What is it called when you become aware that a dream is a dream?

[Isthereaname]

Is there a term for it ?

I can have some pretty weird dreams , all sorts of nonsense and they seem real . I occasionally suffer from severe nightmares always about the same thing - they are horrific. At some point though I will realise there are factual inaccuracies within the dream and I’m then aware whilst dreaming that I’m dreaming.

I find it odd how my regular dreams can be full of things that aren’t possible or factually correct and I never have that realisation in ‘normal’ dreams that I’m dreaming yet one inaccuracy in a nightmare and my mind will suddenly go ‘This is a dream - this isn’t real’ and I stay asleep and the scenario keeps repeating slightly differently and the same thing keeps happening ? Is there an actual term for this happening ?

I can have dreams that I’m flying or having conversations with people I knew who have died or that my house is made of candy and animals can talk and for some reason my mind accepts this is fine and it remains a dream that feels real yet in my nightmares something like something taking too long time wise and my mind will go ‘if this was real you’d be dead by this point so it’s just a dream you can control this’ ???!!

Is it a protective factor ?

Lucid dreaming, I think it is.

Licid is the word i have seen used.

Yes it’s lucid dreaming. I do it all the time and can control the dream and outcomes.

It’s strange it must be protective because the nightmares i have every so often are always about my one huge phobia - I feel like my mind somehow knows and this is why it only happens in these dreams ?

I wish I could control the normal dreams 😂

I’ve just been googling it’s definitely lucid dreaming - Thankyou ! I suppose in a way I’m glad it happens as the nightmares get to such a terrifying point so at least I know my mind will kick in as I think I’d be scared to go to sleep otherwise

I just had one! Blind panic that the dog had got on a coach and I was running after it unable to get it to stop.
I dreamt- ‘wake up then you’ll see him and stop be panicking’, which I did.