Sparkles

It's sure nice to wake up without a hangover....especially on a Saturday morning. This weekend will be a true test. I've already had people calling me to go out for drinks. Said no, I'm not drinking....except to one considerate person who asked me out for COFFEE. What am I supposed to do with all this time that I used to spend drinking? Weekdays are much easier with work and all, but on the weekends, I've always drank from the time I wake up until the time I pass out.

And what's up with all these crazy dreams I've had the last two days? Really intense, scary.....last night it was one continuous dream of me drinking and drowning. If possible, I DO have a hangover, just from the dreams. Is this normal?

fairywatcher54

Withdrawal is a hard thing. As for the weekends start by rewarding yourself with the money you would have spent by going to get a haircut, manicure, go to a spa. A show might be nice. Rent a movie to watch. Get a bike and go for a ride. Let your imagination go crazy. Go bowling. Go fishing. Take a swim. Call a friend who you know does not drink. Take a drive in the country and smell the grass grow. Visit an animal shelter. Go to a pool and watch kids have fun. Read a book. Start a hobby. Clean house. Painting ceramics or a room is a nice outlet. I do puzzles and then elmer glue them and have started using them as wall paper for a spare bedroom. Hobbies are my outlet to my addictions. Lemonaide has become my new drink of choice. Try very hard to keep your mind focused on positive habits. I often will take a bathtub cruise when I feel I am going to jump off the edge. Hard to go to a bar when you are in a tub with candles and music going. Good luck and you will learn fast the things that give you pleasure in reaching new levels of improvement

Dan

Hi again!

If you haven't already seen it, here's a link to a thread about what to expect when quitting.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ad.php?t=47857

There are also other threads in the basement of the Alcoholism board with practical suggestions about filling the time we used to spend drinking with new, healthy activities.
I'm just too lazy right now to go and dig them out.
So if someone's feeling industrious...

Happy Saturday Sparkles.

DanaNicole29

I am so happy for you and your sobriety and YES those using dreams and waking up with a hangover without drinking is VERY normal!! I don't have them that often any more but when I do, everyone best watch out cause I am a CRABBY BUTT!! Take care and keep up the good work, I am proud of you!!

michski

Oh yeah... the DREAMS!!!

Amazing stuff becomes available emotionally and intellectually when you finally stop "numbing" yourself out with booze. It's quite an extroardinary adventure getting to know yourself again...
congrats on your clean time and keep it up and watch your life unfold!

Phinneas

Congrats on your sober time. I filled my early recovery with meetings and reading literature and hanging out on SR for hours. I had to learn to live life all over again, but recovery taught me how. Lot's of great ideas here, but exercise is one of the best. It helps the body through the detox process, helps you sleep better, builds self-confidence and fights depression.

Hang in there. Time just takes time.

hugs,

phinny

lulu70

I hate to say it, but for me, the dreams continued well into sobriety. They did become much less disruptive of my sleep. They have finally slowed down at this point, though occasionally I will still have a dream that seems so real I am sure I must have got drunk, and it takes a while after waking to realize it isn't true. Take some comfort, though, in the fact that using dreams are VERY common. I think everyone in recovery has them.

A sober Saturday is something to be very proud of. Sometimes I forget what a gift it is to wake up refreshed and ready to great the day. Also, there is almost nothing you can't do to fill your time now that you are not drinking. Some of the more active things may be better for you at this point in your sobriety. I know I couldn't have concentrated on a book in the first few weeks to save my life. But going for a walk, watching a movie, painting, or just cleaning and organizing my house were very rewarding and helped keep my hands and mind busy. Be good to yourself. You deserve it.

Hugs--

Luckyv2

Congradulations on being able to take that first step and welcome to SR I know that without everyone here that I would not have made it this far, just sit back and enjoy the ride and it is quite a ride too.

hector

(((Sparkles))) Lotsa hugs.

I think one reason for more vivid dreams is different, lighter sleep. When we go to bed sober we sleep lighter, so dreams are more common and more memorable. I had drinking dreams so vivid that I was sure I'd have to change my sobriety date.

Too much time on your hands? Go to meetings. Some suggest 90 meetings in 90 days. I don't, but I do think there's only two times to get to a meeting: when you feel like it and when you don't feel like it. If you want to go, don't make excuses: GO! And when you're thinking the hell with the program, I don't need that bunch of wierdos, GO! The only time not to go is when it doesn't really matter to you one way or the other. Then you get to do something else. I particularly like the suggestion of a bathtub cruise! Might try one myself! Exercise is also great. Do some for me while you're at it.

Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together.

na4today

I hate the dreams I have been having. If they aren't drug dreams then they are just way out there. I had a dream the other night that my husband opened a new store that had girl stuff, like jewelry, hair stuff just a girlie store but everything there would turn into a sex toy. So I see girls everywhere shopping in their panties and thats it. then I see him on a couch talking to a girl with nothing on and she had four boobs and when i walked over to him he looks at me and says get out of here I'm trying to sell stuff. Then I woke up. WTF was that.
But sobriety is good even when the dreams are freaky!

MNGirlyGirl

Congrats Sparkles! I know how hard it can be just to get one day behind you. I know the exact problem having too much time on my hands on weekends. Today I went out to lunch (by myself -- no one around) then made a list of projects to work on. Found myself doing a lot of cleaning that I've let go for a long time (like my aquarium). Sometimes a drive or a walk will help me get out of an anxious moment when I want to drink. It's different for everyone -- lots of help and ideas here at SR. Good luck!

Kathy

Midas

Congrats, Sparkles! The dreams may continue for quite some time. I still have them ocassionally. Learn how to dream Lucidly. It will forever change your dreamtime. I know how REAL the dreams can seem. Yeah, they're scary. When you're lucid, you can wake up inside the dream & change it. Believe me, you'll never dream the same again. Whenever I have one episode that's going bad to worse, I can wake up, yell CUT!! I said CUT [damnit]!! Things usually change.

JaySee

Oh mate !! Thanks for the reminder.

I sometimes forget what the morning used to be like when I was drinking.

It is soooooo nice to wake up today, rather than come around, it is so nice to be sober, rather than be still drunk from the night before, it is so nice to have peace in my head and heart rather than that constant barage of anxiety and dread.

Today it is good to be me, when I was drinking, it wasn't.

Stay sober today, I'm sure going to give it my all, it is so much better than what it was like before.

much love
JC

2tough2die

I had the most bizarre drinking dream just the other night. I dreamt I was at a bar and *not drinking*, really it was not what I expected.

As for passing the time, I do go to meetings when I dont know what to do with myself. But there are a million ways to keep busy on weekends, I was just too bombed to notice, much less read, the weekend section of the local paper. LOL

And there have been times where I just hung out here on SR, reading and learning and posting. Those were by far not the worst weekend nights I've ever spent

echeevo72

I have noticed a huge difference in the way I sleep since I quit that sounds very much like what many of you have described. I often have dreams where I give in and have a beer and feel very guilty in the dream and wake up sometimes and think I have done it and am relieved to realize it was a dream and that I don't have a hangover.

Good question about filling the time. The person that suggested making a list of things you need to do around the house is right on. That is what I have done and I have been totally amazed at how much energy I have now. I have tackled some really tough projects because I have the time now that I am not drinking. It's as simple as that. It really is scary to think about how much energy I used to put into drinking and how drinking completely killed my energy the next day. I always felt very guilty on a Sunday having to spend the entire day in bed with a cold compress on my head and lots of ginger ale trying to get over another terrible hangover. Today I started cleaning out and rearranging my basement -- a daunting project that I have put off for months. I didn't finish, but I made excellent progress and am really glad I didn't waste the entire day nursing a hangover -- such a waste of time.