Last night I was having a nightmare, but then I thought to myself ‘Its only a dream.’ and I felt better. But why didnt I react to the fact that I was having an LD???
Hi Vega (and all the other new members who arrived lately 
)
You haven´t got a problem, actually you are doing quite well!
What you experienced was probably something that is often referred to as pre-luzid dream.However, that shows that you are just about to encounter the “real” lucidity.
Just stick to the things you are doing, and some night the realization will really come through
btw, I also got my first lucid dreams from having nightmares
Traumgänger
I also seem to realize i am dreaming, but not react to it. It is frustrating when i wake up, though. I have been having them a lot more frequently since i started trying to lucid dream, so hopefully i am getting close!
Hey VegaJ! 
Maybe the reason is because u had just gotten over a scary period in your dream and when it all got better, u were just thinking about how u felt instead of the fact that u were dreaming.
BTW Fortune Cookie…looks like u r getting close! Great job 
Good luck!
I too recognise nightmares as harmless, but i think my brain has thougt up a special concept for nightmares that it does not relate to the concept of dreaming. It is more like i am playing a first person computer horror-game, aware that it is not really dangerous. Are you sure you say to yourself: “hey i am dreaming” or is it more of a feeling you have?
I always become completely lucid when (the two times so far) i become aware that i am dreaming. And then i wake up. But not next time! 
Thats right! Im very sure u will succeed 
Good Luck 
Sorry for coming back to this topic late, but I have been away for a bit.
I had a nightmare two nights ago, but just as I was waking up, I realised (with a lot of relief!) that it was a dream. At this point, it was too late to go back into the dream. I think one of the problems with using nightmares to acheive lucidity is the fact that they are often accompanied by an adrenaline rush which wakes most people up. 
It could always be a good oppolrtunity to try the WBTB method, though.
Hi people, welcome to ld4all forum! And like other people said… you weren’t doing anything wrong. In fact you were in a right direction. You knew that you weren’t going to be harmed by your dream so thus you were so close in becoming actual lucid. Usually we get that feeling before we begin to question ourself to see if we are in a dream or not. It is called pre-lucid stage. It can happen a lot in nightmares.
I’m a natural lder. I learned how to become lucid from my nightmares when I was very young because I used to have nightmares almost everyday. I experienced false awakening several times as well. So you’re RIGHT on the path. You’re doing great.
Have faith in yourself.
Lieve dromen (sweet dreams!) 