JUK

Just got through a third night sober but sleeping has been hard. Worried by the fact that I've been waking up every few minutes (or so it seems) having had awful nightmares or with really horrible images and anxious thoughts in my head. Never had this before and not experiencing any other symptoms. Feel shattered this morning and really frightened by what's going on in my head. Anyone else had anything like this?

J

jezza

Hi Juk
All fairly normal, it normally passes after a few nights... Make sure you're drinking plenty of water & if you do have concerns have a word with your Doc... Don't worry, it does get better.

Dee74

Hi JUK

I'm sorry you've never had it before... but it was pretty normal for me in withdrawal.

My sleep got better and the dreams got less progressively over a week to ten days or so.

Your mileage may vary...

D

TroyW

Yeah, I get the same sometimes when I detox as well. It's almost as if I'm not really sleeping, but just resting my eyes. All the while, at the same time absolutely horrible night terrors are going on in my mind, and ones that I remember for weeks / months, whereas normally I can't remember a dream 30 mins after waking up (DMT disappears).

It's pretty normal when you detox, or so I've read. It'll pass in time.

TroyW

I'm not sure, how does that work while we're in detox? I know normally, when in REM sleep mode our mind will pump out good amounts of DMT, which is basically what causes dreams. When we wake up, that DMT is no longer there, which is why we can only generally remember dreams for a few minutes after waking.

This is why lots of people keep a dream journal beside their bed, and scribble down everything they can remember right when waking up. They know those memories will only last for a few fleeting moments. When you're on detox though, it's different, and you definitely remember those dreams, and they're generally not very pleasant.

So what changes when we detox? From my experience, it's as if our mind continues to pump out DMT, but we never really reach REM sleep mode. Then due to our body detoxing, our subconscious is going through a rough time, hence the night terrors. Is that what happens, or does anyone know?

mecanix

For me the important thing to remember is that this situation about sleep isn't the fault of sobriety it is the fault of alcohol .
after about 7 days i went from not sleeping much to nearly 18 hours of deep sleep and it was glorious . I have about 6 - 8 hours of sleep these days .

Persevere and change will come

Bestwishes, m

mrjustin

Keep at it it definitely gets easier. I posted a few times on topics such as sleep. Click my name and rwad y posts and responses, im sure they will help to put you at ease.

JaneLane

My sleep is definitely disturbed and a bit weird. One thing I will say is that during my drinking, I would have really vivid violent dreams or nothing at all. There was nothing in between. It's getting better now in that I don't wake up feeling exhausted but definitely give yourself time to heal.

PurpleKnight

Keep pushing through JUK!! It will get better!!

Day 3 is fantastic!!