since I have been taking it. Is this a way to cheat your way into a lucid state? Do those who are trained well in lucid dreaming recommend a more natural way?

What is your opinion on taking sleep aids such as ambien or even pot to enhance dreams? Do medications bring out your natural creativity and awareness of dreams or do you find it to be a joke to the art of lucid dreaming?

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Originally Posted by radiantashes

sometimes Seroquel....and seroquel. Well I did not dream at all on seroquel.

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:lol: There's a member on here who's named that and it made me giggle :lol:

As for your quesiton I'm not very well versed on dream interpratation so I'm not sure if those "nightmares" you had mean anything, but medication has been known to affect dreams. You seem to have identified ambien as the main culprit in this and, according to a quick google search, abnormal dreams and even nightmares have been reported while on this drug. While "abnormal dreams" can mean a lot of things to different people, and according to your post you only had those 3 odd dreams when not taking it. Have you been taking it on and off or was this a sudden stop of intake? If you have been starting and stopping then it was most likely just a coincidence, we all get rather odd dreams every once in a while. If you only stopped that one time then it could just be your mind relaying some sort of "withdrawl" or dependancy.

As far as the lucidity goes it sounds to me like you've just been a natural and only recently have you become more aware of your dreams. Its like when you're writing something very often and one day you notice something odd that you tend to do. This thing then becomes more and more obvious as you think about it even though you've done it all along. With your dreams it seems like you really became in touch with them and, being a natural, you became more consciously aware of them, leading to large amounts of lucidity. You should count yourself lucky, most people take a good deal of time and effort just to get their first.

If you have insomnia then I wouldn't stop taking any medication you've been prescribed unless directed by your doctor or you can easily fall asleep without it. Just be warned that you may develop a dependancy for it and stopping for any reason beyond that point will be very difficult. However, coming from a (semi) experienced dreamer I do not recommend any type of supplements or aids but I do not discourage them either. If you find it's easier to have lucids while taking then that's fine, just take note of the risk of dependancy and even creating a tolerance requiring a larger and larger dose each time to get the same effect.

Just follow whatever your doctor tells you and if you're becoming lucid naturally, then count yourself lucky! If you're not getting lucid easily, then you will likely have to put some work into it like everyone else. Regardless of whether or not you are a natural you should still start/use a dream journal to document your dreams, search for dream signs, and just increase your overall recall. You should also read up on the various tutorials for induction methods and various reality checks here on the forums in case you aren't a natural. Even if you are it can't hurt :). Good luck and happy dreaming!

Hi and welcome to dream-views.

Regarding interpretation of dreams. I can tell you that I do not know any way to interpret them as they could be very symbolical but finding its pattern could help, but I can tell you that there are dreams that are related to reality, such as when I had a dream of an event in reality, I wake up and that same event had happened in reality. So there is a relationship between dreams and reality.

And about the drugs, I really cant tell anything since it is health related so it should be directed to a doctor. I cant tell you to take it just to lucid dream and ignore all the health factors.

Good luck lucid dreaming.