Sobriety Series: Drinking While Dreaming
I’m sober. Why do I have dreams about drinking alcohol?
If you’re new to Sober Soulful, welcome! The Sobriety Series comes out the first Sunday of every month. It includes a letter with support for quitting a thing (whether substance or behaviour), plus a link-up of provocative listens and reads. Access is a perk for paying subscribers. You can upgrade your subscription for full access here:
Dearest Reader,
Last month, I had dreams about drinking. If you know me, you’ll know that this was quite the surprise. I’m sober, haven’t had an actual drink in more than four and a half years, and don’t crave alcohol (but rather, have a full-on aversion to it).
In these dreams, I accepted a drink without thinking, started sipping, then realized with horror: Oh my god! I’ve broken my sobriety! What the actual fuck was I thinking?!
At least three times this past month, I’ve woken up in a panic.
I’ll share more on what such dreams might mean below, along with why bringing them into the light can be healing.
You’ll also find the September link-up, featuring (always compelling, sometimes provocative) explorations of:
How striving for likable and relatable causes harm
How phone addiction destroys intuition and sex drive
Why America’s youth are unhealthier than ever
Why oversharing online is hard to take back
Remembering what’s natural and what we’ve made up
Returning to faith and prayer, manifestation and magic
And more—including a fantastic talk if you’re chronically online and one of my favorite Substack reads ever