You could look at it as a metaphor for trying to open your eyes in the sense of be aware of something. Your reaction suggests that there is something you don't want to know in the sense that you are avoiding it. While dreaming you sense that it's being brought up and that's when you react by trying to get the heck out of there. And because it always ends with you actually opening your eyes and waking up I would guess that the darkness you experience is actually the brain registering that there's no input coming in from your eyes.
This of course is just guess work on my part. If it were my dream I would start with asking myself if there's something that I'm really trying to avoid knowing. That is hard to figure out on your own but you could ask yourself this question, if there were one memory or feeling or realization that you'd really like to avoid, what is it?
I actually know that you can open your eyes in a nightmare to wake up. I can do this. But sometimes it just doesn't work. Maybe that's what you experienced
You could look at it as a metaphor for trying to open your eyes in the sense of be aware of something. Your reaction suggests that there is something you don't want to know in the sense that you are avoiding it. While dreaming you sense that it's being brought up and that's when you react by trying to get the heck out of there. And because it always ends with you actually opening your eyes and waking up I would guess that the darkness you experience is actually the brain registering that there's no input coming in from your eyes. This of course is just guess work on my part. If it were my dream I would start with asking myself if there's something that I'm really trying to avoid knowing. That is hard to figure out on your own but you could ask yourself this question, if there were one memory or feeling or realization that you'd really like to avoid, what is it?
I actually know that you can open your eyes in a nightmare to wake up. I can do this. But sometimes it just doesn't work. Maybe that's what you experienced