KAD

It's been 2 1/2 weeks now since I quit (again) and last night I had the first of my drinking dreams. God, I hate when those start up! It was so real, when I first awoke I thought I was supposed to get up, get dressed, and go to the liquor store, because that's what I was about to do in the dream. I felt very relieved to realize it was the middle of the night and not real. Helluva way to be awakened, though!

PurpleKnight

I'm now not too sure whether I hate the feeling of regret more or like the relief at the end when I wake up more . . . it's a heck of a rush!!

ScottFromWI

I still have drinking dreams from time to time, but they do become much less frequent. I view them as my mind stretching it's legs after being permanently sedated for so many years.

RecklessEric

Oh, I know that feeling of waking up thinking you've just screwed up badly.

Bostonsportsfan

I've had dreams where I woke up and thought I relapsed to only figure out it was just a dream. In my dreams I do the same stuff I do while awake. I start stashing booze to make sure I'll have enough, pound alcohol quickly as possible...I've even had dreams of stealing bottles. Being past the 6 month mark...I don't really have them anymore, but still do once in awhile. The first month (after my 1st detox) I probably had 20 drinking dreams, it was almost every night. It will go away though.

KAD

Yep, I was always a hider so my dreams are almost always about hiding, sneaking, and paranoia about getting caught. Except in the dreams I'm hiding about 3 times as many bottles as I ever did in real life.

zjw

drinking dreams are bad for me. they are so real while in them and i always feel terribe drinking in them and when i awake in my stuper i think OMG how could I then i feel so much better that it was just a dream.

Smoking dreams on the other hand I love those. when i wake up after having smoked cigarettes in a dream I'm like oh wow that was great and i didnt even have to smoke for real woohooo.

flutter

5+ years later and I still have them, very infrequently but a few times a year. It's such an awful feeling! Once when I complained about this to my therapist, he told me to consider it a "freebie", a feeling of going back out, the real feeling of shame/regret, etc all without actually doing it.

Croissant

This is a good way of looking at it. Thanks for sharing, flutter.

Mine are usually emotionally exhausting, and the last one actually really knocked me around for almost a day.

tomsteve

i had a lot of em early one. they were drivin me nuts!!! couple times i woke up not knowin where i was( like after a blackout) only to realize it was my own bed. also had times i felt hungover after them dreams.
thank God they were only dreams!! and great reminders.
they did subsde as time went on. i get one occasionally and wouldnt be surprised if it happened tonight after thinkin about em.
good thing for me to remember: i cant control what my dreams are but i don't have to act upon them.

sydpet18

I am over 10 years sober and suggest that the drinking dreams will diminish in frequency and intensity. And hey, it is only a dream ! Enjoy the relief when you wake up ! For many years, I dreamt that I could have 3 or 4 drinks NO PROBLEM. That little alcoholic monkey wants to sit on my shoulder and is never far away. But as soon as I wake up, it is a great reminder that I cannot have one drink ... today.

KAD

That is a good way to look at it. It certainly does bring with it the emotional impact of actually having done it. The only relief being you know you really didn't. There was minor drinking dream last night. I was holding a full bottle of vodka and about to open it, but never did. That's much more tolerable.

Flawed

I had my first one last night (on day 5) and woke up feeling hungover...it was so weird!

Waterfalls2014

Yea the drinking dreams can feel so real. I've even woke up not just feeling hung over but also thinking I tastes old alcohol on my breath. Maybe it's just a subconscious habit. Who knows. I hope yours go away. Best wishes!