Lucid dreaming has already been shown as effective in treating ordinary nightmares. A new study published in August 2020 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, however, has attempted to assess this treatment in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to existing studies, as much as 80% of PTSD patients suffer from chronic nightmares that add serious stress to their lives. PTSD is a delayed and repetitive response to a traumatic event. While patients might try to avoid people and places that make unpleasant memories of the trauma surface and overwhelm them, they can still see them in dreams and find themselves helpless to do anything about it.
The authors of the study, led by Brigitte Holzinger, suggest that learning lucid dreaming control techniques can make it much easier for patients with the disorder to deal with signs of anxiety. The 31 Austrian participants were divided into a control group and a group of lucid dreaming practitioners, and asked to keep a sleep diary for 6 weeks.
The results showed that in the course of therapy, the level of anxiety and depression in the lucid dreaming group significantly decreased, even though there was no significant decrease in the number of nightmares they had during this period. These results are not surprising given that the process of recovering from PTSD is complex and lengthy. It will therefore take longer to evaluate the true effectiveness of such a treatment.
Now it’s your turn: tell us in the comments how you deal with fears while in the phase state. Your tips may end up helping others.
