I’m on day 8. The last few nights my nightmares have all revolved around relapsing and having “just a drink or two” at a social function. I wake up feeling the physical-emotional hangover and hating myself for “failing” until I can fully wake up and realize I didn’t.
Do these stop? Was there anything that helped?
They do become way less frequent, it is totally normal. Your addiction is fighting in your brain to hold on, and these dreams are a part of the actual brain withdrawals. It can last for a couple months until your brain heals enough to resume to normal function without substance. I still get one occasionally but it doesn’t feel like the ones in very early sobriety that I remember being so vivid and real. I’d suggest going to some recovery meetings and sharing these experiences with others. We’ve all had some form of the same experience.
I'm near 9 months and still have them regularly!
I also had my therapist recommend super brain foods to promote brain healing, i took fish oil and drank a ton of water to try to lessen the time to heal the brain
Mine took a couple years to go away. I feel like it’s your subconscious reminding you of the terrible things that can happen when you drink. I could also be full of it, but either way take solace in the fact that they are just dreams and they’ll eventually fade.
I have them at times. They chill me to the core.
These become less frequent, for sure. I agree they are unsettling, but the way I looked at it was to be thankful that I'm dreaming and being able to remember the dreams at all. When we are heavy drinkers, we actually pass out and don't really get any "REM" sleep. This is why I felt tired all the time when I was drinking. Even though I had a relapse "nightmare" when I realized that it was only a dream, I turned my attention and gratitude to having a good night's rest and waking up not hungover
Yes, they absolutely stop, but everyone is different. If WE didn't have normal dreams, then none of us would ever stay. Patience friend; eight days is great!
Congrats on 8 days…. Hang in there. The dreams will subside, use them to understand just how strong addiction is (not indicating you don’t already understand) Our own dreams used against us! Insane.
Just keep at it. The nightmares go away. Soon you'll be sleeping like a baby. You can do it. 
14 months sober and I had one a couple weeks ago. I just laid there in bed trying to figure out if it was a dream or a memory from the night before. Shook me a little.
I have them still but not as frequent. I also sometimes have the dreams of smoking pot. There's nothing like waking up thinking you can't pass a drug test. It is natural when the habit or addiction that was such a big part of your life for a prolonged period of time. Just keep up the good work one day at a time, and don't be afraid to reach out. We've all been there.
