Early Sobriety is Hard: Really Weird Dreams
 

So I worked out twice yesterday (Day One): weights in the afternoon, and cardio in the evening. Ate Chinese and went to bed about 9:30 p.m. I slept 4 straight hours, but then woke up with a bit of a jolt. Heart pounding, light cold sweat. Then I kept falling asleep, then having a weird dream (almost instantly) a waking with a jolt.

Anxiety is pretty bad today. I hope that some good exercise again today, and of course, staying away from alcohol, I'll sleep a little better tonight. I really need to -- business trip tomorrow.

Has anyone else experienced similar type dreams? I can imagine that my neurotransmitters are out of whack, and my brain is overactive right now. We'll see.....

Yes! Last night infact, and I am at 49 days.
The anxiety the first week was unbareable.
It gets better, but if you have anxiety outside of being drunk, it remains to some extent. I had a night terror after about 2 hours of sleep. Was up for 2 hrs. Then slept in hour long snippets with anxiety waking me up. It's brutal. But it will be less the further along you go. Try to get some rest as you can.
GL,
Jules

Thanks Jules. I have always had anxiety issues. I started having panic attacks in college. And I kept having them through my 30s. Stopped having them in my 40s. About 8 years ago was a low point in my life. It was the height of the Great Recession; I was afraid for my job, and that if I lost it (the company was deeply in debt, and I was afraid it was about to go out of business) I would not be able find another. MY marriage was in a shambles, as my then-wife was having an affair.

I got some great counseling, and it really helped. I also quit drinking for a long time. Then, I resumed regular drinking for no particular reason.

My drinking got out of hand in the last two years, the last year and a half especially. My social drinking got heavy, anxiety ramped up, and then I was drinking to deal with the anxiety and everything just snowballed. Before I knew it I was drinking a bottle of wine before 10 a.m. just to get through the morning.

Went through detox day after Christmas and was sober for a while. I have been battling with relapses over the last many months. I am not drinking like I used to. But it is enough to make my anxiety worse, and making it hard to get through the day without a drink.

I guess I just need to weather the Storm. But I really am tired of running this treadmill. I want my life back.

I feel for you, Horn. I've had bad panic attacks over the years too, starting in college where I could barely make it through class. I've had my periodic times of sobriety followed by major life stressors and relapses. I know one thing tho -- drinking makes anxiety way worse, even if it provides a temp relief initially. I'm sure you know this too. We have similar stories in many ways. I'm with you on this. As a wise man once said, if you're going through hell, keep going 😀 I have faith that it will get better.

i wouldn't expect any miracles at 24 hours give or take sober. however, you CAN expect miracles if you stay sober 24 hours a time for the rest of your life!

Horn95 so much of what you say resonates with me .
The strange instant dreams almost as if the dream has started before im asleep .
I read into this and its one of many strange symptoms of anxiety but it does settle down in time . Try not to worry about it which only fuels the fire .
I,m going through a stage where my anxiety symptoms have went off the scale again but seeking help . Try not to think too much about your sleep just let it happen . I am on day 9 sober after a few months of on and off binges .
I hope you improve and let it take as long as it takes , go with the feeling without fear and you will get there .

Horn, in the beginning stages I had the same thing. I would try to go to sleep...sometimes I would for a while, other times I would nod off for 10 or 20 mins and then jerk awake violently. It was really scary because I didn't know if it was going to stop!
I reasoned that it was my nervous system trying to deal with all of the poison in my body and mind. And I was right. After a couple of nights it was gone. Hang in their champ, it'll pass. What helped me was listening to some relaxing music at a low volume after drinking some nice warm tea (non-caffeinated!)

Let us know how it goes.