24 Jun 2026
Dream
Last night I had a using dream. In my dream, I relapsed, and started using with people that I considered and still consider friends of mine to this day. I went back to using and I went back to using with them.
Because of the shame around my substance use and the relapse, I hid it from Travis, my husband. And even though hiding my substance use, in my waking life, is one of the worst mistakes I have ever made, I did it all again. I wanted to hide my experiences, to hide my sadness, to hide my shame, to protect Travis and myself from the repercussions of my decision to use again, after all these years of sobriety. I went through extraordinary measures to prevent Travis from finding out about my relapse, but ultimately he did found out and he was completely devastated by it. He was so hurt by the fact I didn't feel comfortable telling him that I had relapsed.
Travis was livid. He was so angry, he refused to even look at me, let alone talk to me for the rest of the entirety of the dream. I remember doing anything and trying everything I could just to get him to talk to me, just to say one thing, anything. It didn't matter what it was, as long as he said something to me, I'd do it.
He never did tell me what he wanted. I knew what it was anyway. He wanted me to have been strong enough to stay sober, to choose him and our lives together, over one single thing, a drug. I couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t do that for him, so he wouldn’t do what I wanted from him. He knew how much it hurt me, that he wouldn’t even look at me, let alone say a single word, and continued to do it. He continued to ignore my mere presence. Honestly, I couldn't blame him. I was just as or more upset with myself than he was with me, but the fact he wouldn't even look at me,stuck with me, and in my head. I ended up having to abandon our marriage and our vows to one another, because I felt that his life would be better without me. That's what we promise, right? We promise to have and to hold, to protect each other, and the only way I could protect him was to leave him. I needed to remove the cancer in his life, and that cancer happened to be me. So, 1 watched him walk away from me, knowing that I would never see him again. And for a brief moment, I felt relief. I was relieved of this weight I had been carrying. He would be happier without me. He would find another love without me. I woke up longing for a hug from him. I just wanted him to hold me. It all felt so real.
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