lucid dreaming

[idiotdoomspiral]

i would say about 20% of my dreams that i can remember are lucid. i used to keep a dream journal and i would lucid dream much more but i've stopped doing that for reasons i'll get into. when i talk to people about lucid dreams they get surprised when i tell them that they're often terrifying experiences for me. they usually tell me that they or other people that they know who lucid dream love the experience as they can control what happens in positive ways. when i realise that i'm dreaming instead of thinking of all the cool stuff i can do in this state i immediately think of what can go wrong and what scares me the most, and if i don't wake myself up in time it usually manifests in some way. i can also feel the same sort of fear and anxiety i would if i were awake. i'm guessing to have better experiences it's best to have a positive mindset and to not consume as much horror media is i do but i don't know for sure lol... i have had some good ones before, when it works for me it's really fun.
to those that lucid dream: how often does it happen? what kind of experiences do you have? and to those who never have/don't experience them regularly how do you percieve them? do you want to be more lucid?

 

[dizzy bone]

I have lucid dreams occasionally, but like you, they are often unpleasant for me. The main reason being that my sleep paralysis often triggers it and this always happens to me when I’m stressed or anxious. I have a lot of “horror” dreams that are not lucid and not based in reality and are actually quite entertaining because it feels like watching a movie. But my experiences with lucid dreaming is never that. It always feels too real like I’m stuck in a limbo where I’m still in reality and my anxieties are heightened. I want the dream to end, but I can’t because I’m usually still in sleep paralysis. That’s a true nightmare for me. Because of this, I always try and wake myself up as soon as possible when I feel sleep paralysis is about to take over. I do dumb things like flap my arms really hard so I know I can actually move my arms before it sets in lol. I also try not to take naps in the day because that’s usually when I get sleep paralysis or have lucid dreams. So yeah, I rather not lucid dream and I prefer my regular dreams.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I have lucid dreams all the time, though I can't recall actually being able to control myself or anything in my dreams. I do often react in my dreams as if it were reality, and sometimes when I have a dream and wake up I briefly feel like it was actually happening.

Lucid dreams are pretty cool though, it's interesting to be transported to a different world for a while

 

[dedenne]

having a lucid dream sounds fun but i heard that trying to have 1 can lead to sleep paralysis and thats not so fun

 

[Mayor Monday]

Though I do not deeply lucid dream too often (maybe once every couple months or less). When I do experience lucid dreaming, I don't often have a good time. I've had a couple of beautiful lucid dreams but the majority were negative. I have full control over what I do but not that of what's around me.

My dream self has always been the same since I was young. It's like I take on a different but concrete personality in my lucid dreams. It's hard to explain; I'm myself and I know it, but I act differently. I'm more daring, violent, and angry. I have had countless lucid dreams where I have killed or attempted to kill those attacking/angering me. In many of them, I have jumped out of windows or off ledges and broken things in the face of my fear. It does not deviate from this.

Sometimes I plead with myself to wake up- or I attempt to kill my 'dream self' so I'll wake up.
In the worst lucid dream I had, I was killed by someone I know (I won't state how because it may be a little too violent for this thread). The dream ended with me looking down on my own destroyed body.

So are lucid dreams fun to me? Not really, lol. They can be beautiful as I stated above, but more often than not, it's a life or death game I have to play until I wake up.

Thankfully, it's not too difficult to move on from these dreams!

 

[Xara]

i believe i’ve only ever lucid dreamt once when i was younger and it was a good time, from what i remember lol. to me, lucid dreaming is being aware that you’re asleep and being able to control it; it’s been a long time since i’ve done it and i’d love to have it again lol

 

[John Wick]

I've experienced that hypnagogic state, or sleep paralysis since I was a teenager.

Not for a long time now, thankfully.

It is terrifying. Your eyes are open, and you have visions, very horrid ones, and you aren't breathing, you can't close your eyes.

It takes every ounce of inner strength to pull yourself out of it.

One time I said to my wife, "Didn't you hear me screaming?", and she said I was just staring at the ceiling.

My stomach ached for about a week, like I had internal bruising. Just from the effort it took to drag myself up to full consciousness.

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

I have lucid dreams occasionally, but like you, they are often unpleasant for me. The main reason being that my sleep paralysis often triggers it and this always happens to me when I?m stressed or anxious. I have a lot of ?horror? dreams that are not lucid and not based in reality and are actually quite entertaining because it feels like watching a movie. But my experiences with lucid dreaming is never that. It always feels too real like I?m stuck in a limbo where I?m still in reality and my anxieties are heightened. I want the dream to end, but I can?t because I?m usually still in sleep paralysis. That?s a true nightmare for me. Because of this, I always try and wake myself up as soon as possible when I feel sleep paralysis is about to take over. I do dumb things like flap my arms really hard so I know I can actually move my arms before it sets in lol. I also try not to take naps in the day because that?s usually when I get sleep paralysis or have lucid dreams. So yeah, I rather not lucid dream and I prefer my regular dreams.

I've experienced that hypnagogic state, or sleep paralysis since I was a teenager.

Not for a long time now, thankfully.

It is terrifying. Your eyes are open, and you have visions, very horrid ones, and you aren't breathing, you can't close your eyes.

It takes every ounce of inner strength to pull yourself out of it.

One time I said to my wife, "Didn't you hear me screaming?", and she said I was just staring at the ceiling.

My stomach ached for about a week, like I had internal bruising. Just from the effort it took to drag myself up to full consciousness.

sleep paralysis used to be a massive problem for me but as i've gotten older it never happens at night anymore - but it's still quite common when i take naps in the day as well, or if i've just woken up and think about getting up but i stay in bed. the last time it took over and put me in a dream was a long time ago though, i've been able to fight it off now but that takes a lot of struggling and it's a horrible feeling. sometimes when i wake up it feels some part of my body has popped out and i feel an ache and a lot of pressure which lasts longer than it needs to

Though I do not deeply lucid dream too often (maybe once every couple months or less). When I do experience lucid dreaming, I don't often have a good time. I've had a couple of beautiful lucid dreams but the majority were negative. I have full control over what I do but not that of what's around me.

My dream self has always been the same since I was young. It's like I take on a different but concrete personality in my lucid dreams. It's hard to explain; I'm myself and I know it, but I act differently. I'm more daring, violent, and angry. I have had countless lucid dreams where I have killed or attempted to kill those attacking/angering me. In many of them, I have jumped out of windows or off ledges and broken things in the face of my fear. It does not deviate from this.

Sometimes I plead with myself to wake up- or I attempt to kill my 'dream self' so I'll wake up.
In the worst lucid dream I had, I was killed by someone I know (I won't state how because it may be a little too violent for this thread). The dream ended with me looking down on my own destroyed body.

So are lucid dreams fun to me? Not really, lol. They can be beautiful as I stated above, but more often than not, it's a life or death game I have to play until I wake up.

Thankfully, it's not too difficult to move on from these dreams!

my experiences are similar to yours. in dreams lucid or not i tend to be a more violent or daring version of myself, and to wake up i'll either close my eyes and throw myself or attempt to kill my dream self to wake up. if those fail i'll close my eyes, huddle to myself and scream and hope that it ends soon. i have to really concentrate to wake up and i get a weird feeling in my body that basically tells me that the next time i throw myself i'll be out of the dream. sometimes i can literally throw myself into another dream and not be lucid anymore. my non-lucid dreams tend to be more beautiful and leave me thinking about them only to forget about the details 5 minutes later but i also think i'm imaginative enough to create a scenario i'd really like if i didn't immediately think of the worst things.
my bad lucid dreams tend to play out like this: realise that i'm dreaming, everyone disappears or people around me become deformed in some way (last time that happened everyone had holes where their faces should be) run away or lock myself in somewhere, and then wake up shortly after or feel something grab me that i usually can't see and immediately wake up after that. one that i remember very clearly is running back to my house, locking the gate and then looking back only to see two white elongated arms reach above the gate contorting themselves. i immediately closed my eyes after that and begged myself to wake up soon and that was it. even though i usually have bad ones i don't think i would take away the ability i have to lucid dream frequently if i could, it's definitely a unique experience

 

[VillageDuck]

I learnt to induce lucid dreaming in my teens (there's some great research on the subject). Results come from if you keep a dream journal and scribble what you remember down immediately upon waking, and then to start setting alarms that wake up in the middle of the night so you can quickly journal then go straight back to sleep in a state more likely to be lucid.

It's a great experience, but getting into a routine that best allows it is a hassle, and quite unrealistic in my sleep-deprived thirties.

 

[michealsmells]

I don't lucid dream at all. Like, I don't think I've ever had a lucid dream. If I have, I've forgotten it because of how often I forget my dreams. I want to lucid dream, or at least try to- but I forget my dreams so easily that I can't really journal if I don't remember them once I wake up.

I do have a friend who lucid-dreams literally every night though.

 

[Blood Eclipse]

I often have lucid dreams, myself, though I'm rarely able to control them, and like you, that usually leads to my dreams taking a turn for the worst or ending abruptly once fear sets in.

When I manage to have a dream, I usually try my hardest to concentrate on my surroundings and whereabouts. I always get the feeling that I'm somewhere I've been to before, yet, at the same time, the location is so unfamiliar to me - almost as if I'm in an odd mesh of all the places I've been to before. Usually my surroundings are somewhat blurry and I'm rarely able to see someone's face, yet I can somehow also recognize someone I know. It's rarely day time in my dreams, mainly it's either sunset, rainy/foggy, or night. In my dreams, I often see myself in a third person perspective, as if I were watching myself in a video, and I'm not always playing the part of myself - sometimes I'm another person, yet somehow still "me", if that even makes sense.

Because I concentrate on most aspects of my dreams, I'm better able to remember them when I wake up. Despite not liking all of them, I do still view dreams as a work of art, and if I were a good enough artist, I'd love to draw some of them the way I see them, especially the giant, monstrous alligators, sharks or fishes, ect. I see in my nightmares/dreams or dreams of other planets.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

I haven't had any lucid dreams, but I was able to control a few of my dreams to avoid nasty outcomes. I mentioned this dream a couple of days ago where I was about to be stabbed by these two men with knives. Then my subconsciousness played a role where I had Banjo & Kazooie save me by plowing through them with a wonderwing. I'm glad that I can do this to make my dreams a little more bearable (no, that pun was not intended).

My mom had a couple of lucid dreams and sounded so real, but it was quite a while ago.

 

[Zura]

Lucid dreaming is a one way ticket to sleep paralysis which is also a one way trip to nope town

 

[Bcat]

The only time I ever get lucid is when I'm about to wake up. I tried to train myself to do it a while ago but kind of fell out of the habit.

 

[Hanif1807]

Man, i've tried to completely Lucid Dream for awful lot times using different methods but to no avail, although some of my dreams were controllable but not fully lucid. I even almost managed to consciously put myself into my own dream but woke up 2 seconds after that. Every time i get Sleep Paralysis i try to get myself into lucid dream but i also ended up waking up, but now i rarely get Sleep Paralysis probably because my sleep schedule is fixed now

 

[dragonpisces69]

I know I've been a lucid dreamer ever since about age 16. I can somewhat control my dreams and actions there, and even my 'real' self often takes the better of my 'dream' self by realising that it's really just a dream in certain situations.
Twice or thrice, I've successfully woken myself up from dreams, by using methods such as breathing in deeply, forcing the eyes to open up, and even by pinching the cheek, like Madotsuki from Yume Nikki.

 

[Antonio]

I can't do it anymore, my mind is too weak ;-;

 

[hamster]

yea i lucid dream a LOT. and its always extremely unpleasant. ive tried to control them and even when im comfortable in them some weird ass monster comes in and starts attacking or TICKLING me.. for as long as i can remember anytime theres a monster in my dream i get tackled down and start being tickled, or i feel really weird sensations. there were a few reoccurring monsters (mostly thumper from bugs life) usually when i lucid dream now i panic and cover myself and i can always feel something starting to tickle me before i wake up. i have sleep paralysis a lot but its not as bad as before, i used to see things but now i dont. all of this caused for me to have a fear of sleeping and im still afraid of falling asleep sometimes. i wish i could have control when i lucid dream cuz it seems like a lot of fun, i have had good dreams where i realise i was lucid dreaming but i forget that i am and it carries on being nice. once when i was lucid dreaming i couldnt wake up and i had to go on a little adventure or some quest for me to wake up and i did in the middle of it

 

[Hopeless Opus]

i have rarely had any lucid dreams, which i hate, because i love the idea of lucid dreaming. i usually have very vivid dreams in general, and when i wake up the first thing i do is write them down. when i do lucid dream, i usually end up waking too fast, i can never last too long in one. i'm not sure why this is, but i've theorized that i get so excited about the possibility that i'm in a lucid dream that i just start waking up because my brain function goes up? idk the science of it lol but yeah. i've had maybe a handful in my life, but would love to learn a strategy to have more - though i'm even not so sure i've ever actually had one. there have been times where i have FELT like i'm in control, but have never had the ability to summon things in the dream world or formulate situations.

and the 'lucid dreams' i have had have been a lot of fun. i have never been scared in a lucid dream because i know i'm in control, i think. usually it involves me flying, and being able to control that. but that's the extent i've gone with lucid dreams, unless i was conscious in others that i've forgotten about.