After looking further into other practical applications of lucid dreaming, I found something that could be seen as a true life saver for many people. One of the effects of war on soldiers can be PTSD, which leaves them with terrible nightmares. These nightmares leave them shaken, and force them to relive the horrors that they have witnessed. One study decided to look at lucid dreaming as possible cure for this. If the soldiers were able to redirect their dreams to be something more desirable, they could effectively end their nightmares.
PTSD and Lucid Dreaming
Reference
Spoormaker, V. I., & van, d. B. (2006). Lucid dreaming treatment for nightmares: A pilot study. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 75(6), 389-94. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235469783?accountid=14503
I found this to be a very interesting concept and something I had never thought of. If people are able to alter the paths of their dreams to improve the quality of their lives what other benefits can be found?
There is a careful stipulation to be had here. Usually lucid dreams mean that the dreamer can control some sort of the dream, but not always. I know that personally I have had lucid dreams that do not involve me controlling anything, only realizing that I am dreaming. The danger is that if this were to apply to someone with PTSD, it might become more stressful for them to realize that they were reliving a memory in a dream especially if they can not find a way to wake up. However, this is only a cautionary comment and for those that it can help I say that it is an innovative way to use the power of the mind to resolve issues.
ReplyDeleteI think I disagree with you on this cautionary point for two reasons. First, whether they realize they're in a dream at the time or not, after they wake up the stress and pain of the dream remains. If the person in the dream realizes it's a dream and they are not in actual danger then doesn't the dream become more of an annoyance (though a terrifying one) rather than a lived horror? Second, with practice one may become better at lucid dreaming (as this study suggest) and then manipulate their dreams in a way that they are not reliving their horrors.
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