croydonlad

I'm now on 15 days of being sober and I was wondering if anyone could give me their experience of sleep and dreams at their 15 day or similar point or after.

Up to about 3 or 4 days after stopping drinking I was sleeping badly and having crazy dreams which is to be expected.

Now, I'm sleeping much better and waking up in the night far less but I have noticed some disturbing dreams over the past couple of nights.

I know everyone gets them whether they drink or not so it could simply be that but I was just wondering how long people had experienced broken sleep and bad dreams after stopping drinking?

lessgravity

I found that sleep becomes something I really look forward to when I'm not drinking. Once passed the bad first few nights, sleep feels good - clean and welcome, instead of totally passed out transitions into panic and shame and pain.

My dreams definitely seem to be more vivid when sober. Which means sometimes they are more disturbing but sometimes they are really nice too. Like you said, sober people have nightmares all the time. What they don't have are those horrible, horrible 3am states of sheer, drunken terror.

Imagine that - enjoying one's dreams! It's almost like being a kid again.

Flying4Life

I have been sober for over a month and I still get the dreams. Actually, the dreams now are much more profound than they were in the first couple of weeks. I think they are mostly about repressed emotions that are finally coming to light in my conscious mind. Sometimes they are really disturbing but I feel like they are a sign that I am becoming well enough to handle the parts of myself and my past that I wasn't equipped to deal with before. It is all just part of the healing process. Hang in there Croy!

As for the sleep aspect, I find sleep much more comforting and refreshing now.

SkyeSea

I'm at 3 weeks and not getting drinking dreams, but things like mice in the house etc (in my dreams I mean, or I'd be legging it up the road, not posting on here)

I quite look forward to my 'adventures' now, but they were a shock to start with x

croydonlad

I don't miss the terrors in the early hours of the morning! Waking up at 3 or 4am feeling awful thinking I'd only have a couple of hours before I needed to be up to get ready for work on a Monday morning after a big weekend binge. Horrible way to live! Don't know why I did it so much!

JadeSatellite

Yes and yes!!!! I am sober 5 days and I can tell you that my dreams have been crazy. I was actually going to start a thread about this exact same phenomena. I don't know if I'd always had crazy dreams that I just didn't remember because I was black out, or if they are starting up crazier because I am drying out from alcohol. One or the other, they are happening! I've had two nightmares, but I've also had dreams where when I woke up, I thought they had happened.

The one last night worried me - I dreamt I was at my favorite bar (which is only a few blocks away from where I live) with a friend from way back in high school. I don't recall drinking in the dream, but we were there playing pool and going out back to smoke (I use an e-cig now but in the dream I smoked a cigarette).

I woke up and thought "Did that actually happen!?". Then I remembered what ACTUALLY happened last night, and realized that no, I just had a really really vivid dream. Crazy!

JadeSatellite

I think this, too! My dreams have been centered around things that worry me, or that frighten me, but the longer I am sober, the more they aren't frightening, and evoke a feeling of "I have to fix this" rather than trying to hide from them.

soberjim

I had dreams up to about 4 weeks out..some dark, but the worse were the drinking dreams which I was glad to wake up from...I am at 10 weeks now and they seem to have tapered off...

croydonlad

I think you are definitely right about this.

A few months ago my dad was in hospital for a few weeks and he almost didn't make it but thankfully he is back home and better now.

There was a period where we almost lost him and, while I didn't drink in the weeks while he was in hospital, I did start again once he was out so that just made me block out processing it and dealing with the stress.

I've had nightmares about him having accidents and stuff over the past couple of nights.