being less afraid of the threatening situation (Colt [5]). If a person suffering from PTSD has a distressing dream about their trauma, it could be very beneficial to re-experience the trauma while having more control and less fear. This gives the opportunity for exploration of other possible outcomes (as seen in attending the exam to view the reactions while only half dressed) or the exploration of feelings in general. A person in therapy of PTSD could be instructed in their therapy session to use this lucidity to their advantage. If the dreamer becomes lucid, they could be instructed to change the setting or situation of their trauma (as seen in running back home to put clothes on) and use this shift to initiate exploration. This is only some of the possible connections of lucid dream therapy to PTSD.One of the largest advantages of lucid dream therapy could be the element of control that lucid dreaming offers. If disturbing dreams often plague the victim of PTSD, he/she could use this control to shift the nature of the dream entirely rather than being left to suffer through the nightmare. One could use this control to deal with the stress in a sort of “virtual” way and also be free to go at a pace that he/she feels is comfortable. Certain PTSD victims may use lucid dreaming to push their distressing dreams to the absolute edge of their imagination. Perhaps it could be beneficial to know the “limit” of how far things could go since sometimes the “unknown” can be worse than the “known.”Regardless of the exact way that lucid dreaming could be used to treat PTSD, the fact that there are so many diverse ways to use lucid dreams in this type of therapy is compelling. Surely if there are so many possibilities one of them might find its way into therapeutic circles. There is no question that dream experts see the importance of lucid dreaming, so why has lucid dream therapy been overloo...
