Thread: Have you improved your mental health in a lucid dream?

The adventures had by those of you that can LD regularly are incentive alone to persue the inner 'choose your own adventure', and no doubt has a healing influence of its own.

Additionally though, i am interested to hear if any of you have done intentional 'work' while inside? Maybe by confronting a DC that represented a part of your mental well-being? or by asking questions and getting answers or battling some metaphor. Whatever the process.

How have your LD's made you grow as a person?

and/or

Is it possible to go looking for and find answers about your self that confuse you otherwise?

No, I can't say they have improved my mental health. Dreams only reinforce the inevitable truths we all must deal with.

I think that in the past 4 months of which I've been practicing lucid dreaming that I've improved my mental health a great deal. I broke out of a large anxiety rut I had been in for months, and since then haven't felt anything comparable. I feel happy, energized, positive, I've started exercising more, eating and drinking better, and generally improving my well being. I think this is because I've started generally trying to get the most out of my waking life, starting meditation and letting go of the pointless stress I had never noticed before.

When I first started and would become lucid I was found facing (literally) an infinite brick wall. I did some visualisation and literally ripped this wall to pieces, and turned it to rubble, after coming to the realization that lucid dreaming was something that anyone could do with ease. Since then I've never had trouble.

I think it's definitely possible to search through your mind and find answers to personal questions, though for the most part you will have to interpret what your dreams are representing.

I cured my recurring nightmares by confronting the assailant head-on and not running away. But other than that, nothing that has really directly affected my waking life.

I've heard multiple people say you do NOT want to destroy your nightmare right away. Its obviously there for something, and trying to get your undivided attention. Capture it, and demand to know why it is chasing you. Destroying it is hiding from your problems. Try to find out why it's really there, so you can fix the problem, not avoid it.

Originally Posted by Texture

I've heard multiple people say you do NOT want to destroy your nightmare right away. Its obviously there for something, and trying to get your undivided attention. Capture it, and demand to know why it is chasing you. Destroying it is hiding from your problems. Try to find out why it's really there, so you can fix the problem, not avoid it.

I never said i destroyed it, I simply confronted it. I told him to stop chasing me/trying to kill me, and he just disappeared.

Paul Tholey, a Gestalt Psychologist, devised a lucid training program for healing and personal growth.

The general idea being that you can become lucid, experience an unpleasant encounter, confront it (primarily through constructive dialouge) and alter or integrate aspects of your personality. People have identified sources of stress, sadness etc. and learned to integrate undesired personality aspects, like for instance aggression in a constructive way.

Currently working with my own low self-esteem, so far I have only discovered that the concept of "construction" is important. This isn't as such big news, but I am working on discovering ways to either deconstruct the source(s) or stop constructing this unrealistic self evaluation of myself.

In general you can ask the dream for help, if this is too weird for you summon an aly or guide to help you through. This I am finding dificult, so I will say this: if you ever find yourself in an uncomfortable situation while lucid, confront it through dialouge. You are likely to discover and/or even rectify aspects of yourself that you dislike.