Kafkaesque

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you have had dreams about drinking or alcohol in general? If so, what impact did they have on you or your sobriety?

Last night I had a dream that I persuaded my husband and best friend to get drunk so I could obviously drink as well and then ended up taking care of them all night. It was kind of an eye opener for me because in the dream, they were both being so rude and obnoxious and it made me realize that's probably how I am when I was drunk. Not to mention the fact that I woke up in a disoriented state obviously from just waking up but it made me feel like I had drank in real life and the shame and disappointment overcame me until I realized it wasn't true.

It's only been one week sober again but that dream was a really nice reminder of why I want to and why I will stay sober this time.

How have your dreams about drinking made an impact on you?

Dee74

Drinking dreams are very very common Kafkaesque.

I did a lot of drinking...it makes sense to me that my subconscious had a lot of memories to play with.

For me I never thought they 'meant' anything though.

I still dream of high school and University - doesn't mean I want to go back there

D

strategery

Drinking dreams don't really bother me.
One of the things that did trigger me one time was waking up feeling like I had a hangover when I didn't drink.

brynn

I've been having some crazy drinking dreams, and feel SO relieved when I wake up and realize they were JUST dreams! Just the relief I feel upon waking has helped strengthen my resolve to stay sober!

Lusher

Hey Kafkaesque-

I have them on occasion as well. I had a very clear one just last week.
I was going to make note of the same thing, as posted by byynn. This is almost exactly how I feel as well.


Lusher

Soberpotamus

I've had maybe two drinking dreams total since quitting twenty-one months ago. The dreams never bothered me. It was interesting to me, because in both dreams I didn't actually drink. The first dream, I spit out a swallow of beer from a bottle. Second dream, I was in a store, attempting to buy alcohol, and it was interrupted by my cats. Lol.

LexieCat

I still have the occasional one now that I've been sober for six years. As Dee said, they don't really "mean" anything except that the thought of drinking has become a negative experience. If you woke up from them disappointed because you still wanted that drink, that would be a different thing. My drinking dreams always end with my being grateful it was JUST a dream.

Squig

Of course! What's worse, for me anyway, is when I have dreams where I've never drank and suffered the consequences. Then I wake up and realize it was just a dream. What I find most important is to not let those dreams determine my mood or outlook for the coming day.

natsume

I have that experience of relief when I wake up from them as well. They are never good dreams. I think they are healthy.

polaris

Ive had plenty. Im always relieved when I wake up and realize that I didnt actually relapse for real though...so I suppose that's a good thing.

pulltight

I have them a few times a week and am always glad when I wake up and realize they are just dreams.
Let's me know that I still truly don't want to drink.

OklaBH

Yeah, I had one last week. Like everyone else I woke up and was thankful it was a dream.

yarrock

I see dreams like tbat few times, drinked some a d i feel wery bad because i was give word to no drink again. Than wake up and relaxed. Just like fakin nightmare.

JensDestiny

I have had dreams of drinking but I actually wake up feeling guilty. Of course, it is a relief to know that it was just a dream though!

gaffo

It's funny I hadn't thought of it until I read this thread but my drinking dreams are never good dreams! Between quitting drinking and pot I have a very full dream life. It's fun!

Plure

I was just about to post on this topic. For 60 days being sober, I haven't thought much about a drink...think because I've been in total hypochondriac mode about the withdrawal symptoms. However the other night I had a dream I was at a bar with some friends and realized I had been drinking. It wasn't a good dream at all...I felt drunk as you did and also extremely sad and shameful that I had done it.

Although a relief when I woke up and realized it was a dream, I still felt bad and think that is a not-so-gentle reminder of what takes so long to build could be brought down so quickly.

SoberCAH

I have certainly had plenty of drinking dreams over the years.

And, like Dee said, of college also (exam, not prepared, etc.).

Bostonsportsfan

I had a lot of them early on, but not as many now. I'll still have a drinking dream once a month and the dreams are usually very strange. I've had drinking dreams where I woke up and thought I relapsed because of how detailed the dream was. I remember going through the alcoholic check list in my dreams, such as stashing beers to make sure I'll have enough, constantly checking my wallet to make sure I still have my booze money, worrying about withdrawal, etc. It's crazy all those same thoughts will come back to you...even in a dream.

blueyes618

I also have drinking dreams, but they are so interesting... it's always other people drinking around me heavily, and I may be holding a drink, but I never actuallydrink in my dreams. Crazy how the brain works.

munchkin05

I have had loads of drinking dreams, some of them, I actually drink, others, someone is trying to get me to drink. (usually its my parents trying to get me to drink because they still don't like/don't accept that I am a recovering alcoholic)
Anytime I wake up from one where I didn't drink I usually wake up super annoyed at that person in the dream who actually offered me the alcohol.
If I wake up from one where I actually drank, I get super sad, disappointed in myself, angry, etc etc.