I have been AF for a month now. Doing great...except for the really vivid dreams and nightmares. Anyone else have this? I didn't seem to dream much at all, before I quit (was drinking about a half bottle of wine each night, a bottle on a big night out. Didn't think it was enough to have this sort of fallout. ....
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Congrats on the month. My dreams are out of control now and I am on day 37 ish.
I never used to dream as I always used to black out. 95% of the dream are not bad but 100% of them are very strange
I think it is commonIf drinking is interfering with your work, you're probably a heavy drinker. If work is interfering with your drinking, you're probably an alcoholic. -
Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
My dreams are totally vivid and weird when I'm not drinking, I don't mind it's better than being unconscious xxAF since 2nd Oct 2012
Day by day
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
I got very interested in dreams and started studying Robert Mosses work. Every time I'd stop drinking I'd start dreaming and much of the time in the early weeks the dreams where about drinking. The drinking dreams stopped after 5 or 6 weeks and now I have alot of adventure dreams about other cultures and people I don't know?.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WNkt1-j3Lg[/video]]Dreams of Healing - YouTubeSober since Sept. 24th 2012
This time 4 SURE!
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f19/newbies-nest-3162-30074.html Newbies Nest
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f11/tool-box-27556.html Tool Box
https://www.mywayout.org/community/f19/what-plan-how-do-i-get-one-68554.html How to get a sobriety planComment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Thanks for that. I'm not dreaming about drinking - mostly scary earthquake dreams, other frightening stuff. I wonder if the alcohol sort of numbed me to all that, for a while, and now it's all coming out again. I really hope it's temporary. It's not nice
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
I had weird dreams for a while, too. I got interested in dreams a bit, especially when I started having nightmares about zombies chasing me (I watched Season 2 of The Walking Dead in 4 days).
I started being able to do lucid dreaming, where you can control the dream. For instance, a zombie would be chasing me and in the dream I would sort of realize I was dreaming and I would tell myself that I had a weapon and then the weapon would be in my hand. Then I would turn around and use it to kill the zombie. It was pretty cool, but I haven't done it in a while.Well it's all right now. I've learned my lesson well. You see you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself.Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Quake I am no expert, but I know a lot of your drinking had to do with your fear of earthquakes. Your drinking didn't deal with the fear, it only covered it up. So the fear and the trauma is still in your body. Now you need to find a way to deal with that. I think you said at one time that you were diagnosed with PTSD. Is that correct? Would you be able to find a trauma therapist?Quakegirl;1461346 wrote: Thanks for that. I'm not dreaming about drinking - mostly scary earthquake dreams, other frightening stuff. I wonder if the alcohol sort of numbed me to all that, for a while, and now it's all coming out again. I really hope it's temporary. It's not nice
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Hi, Siren and Flyaway, and thanks. Yeah, I have a trauma therapist now. Second session today. She said that the reason I am having the nightmares and also flashbacks again, is that I have been suppressing the thoughts and feelings the rest of the time by escaping into drinking. Or dissociating. Either or - apparently pretty much the same effect. I am not present. So I am going to work with her for a bit. Another really good reason to stay on the AF path.Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
By the third night of no drinking my dreams take over my whole night, but they are fun and interesting. Plus I can remember them well the next morning and don't have a headache so I can reflect on what I was dreaming and enjoy my time interpreting.Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Hi Quakegirl,
I had pretty awful dreams when I quit, too. What your therapist told you makes total sense to me.
Dreams are your brain's way of processing the day. If the person is drinking, that function gets suppressed. When the drinking stops, there has to be a period of readjustment.
So it will get better, definitely. I found taking melatonin helped me lots in the first couple of months of my quit. It helped me feel calmer and stopped my legs from feeling jerky.
All the best
GemFree since 26th February 2012Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Dreams........I guess I have a lot of suppressed fears and anxiety........I keep coming back to unfinished business in my life. I keep dreaming about going to school and not attending a few classes all year.( Then wondering if I'll ever graduate.) Also when I'm about to get out of the Army, I do something stupid and re-enlist !!! Why ! Ha! Oh well their out there.....you'll get some whoppers. Just take it as it comes. Tony
?Be who you are and say what you feel because
those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.?
Dr. SeussComment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
I think it's your mind processing a whole lot of stuff (data) that is long overdue for processing! I used to have really weird dreams when i was drunk and whilst my dreams are still active, at least i can remember then in the morning! You may even have some good ones soon, so don't give up!
Congratulations 30 days, that is a great acheivement
One day at a time.. Sometimes it's one minute or one second at a time.. Most important thing is to look ahead and don't look back!Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Congrats on the 30 days. My family doc explained that alcohol depresses brain activity, so without booze to slow your brain down it goes into hyperdrive. It also accounts for the insomnia, and the DTs in the most extreme manifestations.Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
I managed to get a decent night's sleep without my prescription sleep meds last night. I've always been an insomniac and light sleeper, so I remember waking up more than when I take my meds, but I do remember dreaming (some of them were quite bizarre) and I didn't have any problems falling back asleep, even after having to get up to let the dog out and after being woken up by a landscaping crew that shows up in my neighborhood once a week literally at the crack of dawn.Comment
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Nightmares/vivid dreams after quitting
Cool! Glad to hear that you found a trauma therapist.Quakegirl;1461889 wrote: Hi, Siren and Flyaway, and thanks. Yeah, I have a trauma therapist now. Second session today. She said that the reason I am having the nightmares and also flashbacks again, is that I have been suppressing the thoughts and feelings the rest of the time by escaping into drinking. Or dissociating. Either or - apparently pretty much the same effect. I am not present. So I am going to work with her for a bit. Another really good reason to stay on the AF path.
I am reading a book right now called Trauma Releasing Exercises by Dr. David Berceli
and also a couple books about Somatic Experiencing. I wonder if your therapist is familiar with SE? I'm trying to find an SE therapist for myself.
Suppressed trauma and emotion will eventually manifest itself in a physical way such as headaches, muscle tension, back pain, etc. Dr. Peter Levine who writes about Somatic Experiencing believes that many people diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can benefit from SE.
How did your second appointment with your therapist go?Comment
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