Can't Wake Up?

[IDreamOfRain]

Ok, so over the past couple of months, I've discovered that (handily) I can wake myself up from dreaming, even if I'm not lucid. Like I said, I don't know I'm dreaming, but somehow I know that I can wake up if I need to. More recently, the techniques I've used have stopped being so efficient, and as my dreams are almost never happy, this really is not good for me. Is it possible that my body/mind has gotten used to what I do and is ignoring it? I was basically wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to wake up from my dreams....here are the ways I used to wake myself up:
#1: Jump off something. Be it a cliff or just standing and jumping, the heart-in-mouth sensation always woke me up before I hit ground. Last time I tried, I jumped off into a river, and didn't wake up.
#2: If something is charging or getting ready to attack me, just stand there and let it. Usually before it got to me, I woke up.
#3: Think happy thoughts. Sometimes I was able to change my dream, but this is very difficult and I have only done it successfully twice.
#4: I am also (occasionally) able to "feel", if you will, my seperate body at home in bed while I'm dreaming. I could control my dream body and my real body at different times, so I would open my real eyes and wake up.

These are all past tense, btw Pinching dosen't work, as I've often felt pain in my dreams and it hasn't affected me any. I have tried slamming my hand into stuff, since self-inflicted might have a greater effect, but to no avail I would appreciate different takes on how I can wake up......or maybe just what works for you....thanks!

[lml]

Roll with it I guess - many people`s dreams suck and that;s because they are dreams and dreams are warped
many people`s dreams seem lucid - some of us feel them more than others and who knows why
they say creative people are more prone to nightmares and the like
if you really want to wake yourself your alarm clock to go off at some point during the night when it seems most likely you will be having bad dreams

[dreamer411]

Well, one time I was having a really scary dream, and eventually I just decided to force myself to wake up. So I literally just stood there and willed myself to wake up, and it worked. I hope this helps!

[IDreamOfRain]

Ok thanks guys I'll try it. But I'm happy to say as of now that I seem to be getting some of that control back.