Do you lucid dream?

[BoardLikeAMirror]

I lucid-dream quite often and have done since I was a child. A common scenario is that I'm in a precarious position in my dream and then think 'this is a dream, it's fine' so I will let myself fall off the cliff or whatever it is. I'll also try and summon people into my dream though it rarely works.

I'll also mention that 98% of my dreams are unpleasant, 1.99% are neutral and 0.01% are pleasant.

Anyone else?

Yes. Seems to be getting worse. And I'd say about 98% of mine are unpleasant too. It's rather exhausting.

I very rarely have unpleasant dreams but the vast majority are lucid.
The main downside I find is that I sometimes can't tell whether some of my memories are of dreams or are real.

I do. I have lovely flying dreams sometimes and I’ve got better and better at flying over the years.

A couple of times I’ve had a real life experience of a sensation that I’d experienced in a recurring dream, and afterwards I never have that dream again.

These are really interesting, thank you for sharing.

I remember using lucidity to vanquish a recurring childhood nightmare. The nightmare was about something of mine being stolen by some very sinister figures. The nightmare began but then became lucid and I decided to build a fence around the item (my parents had recently been talking about some old fence panels stored in the garage). I built my fence to keep the item safe and after that, I never had the dream again. I was about 5 and that's the first lucid dream I remember although it didn't come as a surprise so I must have had them before that.

I've had lucid dreams and nightmares for as long as I can remember.

For decades, I had a recurring nightmare that used to leave me feeling unsettled for days afterwards.

I had EMDR for C-PTSD several years ago and the recurring nightmare stopped (and hasn't returned) which was a huge bonus.

I've also experienced night terrors, sleep paralysis and Alice in Wonderland syndrome

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4302569/

These episodes can be terrifying!

@Clarice99

I've had lucid dreams and nightmares for as long as I can remember.

For decades, I had a recurring nightmare that used to leave me feeling unsettled for days afterwards.

I had EMDR for C-PTSD several years ago and the recurring nightmare stopped (and hasn't returned) which was a huge bonus.

I've also experienced night terrors, sleep paralysis and Alice in Wonderland syndrome

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4302569/

These episodes can be terrifying!

Oh my, that Alice in wonderland syndrome sounds terrifying!
What do you do when it's happening?

I’ve always slept terribly: struggle to get to sleep and insomnia. I have really vivid dreams/nightmares. I had a nightmare last night about losing my job for bullying a colleague (just to add it was not a “real” colleague who works there and no issues of bullying). I literally woke up in a cold sweat. 3 pm and I still have an unsettled feeling.

Gosh. Alice in Wonderland syndrome does sound terrifying!

I've also experienced sleep paralysis and exploding head syndrome. The exploding head syndrome happens every bloody night.

The sleep paralysis happened a lot when I was living alone in a Victorian flat with a basement. I swore it was bloody haunted. I've had it occasionally before and after. But the sleep paralysis took on a very specific form during the 4 years or so that I lived in this property. The specific sleep paralysis stopped as soon as I moved out. Nevrt been able to decide whether subconciously I wasn't in a good place versus the possibility of some sort of negative energy to do with the actual property.

Oh my, that Alice in wonderland syndrome sounds terrifying!
What do you do when it's happening?

As a child, I used to scream my head off which would then invoke the wrath of my abusive parents, so I learnt to 'ride it out'.

As an adult, having learnt about the actual syndrome, I just try to get into a mindful state, concentrate on deep breathing and wait for it to pass. Or, I will turn the lamp on and read.

@RainbowZebraWarrior - I also experience exploding head syndrome. I find it excruciating. It often occurs with sleep paralysis.

All of this shit sometimes makes me scared to go to sleep!!!! It's little wonder I've had periods of insomnia since childhood.

@BoardLikeAMirror

I lucid-dream quite often and have done since I was a child. A common scenario is that I'm in a precarious position in my dream and then think 'this is a dream, it's fine' so I will let myself fall off the cliff or whatever it is. I'll also try and summon people into my dream though it rarely works.

I'll also mention that 98% of my dreams are unpleasant, 1.99% are neutral and 0.01% are pleasant.

Anyone else?

I'm not ND, but you've just described my dreams. They're mainly hideous. Quite traumatic, and the feeling they give me can last well into my waking day.

I often lucid dream, have never had a flying dream, so once when I realised I was dreaming I purposely took off sadly I woke up immediately, bloody spoilsport brain.

I have exploding head syndrome! I didn't even know there was a name for it until now. It's awful in conjunction with insomnia; I feel so cheated when I have finally managed to drop off and then I am jerked awake with my heart pounding and I know it will take me ages to drop off again.

Alice in Wonderland syndrome sounds terrifying.

With exploding head syndrome (and lucid dreams for that matter) I think it's one of those things you sort of get used to. Like lucid dreams would freak me out as a kid. But it became the norm. I found exploding head syndrome really unsettling at first. It's still as disruptive now but sort of like an annoying relative you grudgingly put up with. As in, tiring and irritating, but try my best to ignore.