# Sleep and Dreams > General Dream Discussion > Nightmares and Recurring Dreams >  >  Why don't I have nightmares?

## AlexLou

I never have any nightmares except while lucid following terrifying episodes of SP, and that only started in adulthood.  So why don't I have regular nightmares?  I thought everyone was supposed to have nightmares from time to time.  I've even had non-lucid dreams with zombies and ghosts in them, but I wasn't afraid.  Is this the case with anyone else?

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## lagunagirl

I never have nightmares and I watch every horror movie that I can. I think you just dont have nightmares because you dont think of things that are scary before you fall asleep. That or, you do have nightmares, they just dont scare you. which is good i guess

btw, you're name is alex and you're from orange county?? sweet! same with me! (although I dont live there anymore.)  we're like two peas in a pod! lol  ::lol::

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## AlexLou

Two Alexes on DV from OC, eh? :smiley:   Actually . . . my name is Alexis and no one calls me Alex . . .

Anyway: 
Sometimes I do go to bed thinking about things that scare me.  Like a couple weeks ago I watched 28 weeks later and went straight to bed afterwards.  The movie scared me and I was afraid that I'd have SP or something with 28 days/weeks style zombies.  And I did dream about zombies.  In my dream everyone was hiding in boarded up houses like in the movie, but I was just walking around outside with the zombies like everything was cool.

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## Man of Steel

I quit having nightmares when I discovered lucid dreaming. I think once you realize on a fundamental level that you are the master of your dreams, you also realize that nothing in your dreams can scare you. I used to have these really twisted psychological nightmares, where nothing _appeared_ wrong, but I could just _feel_ the terrible wrongness. I'd wake up in a cold sweat, and not want to go back to sleep. 

Then I found out about lucid dreaming, and haven't had anything I could call a nightmare since. Just learning that I _could_ control my dreams--whether I do or not--freed me from those dreams. Aren't you a natural lucid dreamer? That could very well be the reason you do not have nightmares.

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## kingofclutch

I used to have nightmares a lot when I was a kid and when I was a preteen and now I don't have them anymore. It has to do with how protected you feel. I used to be scared at night when I was a small kid and I always had nightmares and then I went in the middle of the night to my parents' room and I slept in between them and I NEVER had nightmares. Now I feel safe in bed and I don't have nightmares.

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## mfratt

I have would-be nightmares all the time. They just haven't scared me since I was about twelve.

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## AlexLou

> I quit having nightmares when I discovered lucid dreaming. I think once you realize on a fundamental level that you are the master of your dreams, you also realize that nothing in your dreams can scare you. I used to have these really twisted psychological nightmares, where nothing _appeared_ wrong, but I could just _feel_ the terrible wrongness. I'd wake up in a cold sweat, and not want to go back to sleep. 
> 
> Then I found out about lucid dreaming, and haven't had anything I could call a nightmare since. Just learning that I _could_ control my dreams--whether I do or not--freed me from those dreams. Aren't you a natural lucid dreamer? That could very well be the reason you do not have nightmares.



I never had nightmares, not even when I was a kid (before I ever had a lucid dream).  The only nightmares I've had are lucid and induced by SP.  I just asked my mom to confirm in case I've forgotten something and all she remembers are my first episodes of SP; no nightmares.





> I used to have nightmares a lot when I was a kid and when I was a preteen and now I don't have them anymore. It has to do with how protected you feel. I used to be scared at night when I was a small kid and I always had nightmares and then I went in the middle of the night to my parents' room and I slept in between them and I NEVER had nightmares. Now I feel safe in bed and I don't have nightmares.



I feel safe now when I go to bed, but when I was a kid I'd imagine monsters in my closet and skeletons under my bed.  If my closet door was left open, I'd see the outline of a monster waiting to get me and I'd stay still so that it wouldn't notice me and watch it as I fell asleep.  Yet I had no nightmares.

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## Man of Steel

Hmm, interesting. It seems you were just blessed with an absence of nightmares, then. 

I think maybe the old adage applies here, _"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."_

 ::D:

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## peppy

Same for me MoS, I've not had a nightmare since I learnt about lucid dreaming. I guess it's true the knowledge of being able to control your dreams and that u can't be hurt really helps.  :smiley: 

You should probably be happy u've never had nightmares Alex Lou. 

btw MoS, I've hardly ever seen u post in the dreaming forums.  :tongue2:

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## Mr_Jinsue

I have only ever had about two nightmares all my life and the second was years ago when I was just a child. Watching a lot of horror movies etc might somewhat decectize you to the 'scaryness' of normal dreams and maybe thats why they don't scare you.
In an LD you would be aware moreso of what is happening (due to increased vividness) and that could heighten your fears somewhat.
Have you ever/do you currently have any control issues while lucid?

Cheers

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## skunk

i don't get nightmares, i have scary scenarios but they don't scare me enough to be considered nightmares.  Usually I just see the scary part through and then stuff turns out alright.  I haven't had a nightmare since i was in middle school

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## Man of Steel

> Same for me MoS, I've not had a nightmare since I learnt about lucid dreaming. I guess it's true the knowledge of being able to control your dreams and that u can't be hurt really helps. 
> 
> You should probably be happy u've never had nightmares Alex Lou. 
> 
> btw MoS, I've hardly ever seen u post in the dreaming forums.



That, my dear Watson, is because I hardly ever post in the dreaming forums.  :wink2:

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## Neko

Nightmares are very rare for me. I probably have one or two every year. Although I did experience the displeasure of having my worst nightmare ever on my 15th birthday.  ::o:

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## AlexLou

> I have only ever had about two nightmares all my life and the second was years ago when I was just a child. Watching a lot of horror movies etc might somewhat decectize you to the 'scaryness' of normal dreams and maybe thats why they don't scare you.
> In an LD you would be aware moreso of what is happening (due to increased vividness) and that could heighten your fears somewhat.
> Have you ever/do you currently have any control issues while lucid?
> 
> Cheers



Ah, another like me.  Guess it's normal then.  

I'm not as good as some, but I have decent dream control.  My lucids only turn bad after natural (non-induced) SP.  But even then I know that it's not real and can wake whenever I want.  So it's not a big deal.

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## Iconian

Join the club, I too do not have nightmares. Since I was first aware of what dreaming was when I was a child, I can never remember awaking from a dream because I was scared. More recently since my dream recall has been improving, I have become more aware of this. I also have experience dreams with zombies and other "scary" creatures but the prevailing emotion has been resignation and determination to escape. Even in hand-to-hand combat with a dream zombie I was not afraid. Persons close to me have suggested that a lack of nightmares may be the result of a stable life. Recently as I have become more dream-conscious, I have begun to believe that because of an awareness of the possibility that I might be dreaming, I am less prone to negative emotions brought about by dreams.

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## Natureboy622

Its a good sign. You have no worries.

I am in a very fishy situation, and I sometimes get horrible nightmares.

Being accused of murder,

Forgetting to bring my passport to an airport, and therefore missing my important flight

Failing a test

I dont dream often but when I do 20 percent are nightmares

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## Hadyn

Maybe because you forget all of your nightmares.

I enjoy them... but wouldn't that make them not really true nightmares?
They're interesting to me, because they're so much different and plot driven than anything else in real life (or dreaming).

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## Lord Toaster

I often have scary dreams, where I have to run away from or fight with monsters , but I'm never scared in them. It's like a game or a challenge or something. Just not scary. I had some nightmares when I was really small, usually to do with drowning.

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## Natureboy622

But like nightmares are like the worst case scenarios so i cant enjoy them

but I get a great relief when I wake up

Also after I wake up from a horrible dream I think about it for a while.

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