Thread: Lucid Nightmares

Hi guys.

so i've just started actually trying lucid dreaming (after alot of reading) and have thought.

can you just end up in a lucid nightmare and can you escape from it or if that does not work can you at least control it or even lessen the extent of the nightmare. ?

Usually if you realize your dreaming during the nightmare it makes the nightmare a lot less scary. Once you increase your dream control you can try focusing on other things, banishing the nightmare or befriending the dream. Also once your lucid it's very easy to wake up.

to Dreamviews, Sean93!

If you're lucid and end up in a nightmare, you can always use authority to stop whatever's frightening you. You can say "stop" commandingly to the threat and if you expect it to go away, it probably will. Or you can always have fun and pretend like you're not scared, even taunting the dream. You can wake up too, but you should try doing something with the nightmare first.

I've had two myself; in one of them I was able to stop the nightmare from progressing.

What I've noticed when lucid during a nightmare; I tend to feel less threatened because I know that it's only a dream. And yes, you can get out of them and take control & have fun with the situation of course!

Originally Posted by Sean93

Hi guys.

so i've just started actually trying lucid dreaming (after alot of reading) and have thought.

can you just end up in a lucid nightmare and can you escape from it or if that does not work can you at least control it or even lessen the extent of the nightmare. ?

You can have a lucid nightmare, yes. I have had a lot of experience in lucid dreaming and dream control -- and yet there are a few times I'm lucid, in a nightmare, and can't seem to stop or control it. However, when this happens I can almost always wake myself up if I concentrate on it.

When you're lucid in a nightmare, imo it's best to not just stop or control the dream, but understand why it's happening. You can do this my stripping the scary thing of its power to scare or harm you, and then force it to tell you why you are having this nightmare. Or if it is not a DC (like if it's a tornado), shout out loud that you wish to know why you're having the nightmare.

Once I had this Lucid Nightmare about a creepy guy standing 10m away from me, but he seemed to be approaching slowly. Then - and I don't know what made me realize that (maybe I just saw an impossible thing happening) - I understood I was dreaming, and just pulled out a heavy weapon (I was a little kid, used to watch action crap on TV) from nowhere, and started shooting the mysterious-man. He vanished, and I got lost in the woods... So I woke up That was my only LD that I remember.

oh. thanks guys for that. cleared up a lot. must remember to always have a weapon in my pocket with me when i dream.

If you go into it almost hoping you encounter the dweller simply so that you can prove to it that you’re impervious to fear then chances are very good that the dweller will not show up to give you the opportunity to make it look weak.

if your lucid in a nightmare, you can kill it. works for me, as most of my nightmares involve monsters

I used to have the same recurring nightmare when I was very young, between the ages of 5-8 I'd say. It would always start off with me playing on a swingset I used to have in my backyard, and then I'd glance over at a door that led to my garage, and out of nowhere this robot-type thing, not much smaller than my child-self, would appear and slowly approach me. I would instantly feel threatened at the sight of it, despite having no apparent reason as to why the robot was a threat. I would run into the house and through all the rooms, constantly looking back to see it was still following me. Eventually I just woke up in a panic every time.

As I had the dream more and more, I would recognize the situation of me being on the swing set and realize that the robot would soon appear and chase me (I guess you could say I was lucid, since I knew it was the same nightmare). Eventually, after having the dream many times, I questioned what the robot wanted from me. After it chased me through the house a bit, I turned around and walked up to it and asked what it wanted. Turns out it just wanted to play video games with me. And so that's what we did in that dream. I don't remember if I ever had the nightmare after that but my bet is that it stopped after that interaction.

Nowadays I have a different nightmare situation every time so I can't recognize the similarities...sometimes I'll realize I'm in a nightmare but I'll do something to force myself awake instead of trying to change it; I wish I didn't do that.

I've been told it helps to close your eyes and imagine a change in scenery, or open a door and walk into a new scene. But the rule is, if you can recognize it, you can change it. =)

Originally Posted by SteveMS

After it chased me through the house a bit, I turned around and walked up to it and asked what it wanted. Turns out it just wanted to play video games with me.

awww poor robo!

Originally Posted by SteveMS

Nowadays I have a different nightmare situation every time so I can't recognize the similarities...sometimes I'll realize I'm in a nightmare but I'll do something to force myself awake instead of trying to change it; I wish I didn't do that.

Yea, near the end of a nightmare, I often realize that it is a dream, but am too scared to try and change it, so wake myself up...I used to have lucid dreams like that a lot when i was younger and didn't know about lucid dreaming.
Luckily, I haven't had nightmares for a few months..(I used to have a couple or more horrible ones a week).



Yea, I haven't been around lately...

It is easy to get into a spiral with lucid nightmares. Once you notice something frightening, you give it attention, and it becomes more frightening. The best thing to do is completely change your attitude towards your nightmare. Start responding with good feelings of love or affection. If you just act as if it is friendly or loving, the dream will normally respond. It is creepy as hell to hug that rotting zombie clown, but it is the fastest way to transform it into something your mind would normally recognize as hugable.