Lucid Dreaming and Intentionial dreaming

[LaurelLeaves]

When I was young I was pretty good at Lucid Dreaming, which is becoming aware that you're dreaming and affecting the dreams.  If you're having nightmares a lot, you can diffuse them by become lucid.   Or if you really want something to happen in your life that is not happening, you can dream about it by becoming lucid.

I've also read that talk therapy for C-ptsd can only go so far, because it's imbedded in our non-talking brains, so recently I've been trying to access more primitive areas with dreams.   I am trying to "seed" my dreams with a thought, but not trying to be lucid.  I have been thinking about my childhood before I sleep, so I will have dreams related to my childhood. 

You also have to understand that dreams are highly symbolic.  For example, when I'm trying to dream about my childhood, I'll have a dream about driving a truck where I can't see out the window and the brakes don't work.  I don't actually dream that I was a child, but I dream about how I felt.  It helps if you have a dream dictionary.  I like http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/ .

[Sandstone]

Iv started dreaming again since i started therapy 3 months ago. I hadnt dreamt in ages or at least not remembered any which was unusual for me as id always been a big dreamer. I have a few dream books think ill try your suggestion and see what happens. I dreamt a giant snake ate my cat last night  ha goodness knows what that was about.

[theaquarist]

I found this thread from a search about windows. You say that you have dreams of driving a truck, you can't see out the windows, and the brakes don't work?
That's so interesting, one of my most recurring dreams since I was a kid is to be suddenly driving and having no brakes or the brakes don't work.
Sometimes in the dream, I would be sitting on a couch or a rocking chair, and it would start driving down the street without me having any control except to steer it. Sometimes I would be in a car as a passenger and the car would start driving and I had to save it.
I'm glad I'm not alone but I'm sorry that you have these dreams as well. I'll give this website another look.

Hugs!

[LaurelLeaves]

That's so interesting, one of my most recurring dreams since I was a kid is to be suddenly driving and having no brakes or the brakes don't work.

Yes, that it interesting... probably common in C-PTSD.  Lack of brakes means lack of stability in your like, or your life is out of control.  If we were kids, then we had little control over our life. 

I've have two dreams lately were I was an adult helping a child.  I think the child represents my inner child, and it feels good to help him. 

[LaurelLeaves]

I dreamt a giant snake ate my cat last night  ha goodness knows what that was about.

I sorry I didn't get back to you, Sandstone.   Did you ever figure out the snake eating cat dream?

[Sesame]

I used to be excellent at lucid dreaming and also dream recall, but eventually I had to stop. I was waking up to scribble down notes about upwards of 20 separate dreams every night and it became too much.

I have a lot of recurring dreams about three different topics, which I all believe have to do with how I felt during my childhood. One involves desperately needing the toilet and being unable to find a suitable place (I think it has to do with holding all my emotions in and never feeling I had anyone I could share them with), another involves huge natural disasters (basically, I felt I was doomed and trapped and that dream accurately reproduces those feelings), and the last involves getting hopelessly lost on public transport and being unable to get help or make the train/bus stop (being forced to live through things I do not want to endure, having no one to turn to, not seeing a way out). Sometimes these themes are combined with being chased by frightening creatures, whether it's one very large one or a whole pack of smaller ones.

[Nicole13130]

I don't know if this will be of any help to anyone, but to tackle my recurring nightmares, my therapist had me rewrite the endings in my waking hours. It actually made me more lucid when I slept. Like by using my conscious mind to practice a response that made me feel secure and safe, my subconscious knew how to respond to the terror.

[Dee]

Nicole,

That sounds like the image rehearsal therapy (IRT) I am doing right now.  The entire purpose is to rewrite my dreams.  The problem I am having and working through is I can't talk about my dreams, much.

I die a lot.  From what I understand that is very unusual, to actually take that last breath.  I have the same start to all my dreams, but three different endings, one of which I am killed.  I wake up when my killer turns to my kids.  The other two endings are of the trauma itself.

[Three Roses]

I had a problem with repetitive nightmares when I was younger. Then one day I heard someone on a talk show explaining how to change your dreams.

I decided to try it. So every night before I slept, I would repeat to myself,  "I will not run, I will not run."

The first few nights nothing happened. Finally, a nightmare began. My friend and I were captured and tied, back to back, by two men who were going to kill us. My friend did not want to try to escape but I did. I wriggled free of the ropes, told her I'd be back with help, and ran out the back door of my house and into the back yard.

There was a hedge that you could crouch down and crawl through, like a tunnel - I thought I'd be safe from them in there. I could hear them pursuing me. But they found me! I faced the exit, having only two routes to take - out of the hedge (run) or back the way I came. I suddenly remembered what I'd been telling myself - don't run, don't run, nothing in your dreams can hurt you, it's in your mind - and I STOOD UP (you couldn't do that in real life, the hedge was very dense) and turned to face them.

They were shocked, their eyes grew wide, their mouths made o's and they dropped their guns. As I stepped toward them and they turned to flee, I woke up.

That feeling was the best! I laid there quite a while, heart pounding - but not from terror, from triumph. Both of my accomplishments - facing my pursuers and finally being able to control the outcome of my nightmares - made me feel so strong and capable.

I know you can change your dreams. Keep trying! There is nothing you have to fear in a dream.

[Nicole13130]

Dee,
I do believe that is what it is called. It's a way to desensitize yourself. I understand the struggle though and eventually it will get easier to work through. If you don't mind me asking how has your therapist suggested you rewrite your nightmares? Like does he/she want you to rewrite the entire thing until you are desensitized or simply give yourself a new ending?

I found by taking control of the ending, it seemed to take power away from the beginning. It was also easier for me to write the nightmare than talk about it. If you can write it once with an ending that makes you feel safe and secure, you can always practice by reading it rather than recalling out loud again and again. Like Three Roses said, when it happens and you have a nightmare and you become lucid and take control of the situation, it is feels really, strangely empowering. http://outofthefog.net/C-PTSD/forum/Smileys/classic/cheer.gif

[Dee]

We have not got to my actual dreams yet.  The IRT therapist is not my regular therapist.  So she says she is waiting until I trust her.  I do a nightmare log and I did imagery of a safe place.  I also do a nightmare review worksheet.  Every time I go we practice imagery.  She said she will not hypnotize me, that it is too much for me.  She is worried about doing it too soon and during the holidays.  I have never spoken about my trauma really.  Just that it happened, but no details at all.  Not even macro details.  My dad confessed and spared me of that.  She asked if I could talk about it, I told her I don't know.

The good news is I really like her, and I do feel like I am developing trust.  I have to wonder, if we change the ending of the dream, do I have to disclose it all?

[Three Roses]

It's just a guess, but I think she'll be ok with not hearing details, if you're not comfortable giving them.

[Nicole13130]

I don't think you have to go into detail if you aren't comfortable with it, Dee. It's great that you feel good/comfortable with her so don't feel pressured to do anything that will tarnish those feelings of security and safety.

For myself the minor details of the nightmare were less important than telling my subconscious self how to deal. Like I knew the recurring theme/gist of what was going to happen. I needed dream me to take a stand to stop it. When dream me finally said no this isn't happening like this, the nightmare ended.

Now, I don't know if there is one right way to treat our problems. Like if I had to recount the detail of the trauma constantly, I would be more of a mess. Visualization did not work for me. We tried to make me feel secure and safe and all it seemed to do was make the trauma feel more powerful instead of minimize it. That doesn't mean it won't work for everyone.

I think the most important thing is that you let your therapists know what is and isn't working for you. Remember you are the one in charge of your healing path. They may be professionals, but there is no one that knows you better than you. They are support and if something doesn't work, then you both look into other avenues until you find something that feels right to you.

[vividglimmer]

I love using lucid dreaming. I wish I could use it on my nightmares, though. I think I saw someone else mention it - I have a lot of different dreams in a night. Most of the dreams I remember are pleasant, but there are frequent nightmares mixed in there and I usually am not as conscious of them (in fact, I only notice most of them by the fact that I wake up with a racing heart and nausea or other physical symptoms.) I use lucid dreaming a lot just as a release and almost like a drug - a state of mind I can relax and be free in. I've tried my hand at lucid dreaming that's initiated at the start of sleep (astral projection is how I think of it,) and that's great, as well as lucid dreaming in an already established dream. I just wish I could become more aware of my trauma related dreams, it's like I experience them mostly subconsciously.

[Sesame]

For those who did this rewriting-dreams thing: do you have any recommendation for those of us who have nightmares that aren't classic nightmares of running away? While I do have ones about that, I also have nightmares where I am not even aware it is meant to be one until I wake up very frightened. Or it is the type where horrid things are happening and there is nothing that can be done. I have managed to become lucid during chasing dreams sometimes and either the danger dissolves or I fly away, but I haven't mastered a response to other types of bad dreams.

For example, last night I dreamt of searching for small orbs of light. In the dream, seemed like it should be a calm, fascinating and enchanting sort of experience, but at one point I woke up feeling very afraid and disturbed.

TW: Disturbing dream involving violence and physical harm








I also dreamt a friend sprained her ankle and someone went to `fix' it, but suddenly her leg had no flesh and he pulled the bones of her foot apart before I could reach them or yell for him to stop.