Scared...........

I’m new to this site thing and I really want to try it but I’m scared that something scary would come chasing me and I don’t think I have the guts to confront it. Also, I’m extremely scared of the Old Hag thing. Has the Old Hag ever actually done something to you like talk or touch you? Also, can you see the Old Hag in details or is it just a shadow thing?

Everything you asked is entirely subjective.

For being a regular lucid dreamer I have real problems with fear, I too worry about things randomly popping up and scaring me…

Basically, if you worry, it will happen, if you don’t worry or calm yourself down, you should be okay.

I will tell you that most lucid dreams are positive.

Can you see the Old Hag? Yes. No.

It depends… the “old hag” can be an alien, a beautiful naked woman, yourself, whatever your mind wants it to be…

MY EXPERIENCE is you do not see “it” unless you are paralyzed on your back.

But I will tell you that it’s easy to change it into something positive (like a naked woman) just by imagining one.

Give it a try, it will help you confront your fears when you are ready to.

Your fears are entirely understandable. The world of dreams is an unpredictable one, and, given it’s unlimited potential, it’s natural to expect something frightening and disturbing to happen. You’re definitely not the only one to express these sorts of impressions.

However, if anything, LDs tend to be an incredibly valuable tool to confront and resolve any sort of disturbing occurences or characters that come up in a dream. Most natural LDers actually first developed the faculty as a defensive mechanism against nightmares; once you’re conscious, nothing can really hurt you unless you allow it to do so. If you haven’t already, read the “Nightmares” entry on the main (non-forum) page, as it contains a lot of useful techniques for dealing with frightening events in the dreamworld.

As for the Old Hag syndrome, I’ve never had it happen to me myself, but from the accounts I’ve heard it’s possible (as holy reality pointed out) to transform the old hag into something less threatening, or even will it away entirely, if you keep your wits about you. With practice, you’ll learn to view such things as opportunities, rather then potential events to be avoided; some of the most fascinating experiences I’ve heard of began as nightmares.

Also, if you’re afraid to confront nightmarish beings in your dreams, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to; you can always transport yourself somewhere else. Spinning around in a circle is generally a good plan, as is closing your eyes and willing yourself away (although you do run the risk of waking up with the latter method).

Hope this helped! :smile:

If some evil chases you in an LD, then kill it/make it go away/make frieds with it/whatever.

Quite frankly, you shouldn’t be afraid in your LD’s. You know you can’t be hurt (unlike in ND’s) and it’s easy to get rid of the problem.

Hi luckydragon88 ! Welcome to LD4all ! :wave:

You have to understand that your problem is a vicious circle. You won’t meet anything frightening if you aren’t afraid first; because it’s a dream and in a dream, your emotions are building the background and characters up.

About the Old Hag, it’s an hallucination which is experienced, as Holy Reality told you, during the sleep trouble called “sleep paralysis”. And it’s experienced by rather few sleep paralyzed people. So it has nothing to do with LD’ing and you’re unlikely to meet it.

Most of the time, in a LD, when you meet a monster, it’s not really frightening, because you quickly understand that it’s a dream, and the monster is an illusion which can’t really hurt you. You don’t have to run away, you can do anything you want, act like a kung-fu master, blast it with fire balls, or more simply talk with him kindly and ask him what it is doing there. Generally speaking, its reactions will adapt to your expectations: if you’re kind with it, it will be kind with you, and most often it will transform in a less monstruous dream character. :content:

Have good dreams !

[Edited : corrected according to Xetrov’s comment… :smile: ]

You mean, can’t, don’t you? :happy:

Yes ! LOL ! :rofl:

I induce lucid dreams on a regular basis using the WILD method and I have never encountered the “Old hag”. In my opinion this has become an urban legend that has spiraled out of control. Like everyone above said if you do encounter such a thing you just have to remember that it is not real. It is simply an illusion that has no power to harm you.

Anyway, if you are truly scared about such things then use other techniques to induce your lucid dreams.

I agree with milod. The Old Hag thing is just a manifestation of the fear which can occur during sleep paralysis if you are not used to experiencing this state. Sleep paralysis can throw up some alarming sounds and sensations, but once you realise that these experiences are harmless the fear quickly subsides and you can concentrate on the more pleasurable and productive aspects of lucid dreaming.
Don’t let fear hold you back, we’ve all experienced these anxieties and worked through them so you’re just like everyone else in this respect.
Good luck!

I use to be the sameway, and still am a little. I’ve encounterd 1 or 2 scary things in SP and such. Just remember that’s it all in your head and can do no harm besides scare you.