# Sleep and Dreams > General Dream Discussion > Nightmares and Recurring Dreams >  >  Nightmares within nightmares

## bostonian

Not sure if there is a term for dreams within dreams, but I learned lucid dreaming so I could awaken myself from nightmares.

Eventually my mind seemed to compensate and started giving me nightmares within nightmares... sometimes ten or more levels deep.

Any thoughts on how to conquer the "dream within a dream" phenomenon?

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## Moonbeam

Hmmm, that's interesting.  My mind always tries to compensate for lucid dreaming too, as if my subconscious tries to prevent lucid dreaming and eventually catches on to what I'm doing.  I've had a dream-within-a-dream, but the "inside" dream was the lucid one.  It sounds like you become lucid, but then go into another dream (a nightmare) which isn't lucid.  False awakenings are a common phenomenon--is that what your dreams within dreams seem like? 

How about trying to do an reality check every time you wake up?  That will help you become lucid with FA's.  

I learned a long time ago to wake myself up when a dream get too scary.  I didn't figure out that I could use that to become lucid until I got here to Dreamviews, but now I hardly ever have nightmares, so I don't get the oppportunity to try to stay in the dream and change it.  It seems like you've gotten the first part figured out--becoming lucid instead of just waking yourself up--now you just need to learn to keep up with the scene-shifts as your subconscious tries to trick you with a different scenario.  Maybe your SC will give up with the nightmares once you learn to always overcome it by becoming lucid.

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## bostonian

False awakenings are a common phenomenon with me, but I seem to maintain lucidity the whole way back "up", through each layer of dreams.

I find once I am at a point where I reach lucidity in a nightmare, the same amount of force required to wake myself up is about the same as would be required to alter the dream altogether, which would wake me up anyway.

Even partial lucidity is a gift, the other night Michael Myers was in my shower, and instead of being afraid (the result of non-lucidity) I was kind of aware of the ridiculousness of things, and so got mad and attacked him, and woke up swatting my nightstand LOL

I'd like to learn enough control where I don't have to scream during nightmares. Screaming is something I learned because I can lead myself back to the real world with sound, but it makes life difficult for anyone sleeping next to me. Getting one's body "fired up" through screaming and moving about helps break that "nightmare paralysis", I find.

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## Moonbeam

> False awakenings are a common phenomenon with me, but I seem to maintain lucidity the whole way back "up", through each layer of dreams.



That's cool; you're very advanced! Well, it took me a long time to figure that out anyway, and it still doesn't always work.





> I find once I am at a point where I reach lucidity in a nightmare, the same amount of force required to wake myself up is about the same as would be required to alter the dream altogether, which would wake me up anyway.



That's cool too--whenever I had a nightmare, waking myself up was easy; I don't know if I could have faced staying in the dream and trying to change it, I just wanted out. I wish sometimes I would have nightmares again so I could try it, but I just don't have them anymore. Bad dreams, yes, but more annoying than scary.





> Even partial lucidity is a gift, the other night Michael Myers was in my shower, and instead of being afraid (the result of non-lucidity) I was kind of aware of the ridiculousness of things, and so got mad and attacked him, and woke up swatting my nightstand LOL



So I take it you nightmare is not a recurring dream? I mean, Michael Myers in the shower would be a horrifying sight, but if you saw that over and over you'd probably get used to it.





> I'd like to learn enough control where I don't have to scream during nightmares. Screaming is something I learned because I can lead myself back to the real world with sound, but it makes life difficult for anyone sleeping next to me. Getting one's body "fired up" through screaming and moving about helps break that "nightmare paralysis", I find.



That's how I would wake myself up too, but I don't think my real body really did too much. Hopefully if you think about lucid dreaming a lot and practice, you will get to the point where you don't have to do that, and you will be able to always stay in the dream and hopefully change it. I think you are well on your way and have a high level of awareness already.

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## bostonian

> That's cool; you're very advanced! Well, it took me a long time to figure that out anyway, and it still doesn't always work.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> That's cool too--whenever I had a nightmare, waking myself up was easy; I don't know if I could have faced staying in the dream and trying to change it, I just wanted out. I wish sometimes I would have nightmares again so I could try it, but I just don't have them anymore. Bad dreams, yes, but more annoying than scary.
> 
> I do the same, actually, I would rather just see the real world for a moment, get my bearings, then have a nice peaceful night for the few hours that remain
> 
> So I take it you nightmare is not a recurring dream? I mean, Michael Myers in the shower would be a horrifying sight, but if you saw that over and over you'd probably get used to it.
> ...



My stuff is in green

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