I'm sometimes afraid of my dreams. [please read]

I have been having many dreams in which I knew I was sleeping due to small factors around me. These started about a year ago.

The first one I remember involved a killer waking me up from my sleep. I thought it was real, until I looked at a stereo and the digital numbers were the wrong color. During this whole time, my body was numb and I couldnt move or scream or anything.

I woke for real from this dream shortly after, and got something to eat. I went back to sleep, and slept fine.

But more recently, I've been having dreams like this repetively. It's like I want them to continue because they are so surreal. (Last night I was calmly floating over my bed in my dream) But at the same time, the amount of fear they sometimes put in me bothers me.

I've had several dreams where I was choking on an object or throwing up only to wake up coughing, out of breath, and possibly with a stomach ache.

I've also had dreams of suffocation and extensive bleeding, car crashes and high speeds...

the list goes on, this has been happening for a year, and until today I never thought to look it up online.

I want to keep dreaming like this, but without the feeling of danger or near-death experiences.

Can anyone help me with that?

maybe you should talk to a therapist man that has go to be scary

Yeah, it is. It's like I know I am dreaming, and I try everything I can imagine to wake myself up. But the dream wins. I end up in some kind of suffering, and the vividness of the suffering, whether it be choking, suffocating, bleeding, etc. I can always feel it as it would normally feel, and when I wake up I am sweating, out of breath, rapid heart beat... it's very scary.

Well, I guess lucid dreaming could help with that, helping defeat fears,or, yah, see a therapist.

My girlfriend wants to know if you are using 'valarian root' as a sleep aid. In some people it causes nightmares, it seems to with both of us.

You might try checking out http://www.lucidity.com/EWLD10.html

It's an excerpt from Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by LaBerge, one of the staples of lucid dreaming literature. This chapter deals specifically with nightmares. These dreams can be very scary and very realistic, but the first step to overcoming them is to realize that they are dreams and that they can't do you any real, physical harm.

You said you knew you were sleeping because of "small factors" around you - remember what these are, because these dream signs can tip you off in the future. Before going to sleep, try convincing yourself that if you have a dream like that, you will remember that it's only a dream and that you're in no real danger. This will give you the confidence to confront the dreams.

It sounds like as soon as you realize you're dreaming, you try to wake up... that might not be the best approach because it's letting the dream win. If you know you're asleep, use that to your advantage!

On another note, some of the dreams sound like they could be due to sleep paralysis (i.e. "my body was numb and I couldnt move or scream or anything"). Sleep paralysis can also lead to trouble breathing and could explain feelings of choking/suffocation. Sleeping on your back makes this more likely, so if that's the case, you might try changing sleeping position.

Dreaming should be a pleasant experience for everyone, and I'm sorry it hasn't been for you. Good luck trying to solve this problem.

I have to say, your dream's don't seem like normal nightmares. You say that you are aware of the fact that it is just a dream but whenever you try to do something about it "the dream wins" and that makes me think it isn't normal and that it is (probably) psychological, a side effect of a deep-rooted problem or an event that caused you fear/grief.

I wouldn't call myself very knowledgable about psychology, but I know a little and all this (especially the repetitiveness aspect of the nightmares) definitley sounds like you have some mental health issues and should consider contacting a therapist to help you with them. I don't think they're going to stop without help and I think if you try to deal with them by Lucid Dreaming only you run a high risk of not dealing with them completely and will make your problem much worse than it already is.

At any rate, I hope you find some way of dealing with the nightmares and that they will stop soon.

yeah it could be the mindset of that everytime it happens you are expecting the worst and for it to be terrible so it is. If you know you are dreaming, use that to know that you can do anything and that you can't get hurt. Try turning the killer into frog or something like that or blast him with some psi energy. As long as you know its a dream then change it however you want. Maybe go to bed and instead of thinking that you hope you don't have a nightmare (good chance you'll have one) be thinking that you are ready to confront the evil and bad things and know that you are stronger than them. When you have another one there is a good chance that you will know its a dream and take control over it.

You could also go to a therapist if these nightmares continue but I think you'll gain more personally if you are able to overcome it by yourself by taking the attitude that you aren't going to let these things ruin your life. Good luck with it and next time you encounter a killer turn him into a dancing banana:banana:!

maybe this is just a guess if u brave the thing and show no fear and think it doesnt mater it is only a dream it may stop

Hi,
Sounds like sleep paralysis and normal nightmares to me. Don't know what causes them really, but the "evil presence" while you are in paralysis can be changed by positive thinking or trying to control it. I believe it's called the old hag sindrome and that it's simptoms are not being able to move or scream, the choking sensations and sometimes hallucinations like your killer or aliens.
All the bad dreams might be the result of your waking life, maby too much stress or something like that.

Good luck at fighting the fear and all that.

The first one (where you couldn't move) sounded a lot like sleep paralysis.(Like Bonsay said.) But if you know you are dreaming, and your being attacked or some other thing is happening, just act like you don't care. Just be brave and even if you are still afraid, pretend that you arent. Usually the problem will disapear, or take on a more likeable shape. Proof of this was in my second long lucid dream: My dog had gone wild and was attacking me. (My first intentions were to get him to talk, but he wasn't cooperating.) At first I was about to run, but then I stopped myself and just stood there, standing my ground, acting rather nonchalant. He turned into a wooden doghouse and exploded. I wasn't hurt at all.