Taproot

Day Ten without alcohol. Last night, for the first time in these ten days, I had a dream about alcohol. My memory of the dream is, apprpriately, a bit fuzzy, but the dream actually wasn't about drinking...rather, the dream was me already being good and drunk, at that time when you are "turning the corner" from enjoyable buzz into the beginning of an extended bad hangover.

Having read threads here on SR, I expected that I might have some dreams about alcohol, and that these dreams might be another additional challenge to maintaining sobriety. Looking on the bright side, this was not a fun dream, it was a nightmare. This was no dream romanticizing the good old days of drinking, rather the emotion of the dream was, "Oh no, I did it again, this is terrible, why do I always do this, I wish this would stop.". And then I woke up and was so relieved it wasn't real.

Does anybody care to share their thoughts about dreams that center on drinking or the consequences of drinking? Do these dreams help or hinder your sobriety? Have you and any such dreams, and how did they affect you? What lessons can we take from this?

Mags1

I dream occasionally I've drank and am riddled with guilt, then I wake up and thankfully find it's just a dream

My husband has been stopped smoking a few months now and he dreams occasionally he is smoking. I'm not sure but our sub conscious is so aware of what we do t want it portrays in our dreams.

P.S. Congratulations on day ten x

CAPTAINZING2000

I've only had a few in all the years I've been sober. I wouldn't call it a dream, they were nightmares.
When, I first woke up I actually believed I had drank.
They had a terrible impact on how I felt. I had guilt and remorse when I woke up.
I've not had a thought of taking a drink in over 14 and a half years. I have no idea why I dreamed of drinking.
I will close by saying at the end of my drinking days it was pure hell on earth

Armitage

Interesting,

I had a dream a few days ago in which I gave in and drank half a beer and was full of regret and frustrated.

At first I was scared that my impulse was to give in. The positive of course is that I got to feel all the regret and consequently reaffirm/solidify my commitment without ever actually taking a drink.

Taproot

Thanks for describing these dreams. It seems there is a common theme here of the nightmarish consequences of drinking.

For me personally, last night's dream is positive reinforcement for me to keep trying to stay sober. I am fearful that my "alcoholic voice" will try to romanticize my drinking past, perhaps through dreams, and I do not look forward to having to fight for my sobriety even in my sleep. But the fact that in this dream drinking was a a negative experience gives me hope that I truly believe on a deep inner level that alcohol is bad news and that I need to stop.

teetotalitarian

I had a drinking dream a few days ago too, which I would also categorize as a nightmare. I was angry with myself and woke up relieved it was just a dream. I don't know if it's PAWs or what, but my dreams are more upsetting and conflictual lately in general. I never had very deep sleeps while drinking, so that might have something to do with it. More REM cycles.

LadyBlue0527

I've had this dream twice now since I quit, one of them being most recently. It's a nightmare but very helpful in portraying exactly where your head would be if you were to do it when awake. I was so thankful when I woke up.

I think that as much as these dreams are a nightmare they're positive and I'm sure they eventually go away.

I'd be more concerned if I had a dream where I drank and everything was ok and I woke up not disturbed by it.

THAT would be a TRUE nightmare. The AV would be jumping all over that one.

Taproot

Yep, that's what I am afraid of too. If that ever happens to me, I hope I run, don't walk, right here to the discussion at SR and get some backup from the community here. SR has been very helpful for me to learn about myself and alcoholism and to make progress. Just knowing there are people here who have experienced some of the things i have helps give me a little more strength.

CAPTAINZING2000

If you think, you can have a drink again and have fun, you're not done.
I've seen to many people try again and the results aren't good.

rove27

I get them all the time, and feel very guilty. In my humble opinion I think it is good that you feel guilty afterwards, I think it shows that you are determined to stay sober.

Hope4Life

I have had several of these dreams and some were quite comical. Like one where I walked into my local Brewery (my old hangout) and just picked up someone's Beer and kept walking while guzzling it down! The sad thing about this was there was a guy who used to do EXACTLY the same thing once in a while. He was a homeless guy who lived in the hills near town. When we would see him come in, a warning would be announced and everyone would grab their glass!

A couple nights ago, I dreamed I was walking across a parking lot with a 6 pack of my favorite Ale.... beating myself up for buying it and trying to decide if I should just take it back. Unfortunately, I woke up before I could return it....

I too have been very relieved when waking up after these dreams and realizing that I was safe in bed. This is a pretty common thing in recovery.

bigsombrero

I am 1.5 years without a drink and I had a drinking dream last night! They are few and far between these days, they used to be extremely vivid and I'd wake up shaking with fear. Most of the time I am feeling guilty or bewildered during these dreams, they are not very pleasant and often very realistic.

FreeOwl

92 days.... I had one last night too.

This one was super-vivid and freaked me the hell out. The core of it had me 'coming to' out of a blackout on an airplane.

In the dream, I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten on the airplane or why I was there. I was heading to St. Louis from Vegas and in my mind at the time in the dream I was meant to be home the next day but at work in Vegas still at the time.

I was in sheer panic because it was clear that I wasn't going to get home in time to pick up my daughters and was probably screwed at work. I also didn't have my baggage and my phone wouldn't work.... I finally woke up in a panic, heart racing, sweating, freaked out. It took me several minutes sitting there taking stock of the fact I was in bed, with my Lady, the dogs on the floor, the girls tucked in their beds, having gone to bed just a few hours ago after watching a movie and everything was A-OK.

Man... THAT SUCKS.

But what a relief to realize it was all a dream and everything was fine.

Holli

Add me to the roster -- I had my first one of these yesterday during a nap. I was so relieved when I woke up and realized it hadn't happened IRW. I am so DONE with that phase of my life!

FreeOwl, your dream was really a doozy!!

bigsombrero

I hear ya FreeOwl! In one of my dreams I "came to" in a pile of empty bottles and cans in the dark, at a strange house. My hand was bleeding and there was a rag around it. A friend came up to me in the dark and said that everyone had been looking for me, and that things had become really, really out of control. I felt so terrible and even worse I couldn't remember what I'd done wrong! I'd never passed out at a party before, and never was violent with alcohol...what had I become???

I was so terrified I startled myself awake, in a cold sweat. I had to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water and turn on the light, looking at my hand to make sure it was all just a dream. It was a relief to know it was all a dream, but still it wasn't a fun experience!