Controlling dreams – how I managed to overcome my repeating nightmares
When I was young, I mean really young, each night I had the same nightmare: a werewolf or a witch is chasing me, my family, and my close friends through an endless system of tunnels, catching and killing one by one until I remain alone with my father; my father runs a bit slower than me, thus increasingly lagging behind since I can’t slow down as I sense and hear the best approaching; I keep asking him “are you there” and he keeps on replying “yes, continue running, don’t worry”, but his replies become more silent (distant) each time, until the werewolf/witch catches and kills him and I remain completely alone, still chased by the creature; the creature runs closer and closer to me until I feel his/her breath on my neck and claws on my back; sometimes I put a little fight, sometimes I get frozen by fear – in any case I get brutally killed.
This nightmare has haunted me for years. Every night, I was afraid to go to bed and fall asleep. I was always awakened by the nightmare. After being awakened, I was afraid to fall asleep again, as the dream would almost always come back. It was a mental and physical torture, probably caused by my fear of loneliness.
As the years were passing by, I became more and more aware during my nightmare that I’m only dreaming and that I’m not in real life. This ultimately allowed me to get rid of the nightmare by dream control: when I, during the nightmare, realized that I'm dreaming, I would force myself to stop running, turn towards the werewolf/witch, say I’m just dreaming you, and fight. Whether I would win or lose, I would wake up with much less horror and sweat. After this kind of waking up, I usually managed to get back to sleep again without the nightmare repeating itself. Over a couple of months since my first dream control, the nightmare became rarer and rarer, until finally stopping completely, which marked my glorious victory over the werewolf and witch.
Please let me know:
- Have you ever had a repeating nightmare?
- Did you ever manage to control your dreams?
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Have a wonderful day, week, and life!
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Not exactly any nightmare which haunted me but once I remember I fought a war in my dream and that really scared me.
Sounds scary but exciting! : )
good topic discuse
I also had a that nightmare haunted me for years since I was a child, I think that was one of the first dreams I remembered, and I see that place even still sometimes in my dreams.
I made a stop motion video about nightmares maybe you'll find it interesting
https://steemit.com/art/@marinauzelac/music-video-week-my-first-stop-motion-music-video-original-content
It's about a blind hedgehog, and when he goes to sleep, weird things begin to happen :)
A funny description of your and Bogdan's animation problems and a very original final result. Pozdrav! : )
Thank you so much! :)
Yes ,once upon a time ,I had a repeated nightmare which were dreadful and fearful .it was like a yoke upon my life to an extent that when night begins to fall I became afraid because of what am going to pass through. However, after one crusade just like that the nightmare stop.Am happy to hear you overcoming your nightmare because I know is not easy my dear.
Thank you, I'm glad to know that your crusade worked too. : )
One hell of nightmare you were having.
Thank God you found a way to avoid it.
I had repeating nightmares but were not so terrific.
Thank you, @aniketmore1925. Welcome to Steemit. : )
Running towards is always a quick and effective way of managing anxiety whether or not in a dream Another option would be to insert into the dream an ally
"whether or not in a dream" - great point! : )
Very nice, and well done. Lucidity is a great way to take control, not only in your dreams but in directing your waking state too. I would like to share some great techniques for achieving lucidity, that have worked for me, and it's all about habit forming.
During your daily activities, you just need to create a few new habits.
Carry a card on you through the day that reads "Am I Dreaming?" if your environment allows for it, say it out aloud, if not, then under your breath. Repeat it as often as you can through out the day, maybe put up a sign in the toilet or other prominent, often seen location, "Am I Dreaming?"
Also, regularly during the day, get into the habit of looking at things twice, especially if it has text, like the label on your favourite drink.
When these actions become habit, you will also be a slave to those habits in your dreams, where you will keep asking yourself, "Am I Dreaming?", where you will keep looking at things/text twice (text is very fluid in dreams and will not read the same twice). In any dream, if you ask yourself, Am I Dreaming? You will ALWAYS know that you are.
*Please note, this is my own personal opinion, based on personal experience, I am not asserting any will over anyone elses opinion or belief :)
Thank you for the meaningful comment.
Checking if you are dreaming by checking the consistence of texts is a very interesting approach.
Cheers! : )
Thank you :)
An attitude of gratitude is Lord Ganesha on steroids :)
Oh, I would also like to add that there are also "benefits" in asking "Am I Dreaming?" during your waking state too :p
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Thank you very much for featuring my article in your list, I'm glad you like it! ^_^
The only thing you have control over in your dreams is what you focus your attention on, and the dream builds around that.
I've boiled dream control down to a few simple rules.
Interesting approach, thanks for expanding on my thoughts! : )
Getting control over your dreams, i.e. lucid dreaming is something one can learn. There are many techniques. Just google "how to lucid dream" or something like that. One of the most useful techniques (and something that I also find useful in general) is to write a dream journal every morning. At the beginning most people have a hard time remembering anything from their dreams but just be patient and keep the journaling up and eventually you will be able to remember an incredible amount of details every morning. You can use the material to learn lucid dreaming or to analyze your own unconciousness. Keeping a dream journal is a very worthwile habit. Have a nice day guys! :-)
Thanks for the tip. During the time I had the nightmare, I was remembering it very well and it was always the same or almost the same, but now I'm having a hard time remembering my dreams and a dream journal would be very helpful.
Yeah, you can even use a free smartphone app to do it so it´s really easy :-) and just don´t give up. at first it is really hard to remember anything, but with every entry in your journal - no matter how small - your "dream memory" improves!