2w ago

Had a dream about drinking alcohol again and feeling like shit. Why is this happening to me? I hate drinking alcohol. I don't know why my dreams keep punishing me.

I blame society for telling me to use drugs. I went along with it to fit in. I don't care about fitting in anymore, but I don't think it was my fault for partaking given the social atmosphere. So why do I have to suffer these dreams that torment me about it? Do I have unresolved trauma related to it or some shit?

PS. I am straight edge now, I haven't used drugs in a long time and don't think about them while I'm awake at all. I prefer to be sober minded. The only part they play in my life is in occasional dreams apparently, which are usually negative and unpleasant.

36 comments

I have a brother in law who is a therapist, and whenever the subject of finding meaning in dreams comes up, his response is basically: we don't know what it means, and it's probably not worth your time to overanalyze it. This is especially true if the dream is a one-off out of the blue. Repetition of the same dream or dream theme might indicate a larger emotional or mental situation, but it might not.

Brains do weird shit when you're not around. Try not to dwell on it.

Dreams about drinking, especially when you dislike alcohol, can symbolize a feeling of being overwhelmed or out of control in your waking life. It might reflect a situation where you feel pressured to engage in something that doesn’t align with your values or that you’re uncomfortable with. The “feeling like crap” afterward could indicate regret, guilt, or dissatisfaction with going along with something you didn’t truly want to do. It may also suggest you’re dealing with stress or emotions that need addressing but you’re unsure how to cope. Have you been facing any situations recently where you felt pushed into something you didn’t want to do?
- That could all be true, but I should clarify when I said I felt like crap I meant physically (mentally as well, sure). As in, how you feel if you're really sick and unwell. Nausea, queaziness, headache, pain, lightheaded, etc.
  
  Maybe your brain gave your body a hangover, I once got sick from reading a very vivid description of how a sinus infection starts. Like reading it convinced my body it was happening. The only sinus infection I have ever had. Or maybe you were already getting sick so your mind associated the feeling with drinking. Mind and body are so connected.
  Hope you are feeling better now.

Might just be a subconscious response to still-active societal social pressures, and your mind reminding you why it's not a good idea. Perhaps on some low level you may still want a certain amount of relation with your peers that's reminiscent of those younger days that you no longer have, but your brain is fighting back to that base instinct.

At a certain point I realized part of my brain is just fucking with me and has been the whole time.

I’ve been off alcohol and other substances for 25 years. I still get those weird dreams about using once in a while. Somehow the subconscious hangs on to some of that good/bad vibe and plays it back during sleep? I’m no specialist, but a drunk who can empathize with you!

The images that you see in dreams are rarely concrete in meaning.
- Unless you're a concrete salesman, of course.
  
  Do Golems Dream of Concrete Sheep?
  I'd totally watch a Blade Runner based on that book instead.
- It's emotions and feelings as well (anxiety, stress, depression, disorientation, nausea, pain, etc) Just saying
  
  You’re kind of just reiterating, non concrete would relate to the subconscious which is the realm of emotions and communicates in forms of imagery/symbolism

I had a dream that bolognese sauce was coming out of every orifice I had and my fingertips
- Oh no, I've discovered a new fetish!
  
  I guess a nightmare can be a fetish

One theory is dreams are you brain doing maintenance on memories. Doing a defrag, cleaning dust, something like that, but we don't really know for sure. You briefly relive those memories. Another part of the brain sees those flashes of memories and tries to make sense of these, like a narrator that forgot the script at home. And that's what you experience as a dream. You just had a strong response to this particular memory.

if not trauma, perhaps shame? subconscious or otherwise. I mean, "torment" is a pretty extreme way to describe it.
it sounds like your discomfort might be beyond the kind of discomfort one gets by simply being under the influence of a substance (though tbh, I can't really relate lol).
unless it's really affecting your life, I wouldn't overthink it too much. Plenty of people have recurring unpleasant dreams/nightmares.
- I should have probably mentioned I have tactile dreaming, meaning I feel physical sensations including pain in dreams, and my main reason why I feel "tormented" (or even tortured) by these dreams is not so much from a psychological or philosophical point of view (although there is that as well), but because in addition to feeling anxious, depressed, confused & disoriented in these dreams, which are all unpleasant experiences for me, I also feel "physically" unwell, nauseous/ill/sick, and in bodily pain as well in some cases. These are all things I felt when I had these experiences IRL, and yes I am possibly negatively affected more physically by substances than other people, which is part of why I decided it wasn't for me.
  I can deal with it if I have to, but since it happens quite often and makes going to sleep something I dread, I would rather prevent it happening if possible (and maybe that just takes a lot of time, I don't know).
  
  that really sucks. :( it might be worthwhile to talk to a doctor about this then, if you haven't already. Maybe you would benefit from a sleep study.

I don't know why exactly, but I imagine it's similar to recurring nightmares about trauma. I had frequent ones following a horrible work situation. I'm a few years past it, but I still have an occasional one to make sure my sleep is ruined. I think of it as my brain compulsively poking a spot where I hurt over and over to see if it still hurts.

I sometimes get dreams where I drink alcohol. I haven't had a drink in over 5 years. I don't think it has anything to do with wanting to drink, and more a fear of somehow accidentally drinking and fucking up my streak (even though I'm like 99% sure that if that were to happen, I'd not start drinking again).

I wouldn't worry about it too much if it isn't causing you stress or harm while you're awake. I quit smoking several years ago now and in almost every dream I recall having, I just have a cigarette a lot of the time in addition to whatever else is going on. Sometimes it actually enters into the dream, a lot of the time not.
I don't notice any effects from this like increased craving. I think it just means there's a little part of me that misses the heaters; I'd be lying if I said I never thought about having one, you know?

I dream I'm out of alcohol, but when I wake up I see I still have my shit tier booze and beer. Whew

Dont spend too much time on dreams, I find listening to something helps with less dreamful sleep. Its the quiet and pure silence that is the worst by creating a blank canvas for your sleeping brain to run amok
Do you feel like you still crave it even tho you're straight-edged now?
- No, I don't crave it, it's an unpleasant experience for me personally. So I feel like dreaming about it is less about "I miss this feeling" and more like if you had some traumatic thing happen and then kept reliving it in your dreams. Thats what it seems like anyway.

Try herbal teas for sleep. For calmer sleeps. Add Music like ADHD sleep music or something else you like.
I loved to listen to echochamber on Vapor Memory on youtube. It changes pretty strong, to switch dreams and thoughts before they become unpleasant.

You're probably having them because you're obsessing about it enough to make this post. You had a dream about drinking, who gives a shit?
- I have tactile dreaming, meaning I experience physical sensations including pain in dreams, and in dreams like this I feel really physically unwell/nauseous and uncomfortable. It also happens recurringly, not just once, so I'd like to get to the bottom of how to stop it happening.
- Kids these days are so god damned soft, just incredible.
  
  idk... the fact that you were triggered enough by their post to add this comment certainly says a lot about how "soft" you are. :) the most sensitive people I've ever met have been boomers, personally.
  when did OP mention their age, by the way?

Have you tried going to the meetings?
Everyone in the rooms knows about drunk dreams.

36 comments