I haven’t drank for 4.5 years and I’m so grateful with where my life is in recovery. That said I still have dreams where I choose to drink. My life then falls apart and I wake up saying a prayer of gratitude that it was just a dream after all.
Usually I’ll go months without having one of these dreams. Other times they happen almost weekly. Is there anything here for me to look into? Is this an unavoidable part of recovery?
Thanks everyone.
Same here. Sober for 4 yrs and 2 months. I occasionally have these dreams too. They arent as jarring as they were early on, so at least im not waking up trying to determine if it was real or not.
I see them as reminders of what could be, thats all.
I dont know that they’ll ever go away, maybe they will. Maybe the last one we had will be it, only time will twll. Until then, enjoy your sobriety!
5+ here, got one a week or so ago and was after seeing a movie at night that damn near every scene had someone drinking.
The dang memory is part of my disease & it’ll always be there. I choose today to not give those memories any real power, and simply move along. Happy & healthy as I should be.
Having them regularly as well, probably since my two year milestone is coming up. Also still a lot of processing of the things that happened in decades of addiction and the things before that. Always glad when I realize it was just a dream/nightmare. Discussed this lately in a meeting, it seems they are also common still with people with longer clean times. I try to embrace them, since for me they are an indication the processor is working and they entail growth for me 
Also 4.5 years sober. Great thread. I often have drinking dreams, they are what they are. Feelings of immense guilt quickly followed by realising I’m dreaming as I’d never fuck this up. Bam! I wake up 
In my dreams today i dont drink its taken a few decades but it does stop , but if you wake up sober then thats ok
I’m the last 3+ months I’ve had a few dreams where I “accidentally” drank & I woke up so mad at myself- weird !
OMG that happened to me the other night.
What has really thrown off is waking up and having that feeling like I did when I would be black out drunk ‘Where am I? Did I really do that?’
Grateful they have just been dreams but wow it throws you for a loop.
I have had these dreams so many times and I just assume they are premonitions of my failure. I’m starting at day 1 over again. The longest I have had since I started was almost a year clean and I was so ready to be that person celebrating many more years, but I screwed it up and I have panic attacks of the dreams in which I ruin my life in the same way I have in the past. Thank you for sharing, I miss my sober self and I am hoping this is the last time for real.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. This can be the last time you have to go through it if you want it to be. You got this. Find a new sober friend it will increase your chances of success.
Had a dream two days ago that I drank. In the dream I didn’t remember getting on a plane, renting a car, and driving the rental to my parents house. Nothing good happened. I was sad I had fallen off the wagon somehow. Then I woke up and in reality I’m 5+ years alcohol free. What a relief!!
Had the worst drinking dream yet. Went to Costco with friends (we had a meetup last weekend so guess they are in my mind) and their families. In the dream one friend’s brother in law was a overweight Ethan Slater (Ariana Grande’s new squeeze, guess I saw an article recently). Costco had a bar (?) and I got hammered and slept with overweight Ethan Slater in front of my daughter. It looks funny when you type it out but the guilt, and the anger and confusion from my daughter was really upsetting.
This description did make me chuckle!
Only a few weeks fully sober here, but 9 months of trying and being predominantly sober. I wish I could bottle that feeling of relief/happiness when I wake from a drinking/drunk dream and realise that it was just a dream! Is the most powerful motivator.
When I was drinking, I either did not dream or could not remember dreaming. Damn, often I could not remember being awake so no surprise there.
I remember having this discussion with people a few years back! It always makes me smile when I see it come up again because it was the first real realisation I had that I was sober! I was pretty freaked out by it the first few times it happened but it only ever happened when I was white knuckling and my sobriety was being tested. This time round, thanks to he whose large and in charge, it hasn’t happened.
At least your subconscious is aware that alcohol brings nothing but pain and suffering.