Hey there everyone. First time poster. Hope youre all doing well! My reason for writing today is that I quit drinking about two weeks ago and while I probably should go see someone, I don’t have a therapist to ask or talk to about things during this incredibly challenging process. I’ve managed to find constructive replacements for my drinking like exercising or watching new shows on Netflix etc, and I’d say that aside from just missing being fun drunk Connor, it’s starting to get easier as time goes by…except for one thing. Almost every night for the last week I’ve been having these really vivid dreams where I’m at a bar or a party or even just in my house and I order a beer or grab one from the fridge and start drinking again, and even in the dream I feel upset with myself for doing it. Sometimes im dreaming that Im with my drinking buddies, other times Im alone…But whoever Im with, I always dream that I’m ashamed of myself for doing it and like- it’s those dreams where it REALLY feels like real life so to me, I actually think I blew my sobriety and I get so upset that it wakes me up…Like I actually wake up ashamed of myself even though I didn’t actually drink anything…
I hope I’m making sense here and not just babbling. Didn’t know where else to vent. Is anyone else having dreams like this? When does it stop? I’m physically exhausted from being woken up by them…Any advice?
Congrats on 2 weeks!
This is absolutely normal. Unfortunately there is no way to stop them. For me, these things made me stronger. Not that I felt that way when I woke up from them, but after the process of shaking the shame and guilt I had another successful win in my pocket. The frequency of these dreams will decrease over time, and eventually the ones you do have won’t mess with you as much. My dreams lately have been me choosing not to drink.
I know they are hard as hell to deal with. As your sobriety and recovery grow stronger the dreams will stop for the most part. For now, just keep fighting like the warrior you are!
Also, welcome to the playground! Stick around man! There are a ton of great people with wonderful support here!
I have these dreams frequently it does not mess with me tho , I just feel relieved that i didin´t heppen
I’m 2 weeks sober and I’ve had about 3 dreams that I’ve drank and like u I feel gutted bit relieved I haven’t when I wake up…this is the second time I’ve tried to go sober n the first time round I didn’t have them at all oh well as long as we don’t drink it’s alright x
Congrats on your 2 weeks! Lots of threads on here about dreams, some very recent. Yes, it is very common those dreams. Sounds like your psyche is working to remind you of where you are heading in life. 
Oh man, I have the same dreams. Getting fucked at the bar, driving drunk, snorting lines of cocaine. They wake me up. Its exhausting.
my first 2 weeks where the hardest, my body was withdrawing from all the fun and coke I would have and I would sweat excessively in bed and wake up like a hot frying pan. Its completely normal, its your body getting back to the norm. Just drink more water to help with your system regeneration.
Everybody has a come down, some are worse than others. Even more worse if you are coming off of a drug. The dreams seem VERY real. I think this is unique in a way by reminding you of why you don’t want to do it.
These dreams to me, remind me of how low my life was. These dreams I get are very surreal and scary to me, I almost sometimes want to go to a doctor to get something for them but I know I cant, I dont want to be on pills unless I absolutely have to be. Steve-O from jackass is a prime example and is a role model for me. He didn’t take anything but Tylenol for a broken bone and after surgery. I think I would try doing the same. I have a high risk for being addicted. I cant remind my self by taking a prescribed pill of the past I had and how close I was to becoming very addicted to pill popping. Oxy, Xanax, Ecstasy, Perks even Suboxone. I did see someone about my addiction to cocaine and alcohol in detox, we had a 15 minute talk and filled out some forms and what not for the state so they can see the statistics of addiction and what not which i was happy to fill out. They havent seen a coke head in the detox I went to for a long time so they asked me a little more questions than a regular Joe.
Theres plenty of natural ways to let the dreams come down themselves, I would have very real dreams about 3 times a week minimum. I maybe have one every week or so now. Im less than 18 hours away from 30 days sober. It gets better as the time goes by, I can promise you that relapsing or even having a little bit of a drink would make those dreams come back stronger, I was going to go into 2019 sober, lasted 4 days and had some shitty dreams after that day I relapsed. Really makes me not want to do anything anymore that involves alcohol.
Afterall, alcohol IS a drug. You will learn that if you attend AA meetings or NA meetings. We joke about our caffeine usage at NA meetings, but its hell of alot better than anything else as it doesnt have the effects of other things.
Drink lots of water, flush your system out more, start eating healthy, eat a salad a day and take some vitamins to help. All of these things have helped me tremendously. Dont give up!
This is completely normal, I am 18 months sober and still have dreams where I have a drink, and either try to justify it or hide it from my loved ones… Try not to worry too much about it, i have some weird dreams and it doesnt mean anything sinister 
Thank you all for the support.
It makes me slightly nervous to hear that these dreams may last a long time simply because- as I said- they tend to wake me up- and I usually have a hard time getting back to sleep afterwards. Lol its exhausting. But I’ll definitely try drinking more water and just try to ride it out. One thing is for sure that after reading these responses, I’m definitely more confident and convinced that I really want to stay sober this time. 
So again, thank you very much!
Yes i have them as well. Only I wasn’t much of a partier I liked to drink alone and my dreams are more just me yelling at the one’s or me just flipping out. I was pretty good at hiding my drinking. Really makes me see the demons I’ve caused from drinking. Some nights I can’t fall back asleep in fear that the next one will be worse
Thats why I have trouble falling back to sleep after…They always seem to get more vivid and as a result, more upsetting and stressful…
I have two different theories about these dreams. Which, yes was normal for me. 1st) Theory: You brain/subconscious hasn’t quite accepted that conscious you are making life changes. I read an abstract medical paper that described the subconscious makes 1,000 decision; yes or no, to elevate it to your conscious for the final decision by the conscious mind. You can get a grasp of this if you ever driven on a trip, but you don’t remember any of it since your subconscious was basically driving the car.
2nd) theory- When I was doing research about dreams, I came across readings that suggested your brain creates dreams to determine how you would react in a given situation. For example, drinking would cause the conscious mind to be really disappointed in your decision. So, the brain is training the subconscious mind that drinking alcohol is no longer acceptable to conscious mind.
All-in-all, your brain is mapping out that alcohol has consequences and your no longer seeing happiness or rewards from the use of it🤷🏼♂️
That definitely sounds like a pair of great possibilities. I’d like to think it’s the second possibility and that it’s just my brain’s way of getting rid of the habit. 
That’s completely normal. The great part about those dreams is that you get to wake up sober and realize that you’re still on task!
You make total sense to me. The dreams are totally normal. They stop after awhile. If you can’t find AA meetings where you live, there’s online meetings. There’s so much to learn about alcoholism that I didnt want to know about as a drunk. There’s also a ton of literature. I’m finding “This Naked Mind” by Annie Grace really interesting… the science of addiction explains so much of what we go through. Peace and love on your journey, lola
Makes me hate drinking even more I’m such a happier more laid back person. Spend more enjoying life instead of angry trying to sneak in my next drink I made it to 30days about a year ago currently on day one again. Congrats on 2weeks it WILL get better
Not only does it make you feel better to be sober, which is awesome in itself, just knowing that the $150-$200 per week that I was blowing at bars and clubs is now going to start padding my savings and checking accounts. 
haha And don’t worry about starting over man. Everything positive that came from the time you spent sober still means something. You’ll do even better this time for sure!
Lots to learn indeed, which is one of the great things about this forum, it can keep you busy a long time reading all the gems here.
As an old insomniac, if I wake up and just cannot get back to sleep, I get up, have some night time tea and read for little bit. Or I listen to yoga nidra on YouTube (sleep yoga) while lying in bed or a sleep app.
I love these theories! The second one is definately how I feel about a lot of my dreams (drinking or not).
@SirConnorTheGr8, even though I (rarely) still have them they don’t wake me up for more than a second. In the early days I could taste the whiskey and smell it and feel it wash through my blood. I only had the dreams every few weeks, but they would destroy my mental health for most of the day. Now they just fade away like any other dream. My brain doesn’t latch onto them. You will get there, I promise.