chronic pain and lucid dreaming

I have been suffering with chronic pain (nothing to do with marijuana :wink: ) in my neck and shoulders for a number of years now. Lately (since I started recording my dreams) I have noticed that I feel the pain in most of my dreams. It’s not the same as it is in RL, but it still sucks. Usually it leads to anxiety in the dreams. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to die. Does anyone else suffer any sort of chronic condition that is also felt in dreams? Is there anything you do to combat this problem? Obvioulsy the real condition needs to be dealt with, but I shouldn’t have to feel pain in my dreams.

Sorry to hear that, sounds pretty miserable. Mine isn’t as uncomfortable, but I have something similar that happens to me. Without contacts, I have incredibly bad vision. Sometimes in dreams I will exhibit this inability to see anything. The strange thing is that it usually helps me to realize I’m dreaming. Then I just yell “clear! clear!” several times until my vision improves. So I guess I’m saying that you might want to try and see if there are any differences in the way the pain feels during a dream sequence. If there are, you can become lucid and yell “heal! heal!” to ease the pain. Just don’t become a televangelist on us, k? :smile:

Thanks, Meow. I have noticed that the pain is different in the dreams, but I never seem to catch on. It is just a matter of time though. I think I will incorporate some variations of the “heal heal” thing into my meditation.

Just send me 20 dollars…I will help you to see the light… :content:

I suffer from some joint pain in my lower back and this does sometimes come through in my dreams. It is not chronic like yours.
Sometimes the pain is translated as something completely different, like an image which shows up time and time again.

Once when I had a pain in my knee, I dreamed that someone had stabbed me in the knee. It was a low level lucid dream and because I believed that the pain was just from the dream, I managed to dim the pain by commanding it to lessen. If you are lucid, this could be worth a try.

Hope you find something to help soon.

The best thing to do is check the internet for advice on how to get an out-of-body experience also known as an OOBE. Then touch your own source of pain and command it to go away. This is hard but worth a shot.

In my dreams the sensation of the pain is different than it is in real life, but it is in the same parts of my body, and it is never the result of any trauma. The pain is just there…like it is in RL. Sometimes (when dreaming) my jaw will be really sore. I will try to allieviate the pain by opening my mouth wide to stertch the muscles (as i do in rl). Usually in the dreams this is a bad thing to do because it feels as if my bottom jaw is coming off.

Why you can’t do that in normal DILD?

Hmm, I guess you can, I never heard of anyone doing it so…

I think it should work. May be easier for me to achieve right now as I am still just starting out.

Please keep the replies coming. This is an important subject to me as I have been dealing with the problem for many years now. There must be others who are dealing with it as well. Even if you don’t have a chronic condition I would still like to hear whether or not you’ve felt physical pain in your dreams. What was the sensation like? What was the cause of it? Was it a being caused by a condition that affected you in RL at the time, and was being transferred into your dreams?

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before; when you mentioned the jaw aspect - it all came back to me.
For years I had dreams about my jaw locking in terrible pain until it broke and crushed all my teeth. In the dream I would attempt to make it stop or try to physically pull my jaw apart - or at least delay the process. My lucidity in these varied from non-lucid to half-lucid.
Anyway, I finally decided that it was the fear of these episodes that was causing them to occur.

So, during a few of the episodes, I just let it happen.
I remember trying very hard to see the positive aspects of my situation.
i.e.: —this helps me to value that of which I still have
—the pain experienced is character building
—lessened attractiveness leads to more focus on academia

You don’t actully have to believe it. However, by accepting fate and focusing on the potential benefits, my anxiety decreased. When the anxiety decreased, the pain decreased. When the pain decreased, the dream had lost its impact. When the dream lost its impact, it lowered in frequency.
It is only speculation, but for me it was simply a vicious cycle that had to be broken.

I’m really sorry about what you’re going through. When I remembered these dreams, it brought back a lot that should not have been forgotten. I really hope this helps - even if just a little bit. :yinyang:

Yes Openmeyend…i got cystic fybrosis and i now and then suffocate in my sleep and then i suffocate to in my dreams and can get no air…then i wake up from it mostly but your brains signals your consciousness that u dont have enough air…and that u experience to in your dream…
If i wild into the deep sleep then i dont feel that anymore witch in my case can be dangerous…

Jeff

Heal yourself in WILD by touching your pain and getting rid of it.