Thank you for sharing about your drunk dream. I do believe they will go away. Now at 32 years sober, I have not had one since I was 13 years sober. It was very scary and included my last three bottles of booze, trying to drink them in the secrecy of the bath room. At the time I was in a stressful work situation. It was work intervention which originally got me into sobriety. I never made the connection that depression was playing with my sobriety, although I have been treated for it in the past.

I quickly read your blog and I would like to share with you my own sobriety nightmares. I had a bit of a problem with alcohol at a pretty young age - but eventually got to the point where I can take it or leave it. HOWEVER, the first time that I tried crank - I went and bought my first quarter (gram). That led to a four year addiction that took my children through a roller coaster ride that I will never forgive myself for. I did not lose everything I had worked for - but I was well on my way to doing so.

That has been 19 1/2 years ago. On June 8, 2010 I will have 20 years of sobriety. But every now and again - I have a dream about the very thing that sent me to rehab: CHASING THAT DRUG!!! I wake up sweating, panting and thinking “What the hell am I doing this for?”.

I will tell you - I am so, so happy when I figure out that I am dreaming. And very, very thankful to God that I went to rehab. I am even thankful for the nightmare that reminds me that I was once a druggie and that it would not take much to put me back there. So I am vigilent to never go near the stuff or around people that do the drug - speed is my weakness and I am mindful of that weakness.

to understand the dreams themselves look at the day before the dream. alcohol might be about making time for loose behavior where you aren’t working or concentrating. like at work, if you should be working yet you spend the day surfing the web or letting your mind wander, this could cause a dream with alcohol as a symbol.

the symbolism of glasses of wine is probably about conversations. it suggests a social setting. maybe the dream is about feeling ashamed of yourself because you engaged in a conversation where you let yourself go too much.

dreams are not literal and having strong emotions about the images in your dreams can cloud your understanding of the symbolic meaning and actual cause of the dream.

I realize that slips and even major relapse is part of the disease of alcoholism. What I am curious about is how many times do people go into residential treatment facilities before they finally get sober. Personally, I have been through several inpatient & outpatient programs, attended 3 different types of 12 step programs, gone through therapy and see a psychiatrist. The longest I have gone is 2 years. What I’ve discovered is that I am not alone. Many people that I spoke to have had similar experiences. It is not unusual for first timers to be in the minority at treatment facilities. I’d like to know what other people have experienced on their path to sobriety. Thank you in advance.

I realize that slips and even major relapse is part of the disease of alcoholism. What I am curious about is how many times do people go into residential treatment facilities before they finally get sober. Personally, I have been through several inpatient & outpatient programs, attended 3 different types of 12 step programs, gone through therapy and see a psychiatrist. The longest I have gone is 2 years. What I’ve discovered is that I am not alone. Many people that I spoke to have had similar experiences. It is not unusual for first timers to be in the minority at treatment facilities. I’d like to know what other people have experienced on their path to sobriety. Thank you in advance.
BTW I love your blog!