ForeverDecember

Hi all. I had a dream last night where I was drinking my beer of choice, I can remember the label and the taste. I'm still newly sober, 2 months and 4 days into it.

The dream was a bit unsettling because it wasn't just me drinking, which is something I've thought about and sort of faced the idea of, but it included all the sneakiness of getting the alcohol, of trying to downplay the amount I "needed" in order to get drunk, trying to hide the fact I was drunk in front of sober people, waiting for others to go to bed so I could just get into it properly. I also broke some bottles in my dream and I can remember the smell of it. I also remember behaving drunk, acting like I used to.

Usually when I dream of drinking I class it a "good dream" - good because I am horrified at what I'm doing, even in the dream, and I wake up feeling so thankful that I didn't really drink that it's a good reminder about why sobriety is the only way for me. This dream was different. In the dream I was aware that I needed to not act too stupid or drunk, but there was no negative association with the act of drinking - like the drinking was not a bad thing in itself to be doing, it was a normal thing and it was just my behaviour while drinking that I needed to control.

I feel a little unsettled, not quite shaken, but maybe not a strong as yesterday. It hasn't made me want to drink and I'm not in any risk of relapse, but I didn't/don't like having to go through those feelings again (lol now I'm whinging). I've come through a couple hard months to get away from all that, heck, I've come through quite a few horrible YEARS to get away from that mindset... it's like getting sucker punched by your grandma the way it came from no where, especially when I'm feeling so good about quitting.

I'm sure others have had this, any opinions on why we have these dreams? I always think my usual drinking dreams are there to remind me why I am sober, but this one was so different... the actions weren't much different but it was my old mindset, my old brain. I didn't like visiting that me again

Dee74

Most of my drinking dreams have been like that - not didactic by any means, simply doing the things I used to do.

I'm not sure why they happen - someone probably has a scientific explanation - I just think I drank for 20 years - it was the cornerstone of my so, it's pretty much assured I'm gonna dream about drinking....

They faded away as I changed tho...can't honestly remember the last one

I never assigned any deeper meaning to them - we dream some weird stuff - or at least I do, lol.

Just keep doing what you're doing when you're awake, FD

D

SomethingBetter

Those dreams are good reminders of who we are when we’re drinking, everything you described about being sneaky and deceptive is true, at least for myself I know that’s who I was before I quit, I don’t have to be that person anymore, I don’t have to drink.

I think anytime you stop something so abruptly that you have been doing for so long, you might dream about it, there only dreams but we can use them to our advantage, they allow us to remember why we quit.

Congrats on the 2 months and 4 days!

RobbyRobot

Yeah, I've had dreams like that too where it is obvious in the dream I'm very seriously with purpose managing some drunk, same as when I was actively drinking, not caring about much else. I'm not surprised really since that is how I often drank, and so the dreams are really reflective of my true past behaviors. Dreams of these kinds, me not caring that I'm drunk, serve to remind me of the harsh truth of my past alcoholic experiences.


You know, feeling honestly unsettled is a great response to those drinking dreams, so you have a good opportunity to be grateful you are in fact not that same old drinking you anymore. Its clear you don't enjoy those drinking dreams apon awakening, and so your reaction to those dreams speaks for itself. Hey, way better to be sober in real life, having some uncomfortable dreams of drinking than the alternative -- being really drunk and having dreams of getting sober some day. That would be a real problem!

Take it easy, ForeverDecember. Dreams are what they are, and although it can be interesting to reflect on our dreaming, there are countless ways to interpet dreams. Forget about it.

DrivenHeart85

Ugh, I HATE, HATE, HATE drinking dreams. lol I'm around a month now and they're practically every night but I've been around other people drinking so I'm sure that doesn't help. Last night I had one where I had baby and was drinking beer while holding it in my arms and looking for some with stronger alcohol content but couldn't find it. Jeeze! A baby AND drinking? I HATE drinking dreams...HATE them! lol

NYCDoglvr

Drunk dreams are very common for all alcoholics. Stay sober long enough and you'll dream that you're not drinking when when other people are!

ForeverDecember

Thanks all. Good points too - I spent all my adult life drinking and a couple of months of sobriety won't erase all the memories of it. Nor should it, if I forget it I'm sure I'll repeat it.

wildart

I've dreamed that my mother comes to my apartment and discovers how much I've been drinking. She looks in a cupboard and sees piles of bottles and looks at me with a look of horror. It was always my biggest fear.

sugarbear1

i've been told dreams are just things we experience during the day from reading, watching, thinking....just seen at night, basically being processed. mine became extremely vivid between 2-5 months sober.

CherryDarling

I'm glad it's not just me! I have dreams about drinking all the time...I still crave it and honestly, I wish I could have a drink most of the time. I'm newly sober, although I've had a few slip ups since September, most recently yesterday, but I'm trying to do the right thing.

I'm just glad I'm not alone. Thanks for sharing.

recycle

I used to worry about drinking dreams. I would wake up with a deep feeling of remorse. The last few dreams have been different: I would drink, go though the remorse, and get back in recovery before I wake. I have no idea of the significance of those dreams other than to note that subconscious mind is pretty obscure to the conscious mind, and apparently both drinking and recovery are cavorting in there.

Congratulations ForeverDecember on your recovery progress - this is doable, and you are worth it.

RV GTO

Last time I was detoxing I had a dream that was so incredibly real. I picked up a beer, I could feel how cold it was, I popped the can open, could smell it, put it to my lips, could taste it then I woke up.

I have never had a dream like that and I never want to experience that again.

CRAZE

I had my first drinking dream since I quit last night. I was sitting around a big table with lots of people I didn't know for a big meal to celebrate my 30 days of sobriety. I drank a tall glass of beer to celebrate. I felt bad in the dream half way through my beer for breaking my streak, I remember thinking oh well might as finish it now.
It was a relief to wake up and realize it was just a dream. It felt very real.

Joybot

I remember binge drinking one night and had a dream where I constantly drank water all the time. The weird part is that water tasted like water in my dream and I had to drink so many glasses of it just to stop from being thirsty. I woke up thirsty, parched and dehydrated. I never, ever had a dream where I was drinking alcohol.