Thread: I woke myself up from a nightmare, I'm scared and I'm new to this

Hello,
I'm new to lucid dreaming and also to this forum so if this post is on the wrong board I apologize, I just want some tips because I'm really freaked out. Having said that I just experienced my first lucid dream where I actually exercised some amount of control. I've been aware that I've been dreaming before but for the first time I changed the plot - by waking myself up. This was the kind of dream where you wake up several times in it, but I was having a nightmare and every time I woke up a man hunted me down and twice succeeded in raping me.

I came to a point where I woke up again and I was not only aware that I was dreaming but knew the man was going to try to find me. I panicked, I knew I was in control but haven't had enough practice to change the scene or remove the man completely, so I woke myself up. (I did this by summoning a friend for help.) It was a really scary experience and I woke up shaking. I didn't know lucid dreaming existed so I googled it and ended up here.

I'm just hoping some people with experience in lucid dreaming can share some tips with me on how to gain better control of my dreams or at least how to calm down. Has anyone else ever woken themselves up from nightmares? I tend to have a lot of bad dreams but this one was extremely realistic and vivid and really has me bent out of shape. Any comments/tips are appreciated.

Lucid dreams are the best way to combat nightmares. Although I haven't had a full lucid dream...just kind of builds up a little each time lol...just keep reminding yourself it's a dream, he can't hurt you. Tell yourself you're in control and take charge..if I was in the situtation I would probably just turn around and punch him lol. But as long as you tell yourself and believe it's a dream then you'll be in control. Don't let fear keep you from the awesomeness of literally living out your dreams

Hey, Kate. Welcome to Dream Views.

MarkieP52 is absolutely right. The most important thing that you can do is remind yourself that "it is only a dream." Your fear most likely comes from the feeling of being weaker than your attacker - because, after all, if he's stronger than you are, what can you do to stop him. Right? But you have to remember who is in charge, when it is your dream. You are no longer this man's victim. He is not more powerful than you are. This goes for any nightmare creature you may have. What you choose to do with (or to) the man, afterward, is completely up to you. The important thing to remember, when you become lucid, is that your dreams bend to your will - not the other way around.

Have fun with it. I actually started out the same way, when I was a kid - waking myself from nightmares. I have always been plagued with frequent, vivid nightmares (and I still have them, at times), but I hardly ever fear them anymore. After getting used to the feeling of becoming lucid at the sign of danger, I know that it's likely that I will simply become lucid during my next nightmare, and be able to exact my revenge, however I see fit.

If you ever have such a nightmare again, try to suppress the urge to escape the dream. Instead, turn around toward the man, grab him by the shirt, look him square in the eye and say: "You know what? I've had about enough of your shit." And then dispatch of him in the most entertaining way you can imagine. After this, you'll understand how much power you have in your dreams, and you might just start to think of nightmares as adventurous!

I would definitely advise that you start a journal, so you can keep track of your progress. And if you have any questions, or need any help, don't hesitate to ask around the forum.

L8r.

Also, if fear makes you unable to calm down enough to think of "It is my dream, nothing can harm me" what I do is close my eyes to calm myself down, just beware closing your eyes though, sometimes it wakes people up. In which case, once you are calm, try imagining a new scene instead of opening your eyes.

Thank you all so much for your comments, it's very reassuring I really appreciate it. I'll be sure to start keeping track of my dreams and hopefully my progress too! Now that I know lucid dreaming is something that can really happen and that there are other people out there supporting me I feel confident that I can start facing my nightmares and working my way up to enjoying my dreams. Again, thank you all for your time and comments it means a lot to me

i will tell you, its very hard to lucid. but if you get it a few times you can get used to it. Try the WILD technique because im too lazy to look at my hands every 5 minutes.
anyway when you go to that nightmare and you dild (realising your dreaming), turn the rapist into a panda then stab it a billion times. Its so hilarious to watch you defeat your own nightmares.

Kate, I think you should read "explore the world of lucid dreaming" of Stephen Laberge (chap 10). It will tell you how to overcome nightmare and have lucid dream.
Wish you would have beautiful dreams instead of nightmares in the near future.
Peace

Thank you both for the additional comments, from what I can gather if I truly believe I can overcome my nightmare I'll be able to. Also I'll be sure to check out this book. As I mentioned at the start of the thread I tend to have a lot of vivid nightmares, I'm definitely ready to learn how to overcome them. Again all the support is appreciated.