Nightmares
Recovering
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 26
Nightmares
Hi folks. 5-6 days sober (again) and I'm starting to experience really terrifying nightmares at night. 
Usually I wake up in a cold sweat and have to calm myself before going back to sleep. I read to expect this so I can't say I'm surprised, but it is a bit freaky. How long can I expect before these go away? Pretty much the rest of my withdrawal symptoms (minus a lingering tinnitus from benzo withdrawal a few weeks ago) are gone.
Usually I wake up in a cold sweat and have to calm myself before going back to sleep. I read to expect this so I can't say I'm surprised, but it is a bit freaky. How long can I expect before these go away? Pretty much the rest of my withdrawal symptoms (minus a lingering tinnitus from benzo withdrawal a few weeks ago) are gone.
Serenity today
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: The Commonwealth
Posts: 135
Give it a couple more days, and the nighmares and panic and waking up in a sweat will lessen, get farther and farther apart, then they will go away altogether in a couple of months. That's what it was for me, anyway. Even after my slip weekend before last, only 2 days after a couple of years of sobriety, my sleep was still disturbed for a few nights.
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
Yes they are so damned vivid!
Check out...
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ia-nightmares/
There are threads here on Alcoholism too.
Do a SR search.
I don't think there is a definite time line
I had one last week..when I was ill and
taking anti botucs. And..
some other meds have affected me.
I have noticed that stress is a factor too.
I did have nightmares as a child
so I may be overly sensitive.
Check out...
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ia-nightmares/
There are threads here on Alcoholism too.
Do a SR search.
I don't think there is a definite time line
I had one last week..when I was ill and
taking anti botucs. And..
some other meds have affected me.
I have noticed that stress is a factor too.
I did have nightmares as a child
so I may be overly sensitive.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: GLASGOW
Posts: 46
It can be like that at the start. Even 2 years on I still get the nightmare where I've dreamt I had a drink and I'd wake up feeling really down.
When I realised itwas just a nightmare what a relief.
Still can't believe that I felt as if I had a hangover though - creepy.
Stay with it- it will get better.
D.xx
When I realised itwas just a nightmare what a relief.
Still can't believe that I felt as if I had a hangover though - creepy.
Stay with it- it will get better.
D.xx
Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: LONDON UK
Posts: 13
During my periods of sobriety I have found my dreams so vivid as well.
Might not help but I have learnt to Lucid dream(google it)where I have control of the dream much of the time and can make myself do things like fly and run through walls at will.
Great fun,not really a nightmare but I do use it when having a nightmare.
Might not help but I have learnt to Lucid dream(google it)where I have control of the dream much of the time and can make myself do things like fly and run through walls at will.
Great fun,not really a nightmare but I do use it when having a nightmare.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: in the present moment
Posts: 2,060
Hi E dili,
I think all of us know what you are going through because it has happened to each of us at some point in our recovery. Usually in the beginning there are nightmares, but they (and drunk dreams) can occur at any point.The good news is that its not real, you did not hurt yourself, they will pass, and its part of the process of getting better. I promise!!
My understanding is that, as a person detoxes the alcohol from the deep physical/cellular level of his or her body, old stored toxins are being eliminated.
That cellular memory has physical, chemical, electromagnetic, emotional, as well as mental aspects, so, as it leaves your experience (ie: as it leaves your body + mind) it comes up to, and passes, the surface layers of consciuosness and sub-consciousness, which is what dreaming represents.
The middle of the sleep cycle is the time that the deep subconscious gets played out, where unresolved conflicts are viewed, like a viewing arena for old cellular content to be made more conscious. Its been helpful for me to observe all the dreams, nightmares, and the "stories" they tell as simply the phonomenom of detox, without believing any of them. But sometimes there is a message that I get from my dreams that becomes more lucid throughout the day..(not always)
This process may be positive, if we see it as a path towards integration, healing , wholeness.
Sobriety will certainly release lots of numbed out feelings, especally in the beginning. Take time for yourself to adjust, eat well, and keep sharing with others. You are doing really well!!
I think all of us know what you are going through because it has happened to each of us at some point in our recovery. Usually in the beginning there are nightmares, but they (and drunk dreams) can occur at any point.The good news is that its not real, you did not hurt yourself, they will pass, and its part of the process of getting better. I promise!!
My understanding is that, as a person detoxes the alcohol from the deep physical/cellular level of his or her body, old stored toxins are being eliminated.
That cellular memory has physical, chemical, electromagnetic, emotional, as well as mental aspects, so, as it leaves your experience (ie: as it leaves your body + mind) it comes up to, and passes, the surface layers of consciuosness and sub-consciousness, which is what dreaming represents.
The middle of the sleep cycle is the time that the deep subconscious gets played out, where unresolved conflicts are viewed, like a viewing arena for old cellular content to be made more conscious. Its been helpful for me to observe all the dreams, nightmares, and the "stories" they tell as simply the phonomenom of detox, without believing any of them. But sometimes there is a message that I get from my dreams that becomes more lucid throughout the day..(not always)
This process may be positive, if we see it as a path towards integration, healing , wholeness.
Sobriety will certainly release lots of numbed out feelings, especally in the beginning. Take time for yourself to adjust, eat well, and keep sharing with others. You are doing really well!!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 363
Nice post Miss C
I was always convinced and still am that my dreams and nightmares are a good sign that my brain is "healing" although I didn't really know why.
I reckon that I prefer the few minutes of emotional distress in the morning caused by these dreams rather than the consequences of drinking.
Keep well
Ron
I was always convinced and still am that my dreams and nightmares are a good sign that my brain is "healing" although I didn't really know why.
I reckon that I prefer the few minutes of emotional distress in the morning caused by these dreams rather than the consequences of drinking.
Keep well
Ron
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