I don't find Nihlathak that hard or dangerous. On NM he dealt about 300 damage per CE to my merc in a Players 5 game, nothing a simple Super Healing Potion couldn't remedy. The range of his CE on NM also isn't that great, I stood almost next to a monster when my merc killed it, and I had only run about five yards at most when it exploded, I didn't take any damage.
In my mind, my dreams are real. No one's concerned about the way I feel.