Early Sobriety Using Dreams
Are you one year or less into your sobriety journey? You may find yourself experiencing very vivid using dreams. In these dreams, typically you engage in use with your substance of choice in familiar ways.
Clients often report that the dreams are so vivid, they wake up feeling like they have actually used. I once had a client share that after a using dream, she woke up and checked her cell phone’s call log to make sure she hadn’t called her former drug dealer, because the dream felt so real she was positive she had relapsed. It is possible to feel physical discomfort, like shakiness or nausea, after these dreams. Some clients even report feeling phantom drug use symptoms after using dreams, like waking up with a hangover if your substance of choice is alcohol.
These dreams tend to occur more frequently in the beginning of early recovery. Early recovery is considered the first 12 months of total sobriety. However, it is possible to have a using dream at any time. In early recovery, your brain is truly rewiring and rerouting itself to respond to all stimuli without a substance as the response. This is a delicate process.
Psychologists are not completely sure why using dreams occur, as dream theory itself is still not agreed upon. There are multiple theories for using dreams (not an exhaustive list):
A natural part of the withdrawal process that your brain and body are going through in early recovery
A more meaningful or symbolic means of processing the experiences you had while using
A true Freudian reflection of your innermost desires and urges
Many substances suppress REM sleep and therefore you may not have been dreaming while you were in active use, but you are able to dream now
People often dream about their worst and deepest fears coming true; it is a way for our brains to process and theorize how these scenarios may play out and what we would do about them if they did happen
Now that we understand using dreams a bit better, what can be done about them? In all fairness, it is quite difficult to control our own dreams. However, it is not impossible. Let’s explore some options:
Some medications are prescribed specifically for nightmare disorder. If you feel your using dreams are entering the realm of disturbing and chronic nightmares, discuss with your psychiatrist.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and a technique called image rehearsal are both used to treat distressing dreams. Discuss these with your trusted therapist.
If you feel comfortable, share these dream experiences with those in your peer recovery support groups. You will likely hear that you are not alone, and you will get peer advice.
Share with your sponsor or any accountability partners you may have to engage your support network and prevent an actual relapse.
Write it down in a dream journal so you can process it later when you have calmed down. You may be able to get a sense of meaning or gain insight from the dream.
When you wake up, engage in brief reality checking and grounding to orient yourself back to the here & now. Know that you have not relapsed and it was truly just a dream!
Using dreams are an absolutely normal and expected part of early recovery. If you are having them, it does not mean you have done something wrong or that you truly want to use. It means your brain is doing the work to recover from a substance, and that work is difficult!
