Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

After finding the courage to quit the substance that has brought a certain amount of grief to your life, it’s possible that you’ll experience a group of symptoms referred to Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). Seven to fourteen days after beginning abstinence and the recovery from alcohol and drugs, symptoms may emerge as your brain begins to repair the damage that substance abuse has caused. These symptoms will usually last from six to eighteen months after quitting. Possible symptoms include:

• Inability to think clearly – Difficulty with cause and effect reasoning; racing or repetitive thoughts; impaired concentration and attention span and rigid thinking or confusion may be a problem.
• Short-term memory problems – These are the most noted symptom and can make learning new things more difficult. Recently acquired information may be quickly forgotten. Recovery could be affected because memories of the damage that the substance abuse caused could slip away.
• Emotional overreaction or numbness - Acute sensitivity to your feelings, or the reverse, feeling shut down. Guilt, shame, and other difficult emotions. Swings of emotions such as overreaction or numbness might even lead the people who are close to you think that you might have relapsed.
• Sleep Problems – Vivid dreams, or nightmares; startling or upsetting drug dreams; insomnia or difficulty sleeping; or sleeping in late.
• Physical Coordination Problems – Often experienced with severe PAWS symptoms.
• Stress – Greatly affecting the recovering individual is stress. Stress increases all of the PAWS symptoms, so the key is to keep stress under control.

It’s important that recovering individuals are aware of these symptoms, and how they can affect their emotional health, interactions with family and friends, functioning effectively on the job, and the potential for a lapse. PAWS symptoms can last while the brain heals the damage to nerves and cells. The worst PAWS symptoms generally peak between the third and sixth month after abstinence begins. Experiencing PAWS symptoms and the stress of coping without chemicals can make early recovery difficult. That is why the relapse rate is so high during the first ninety days of recovery. Gradually over time the symptoms reduce in severity and frequency.

Fortunately, the brain dysfunction is primarily reversible given abstinence, nutrition, stress management, personal growth, and time. You can return to health if you work with your body, mind and emotions during the healing process. Below are item that can help during recovery:

• Eat Well – A balanced diet, avoiding or reducing the intake of refined sugar, nicotine, and caffeine: all of which are stress producing and increase chances of lapse.
• Multi-Vitamins – Focus on the B complex, which is stress reducing.
• Sleep – Get consistent quality sleep for 8-10 hours daily.
• Exercise – Both aerobic and resistance training can dramatically increase your sense of well-being and reduce stress.
• Self Acceptance – Change can be difficult and it is completely normal to experience PAWS. Allow it to happen and remember it doesn’t last forever.

Finally, make an effort to include trusted family and friends in your recovery process: their support can help. It sounds tough, but PAWS can be managed with self-awareness and skills which you can learn.

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome