Thread: Is it possible to become addicted to lucid dreaming?

You can become psychologically addicted to anything if you enjoy it enough.
I don't know anyone addicted to lucid dreaming.

I know that when I first started, I definitely could have (jokingly, at least) said I was addicted to it.. I slept through an entire day once because every time I went to sleep I was lucid and in complete control. Those, to this day, were some of the most beautiful memories I have.

As long as you enjoy your waking life you cannot possibly become addicted to Lucid dreaming. One of the negatives is that you know none of it is real and everything is played out in your favor, so the emotional attachment needed for it to become addicting isn't there. But you can (and probably will) be much more excited to go to bed. Or on bad days you may just want to go home and lucid dream to escape all the worlds problems. But everyone does this, some people escape through movies, others through video games, and some through sex. We just happened to have the best of all worlds.

Originally Posted by Agent

I've been thinking about some negative things that I have heard about lucid dreaming recently. I found out that all of it was false.

Please explain this because lucid dreaming is 100% real. Do you mean the dream world isn't real? And what other negative stuff have you been told? If it's anything related to the Arizona shooting it isn't true.

Zebrah, I think he meant that the negative things he heard about lucid dreaming were false.

Originally Posted by AlmightyShizzle

Zebrah, I think he meant that the negative things he heard about lucid dreaming were false.

Oh my bad I read that incorrectly XD

Well, I know if I knew how to do it whenever I wanted, I am pretty sure I would be addicted to lucid dreaming. Although, for someone who is talented enough to lucid dream whenever they willingly want to, I am sure that they would probably be.
Although, this addiction could be easy to stop, just don't try to control your dreams.
I think it is, but there is really no danger to it, because if you're that expert of a dreamer, you have talent.
Also, I do not understand how dreaming is dangerous, unless you have no waking life.

As Lynn said it is fairly hard for most people to become addicted as LD'ing is a fairly sporadic and hard practise. Unless you are a natural or really good at it then its possible to become addicted I guess

When I first started I would skip going out on the weekend sometimes because I wanted to practice lucid dreaming. It was just a little psychological addiction. But then I stopped fore like 2 months because I got into some other stuff, now I'm back . And I agree with what Lynn said. If I could do it everynight, then I'd probably be addicted to it. But I could stop doing it because there are no physical aspects about the addiction, unlike a lot of drugs. Like me, I was addicted to opiates and you become physically addicted and mentally addicted. So its different with lucid dreaming. And plus, lucid dreaming helped me get off opiates, it gave me something to do with my day and think about since I wasn't going to school last semester

Lucid Dreaming is one of the those hobbies that takes little of your time, because it occurs when you are asleep at night. Now if for some reason you try to take away from your waking life by sleeping in the day to Lucid Dream, well you will be dissapointed. You can only sleep so much and if you sleep to much during the day then it will take away from your sleep at night when you have the most dreams. Lucid Dreaming isn't the most addictive thing, despite how it sounds to be. Lucid dreaming if anything, gives you more time rather than taking it away.

Originally Posted by Zebrah

Please explain this because lucid dreaming is 100% real. Do you mean the dream world isn't real? And what other negative stuff have you been told? If it's anything related to the Arizona shooting it isn't true.

I know that lucid dreaming is real, I didn't hear any arguments against that. What I mean by negative things about lucid dreaming I mean people making up reasons why lucid dreaming could be dangerous. A lot of that seems to be because of the Arizona shooting.

Here is an example of what I mean. http://www.dreamviews.com/f11/possib...eaming-102671/

What brady said, even if you are getting addicted to it, you can only sleep for so long/day, and will be unable to stay in the addiction, so it regulates itself. Though I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule <.<

Unless that person can get 100% and knows the fastest/best way to get it, they might become addicted.
But for average person, i dont think it will become an addiction because their attempts are not 100% and it would be tiring to keep on trying and trying, eventually yo'll be bored and sickened by it lol.

The answer is yes, you completely can. I had to be put on meds to block them. My abilities in my dreams were quite substantial. I would not just wait for dreams, I would make myself sleep all day. You can have emotional connections. I felt like a God. As a former meth addict...I know addiction; I can say I was completely addicted. And I didn't mind it. In my dreams, there weren't many things to discern from the real world. I don't know how, but my mind can process things the way it should in dreams. All the things that notify you you're dreaming, I overcame. I can read everything fine. My reflections were perfect, even in passing windows on automobiles. My dinners and toes are always the right amount. My scars are always there. What is crazy is I could never sleep...my whole life. Docs had me on sleeping pills, did a few sleep studies, natural remedies...everything. I could only ever sleep in the bath tub oddly enough. Then in my junior year things changed. I started to lucid dream and I never had before. Its been almost twelve years, and I love it. I could go anywhere, see anything. I have skipped work. I have skipped get togethers. There is nothing like being truly in control. Nothing.

Originally Posted by MegaRemlap

The answer is yes, you completely can. I had to be put on meds to block them. My abilities in my dreams were quite substantial. I would not just wait for dreams, I would make myself sleep all day. You can have emotional connections. I felt like a God. As a former meth addict...I know addiction; I can say I was completely addicted. And I didn't mind it. In my dreams, there weren't many things to discern from the real world. I don't know how, but my mind can process things the way it should in dreams. All the things that notify you you're dreaming, I overcame. I can read everything fine. My reflections were perfect, even in passing windows on automobiles. My dinners and toes are always the right amount. My scars are always there. What is crazy is I could never sleep...my whole life. Docs had me on sleeping pills, did a few sleep studies, natural remedies...everything. I could only ever sleep in the bath tub oddly enough. Then in my junior year things changed. I started to lucid dream and I never had before. Its been almost twelve years, and I love it. I could go anywhere, see anything. I have skipped work. I have skipped get togethers. There is nothing like being truly in control. Nothing.

The key here however is that you already had a medical condition, for an average healthy person who was brought with a normal childhood this is extremely unlikely. The way most kids nowadays are brought up is to accept that dream are not our reality, because of this people who do find out about lucid dreaming will eventually want to wake up from the (fake world) so they can tell people or reflect upon themselves to make feel better. Along with this most people will also have the thought of having to wake up in the back of there mind the whole time, because we realize that dreaming is only possible if our walking life is to be kept normal.
It's quite obvious that the addiction, unlike in some drugs is caused by some form of depression, the want to escape waking reality, your logic is no longer fuelled by rationality but by emotion.

The question, can you be addicted. The correct medical answer. Yes.

Originally Posted by MegaRemlap

The question, can you be addicted. The correct medical answer. Yes.

Thats on over-simplified question, we have to take into account what state the person is in, The fact that a healthy human can potentially become addicted to dreams but the probability of it happening is essentially negligible we would consider is extremely inprobably. If the question where posed differently to include whether or not someone could beome addicted to LDing including which state the person is in, then we could give a more definite answer.

Agreed. To a huge point, it takes time. I know only a few select people that are able to really *have a go* while dreaming. It takes a lot of practice. And you discipline your mind. Many people simply can't get to that point.

I can totally understand the worry, because at the peak of my activity (it was a while ago; I quit and came back), lucid dreaming was all I wanted to do. I was having success about every other night, and each night brought a new adventure. Though it can't be more than a psychological addiction, my attempts started being a little troublesome, because I did WBTB on school nights and would be very tired in the morning. I'd also spend my morning classes reliving my dream in my head, doing sporadic reality checks, and thinking up a new thing to try next time. I also got a little addicted to Dreamviews, because I could ask about every detail and read all the guides to find a method or tip I missed.

But, as I said, I ended up getting tired of it (in more ways than one), and gradually my interests changed. So even if you do get a little "addicted," it's really not an issue (UNLESS you have nothing to do all day [e.g. school, work] and can just lie around. Then I'm sure it would become far too tempting to sleep all day and just LD as much as possible). Lucid dreaming is far more good than bad. I used to hate going to sleep because it took me forever and I'd always be tired. Now, I look forward to when I can go to bed; I practice my relaxation techniques and fall asleep much faster, and later that night I know my alarm will wake me up to try to start dreaming. There is nothing quite so amazing as looking around, blinking, and realizing that everything you see and touch is yours to command...to crouch and jump so high you feel giddy, the sensation of flying completely simulated by your imagination...to summon someone you love and miss and turn around, knowing they're already there, and walking with them for a while.

But as Dumbledore said: "It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live."

In my view, that would be like saying that you had become addicted to fresh air, after having breathed smog all your life. I believe lucid dreaming is extremely mentally helpful, and your mind needs it, so, once it gets a taste, it craves more.

Originally Posted by gloriousbattle

In my view, that would be like saying that you had become addicted to fresh air, after having breathed smog all your life. I believe lucid dreaming is extremely mentally helpful, and your mind needs it, so, once it gets a taste, it craves more.

I agree with this. It's basically possible to be addicted to anything. Some addictions can be good, others can be bad. Although, even a good addiction (like excercising) can be taken to an extreme and turned into a bad one. If lucid dreaming takes up your entire life and affects your life for the worse then it's not good obviously. Anyways, yes it is possible.

Lucid dreaming is somewhat addictive... I spend a lot of time on the forums and trying to improve my skills. I want to stay in my lucid dreams as long as possible and as often as possible. However, I am only successful once or twice a week for short periods, so it is a limiting addiction due to the physical and mental limitations. But when you have LDs once in a while that exceed all your experiences in reality, how can it not be addictive to some degree?

I hate to admit it, but I'm addicted.... real life disappoints me.. it worries me...

Haha, I think that's why people... once they know what it's like to be lucid... they, no matter how busy they get, think of the days where they would sleep and escape to a world they can control. Everything is addictive, especially when it can relieve stress.