Hello, dreammeup Welcome to DV!

So, was it the photo that caused you to become afraid or was it something else? Emotions are often stronger in dreams than in real life, as you may have experienced, but it's very important to just try and relax. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths, though many say that closing your eyes can cause you to wake up when you open them again.

I've had a limited number of lucid dreams, but I've found that one thing that can help a lot is to form a plan before you go to bed. Decide what you want to do when you become lucid and stick to it. If you can predict that you will start to feel anxious, force yourself to relax and take some deep breaths. Find something in the dream that could cause you to feel more at ease and focus on it until you can get situated.

If you want to wake up... try moving your physical body. I had one LD where I was able to move my dream body, but still feel my physical body. I'm not entirely sure exactly how you would go about accomplishing that, but feel free to use your imagination. If it helps, you can close your eyes and tell yourself firmly to wake up.

I hope this was helpful. As far as adoptions, you can request to be adopted when you've been here for two weeks, and it's not necessarily for those who haven't LDed. A lot of people just want some additional one-on-one help.

-Amé