Thread: Depersonalisation a side effect of practising lucid dreaming?

Is it? I think so because...maybe noone has done it for 6 years straight like I have and I have become depersonalized not derealized meaning I still know I'm in reality but seem to be disconnected from the self and 'seeing' and being the self from 3rd person view as a result of thinking that I may be dreaming and wanting to be lucid in a dream. But then again people are not made the same so maybe it will not affect other people as much as it does to me. So is depersonalization a side effect as in that it happened to you.

IMJ

Everyone breathes constantly, would you say that is the cause of their psychological profile?

Agree with philosopher. You can't use one person as a global example either, there are other factors to take into account, and I have been doing it consistently for 15 years, there are some who have done it for longer and I don't see a problem with it.

Relation to self is inadmissible. To have a mental problem--means one of two things, we need something from the environment and are not able to obtain it, or two, we can obtain what we need, however we do not have the faculties to process it.

Do you really think it must be the lucid dreaming? Is it because you have consumed yourself so much with just your dreams that you have ignored many important areas of your life? Like your social life or whatever..? Maybe you count too much on your dreamworld to make you happy and you have put less effort in making your waking life a success.. I dunno depersonalization sounds terrifying tho sorry

Originally Posted by cmmgibson

Do you really think it must be the lucid dreaming? Is it because you have consumed yourself so much with just your dreams that you have ignored many important areas of your life? Like your social life or whatever..? Maybe you count too much on your dreamworld to make you happy and you have put less effort in making your waking life a success.. I dunno depersonalization sounds terrifying tho sorry

But isn't lucid dreaming about intent and wanting it? Without those two there's no motivation and purpose and lucid dreaming becomes nothing but an idea that sits in the mind. Those who say it did not affect them from my opinion and guess is that they are not affected by emotional stress and are very very logical people who only believe in facts in front of them because I have met many on here who are so logical and factual they debunk any form of belief that has no scientific proof whatsoever. So maybe to them lucid dreaming has nothing to do with wanting it or that it has any mental side effects based on majority (facts again) but it's a measure of what works like WILD or DILD or WBTB and the logical function that it's not a dream until proven.

IMJ

Well, first off I def agree with you that lucid dreaming is about wanting it. You have really want it more than anything else to achieve it. OF course it affects your waking life, isn't that the point? But what I am asking is why would it cause you to be depersonalized? To me I feel more alive, like I hold a secret power that the people around me aren't a part of. I feel so caught up in my spiritual world that I miss out on the physical world a lot, as it seems you are too. People get very caught up in the physical realm because it is the only thing 'proven' to truly exist. So you are right when you say logical analytical thinkers only can make claims if they are backed up with hard evidence. If you only rely on stats, you discredit human diversity and challenges like yours. So do you regret going so deep into lucid dreaming? Is the depersonalization frightening or do you feel just straight apathy?

Originally Posted by cmmgibson

Well, first off I def agree with you that lucid dreaming is about wanting it. You have really want it more than anything else to achieve it. OF course it affects your waking life, isn't that the point? But what I am asking is why would it cause you to be depersonalized? To me I feel more alive, like I hold a secret power that the people around me aren't a part of. I feel so caught up in my spiritual world that I miss out on the physical world a lot, as it seems you are too. People get very caught up in the physical realm because it is the only thing 'proven' to truly exist. So you are right when you say logical analytical thinkers only can make claims if they are backed up with hard evidence. If you only rely on stats, you discredit human diversity and challenges like yours. So do you regret going so deep into lucid dreaming? Is the depersonalization frightening or do you feel just straight apathy?

I was sick and tired of logic governing real life (had been looking for employment) at the time so sought after lucid dreaming to fulfill the desire to be free of it but instead not only has it not worked out well for me I'm left with this void of being in this 'looking through a glass' effect and feeling third person instead of being the person. Everytime I think about how to achieve lucid dreams my mind starts to go into deep thought by itself...I mean deep as in unaware of what the other person is saying, the thinking is just me and solving problem of not attaining lucidity and I have to snap out of it when it gets out of control like when I start to zone out too much and I walk the wrong way to from where I was going.

IMJ

Originally Posted by imj

I was sick and tired of logic governing real life (had been looking for employment) at the time so sought after lucid dreaming to fulfill the desire to be free of it but instead not only has it not worked out well for me I'm left with this void of being in this 'looking through a glass' effect and feeling third person instead of being the person. Everytime I think about how to achieve lucid dreams my mind starts to go into deep thought by itself...I mean deep as in unaware of what the other person is saying, the thinking is just me and solving problem of not attaining lucidity and I have to snap out of it when it gets out of control like when I start to zone out too much and I walk the wrong way to from where I was going.

IMJ

You were sick of logic, felt trapped, and looking for an escape. Just take a deep look at yourself and don't blame something like lucid dreaming. Depersonalization is not a side effect of lucid dreaming, it's a side effect of disordered thinking. For you, lucid dreaming was merely a coping mechanism.

Sorry this has taken me so long to respond. But may I ask.. what do you usually fill your day with? How do you keep busy when you cannot concentrate on any task at hand?

Good thought.....there are other factors to take into account, and I have been doing it consistently for 15 years, there are some who have done it for longer and I don't see a problem with it..

regards.........

kajal

I used to get depersonalised, exactly like what you've experienced. I haven't tried LD, but I hated logic too, and I felt trapped--maybe that's the cause?