Welcome to DV SapphireDreams!

Sorry to hear about your negative experience. We hear these kinds of stories a lot and its unfortunate. I have found the best approach to negative or dark experiences in the dream state is to produce a positive mind set before going to sleep. Produce a mind set of positivity, love, safety, and confidence. It might seem small, but it has had a huge impact on my own experience.

As for astral projection, or out of body experiences, I have found a guy named William Buhlman on youtube that is very knowledgeable on the subject.
again, welcome!