In a lucid dream (LD), people not only understand that they are dreaming, but can also influence the scenario. Compared to the physical world, LD has an important advantage: it enables you to simulate any situation you wish. Alongside pleasant scenarios, you can also simulate a situation that causes fear, as a useful tool for psychotherapy.
Scientists have long known about this possibility, but recently, Russian researchers from REMspace—Zhanna Zhunusova, Michael Raduga, and Andrey Shashkov—decided to investigate the issue more thoroughly. They attracted 76 volunteers, who had to get into a LD and come face to face with the object of their fear.
Of the participants, 89% experienced fear in the LD. However, half of them noted that the fear decreased immediately after waking up. At the same time, the effect was twice as pronounced in cases when the person had a really strong fear or phobia. This occurred after just one LD, a finding that has never been recorded before.
The second astonishing finding of the study, is that the intensity of the fear experienced directly in the LD had no impact on the results. The researchers initially hypothesized that a stronger fear in the LD would entail more effective treatment. However, it turned out that the only thing that matters is the experience of fear in the LD, and not its intensity.
Do you have any experience in overcoming phobias through lucid dreams?
The article was published in July 2022 in the journal Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.
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