When I initially got sober I suffered from mood swings, I couldn't sleep, I would get obsessive, I would cry, I fell in love at least 18 times...the first week...in short I was a mess.

Now I was going to meetings and talking to others but they would say things like "this is normal" and "no one ever died from lack of sleep" and people with substantial time seemed to minimize my suffering, ...in many cases they didn't seem to understand, and when I tried to explain it, I would get the "do you think you are terminally unique?" speech we have all heard so many times.

I would approach old-timers and tell them I thought I suffered from clinical depression, and they would explain that I was feeling emotions normally for the first time in my life, now they were old-timers, so I didn't argue, but that wasn't the case, I mean I was helpless under the onslaught of my emotions, they would grab me by the throat and have their way with me, I was helpless, surely that wasn't normal, was it?

What do we mean when we talk about someone who is dry? Who is not drinking at the moment, but not addressing the underlying issues? Why do they seem so drama filled and irritable?

I have also find in my own sobriety through the years I have gone through rough, or "low" spots, where once again I thought I suffered from clinical depression, most I either toughed it out, or made a nuisance of myself on the phone and at meetings, two I drank around, but it helped me find out out about this, that it is 'real" and not "all in my head"

There are some very nuts and bolts things you can do to address PAWS, including going to AA meetings, getting a sponsor, and working the steps (sounds silly but it works) also a proper diet, plenty of rest and exercise and getting some sunshine all help (I know I know it sounds silly, but I promise, they work) truly it's amazing what a good nights sleep, some exercise, and good food for our minds and bodies will do for our serenity

PAWS

It actually wasn't until I had been sober for a few years, quite a few years before I stumbled on this information, I did some googling and most of the information all seems to be cut copy pasted from other work, I don't know who initially coined the term nor identified it, thus am unable to give proper credit, these were the two clearest definitions I could find:

http://www.interventionctr.com/paws.htm

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome

What is PAWS?
Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) is a set of impairments that occur immediately after withdrawal from alcohol or other substances. The condition lasts from six to eighteen months after the last use and is marked by a fluctuating but incrementally improving course. It has importance to the recovering addict's ability to benefit from recovery, treatment, function effectively on the job, interact with family and friends, and regain emotional health.

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) has three major areas of impact upon the individual:

Cognitive: PAWS creates many difficulties with cognitive processes. Racing or recycling thoughts are often noted and found to be highly distracting by the individual. Thoughts may be scattered and even a lack of coherence at times may be present. Others may notice a certain rigidity of thinking and lack of required flexibility. In connection with this, abstract and conceptual thought may be negatively impacted. Cause and effect reasoning suffers as well in the early stages of recovery. Themes and threads connecting disparate events may not be recognized as easily. Concentration and attention span may be impaired. Confusion may be present. Prioritization by the individual will likely be a difficulty for six to twelve months.

Emotional: PAWS tends to create in individuals either a dearth or excess of emotion. The individual may be hyper reactive emotionally. Even small events of little consequence may loom large in his/her mind and create strong and overly valent (not being able to bond thoughts together) reactions. This may lead others to suspect a relapse or create social withdrawal. Shame emotions may be noted. Conversely, The individual may notice a numbing of emotions. The inability to feel impairs proper emotional bonding with friends and family during the early recovery process. It also impairs the recovery process itself as the individual struggles with trying to feel the resentments, anger, guilt, shame and other emotions common in recovery.

Memory: Memory is frequently the most noted PAWS problem. Recently learned information (within the last 30 minutes) may be quickly forgotten. New skills or routines may be learned and then not assimilated as before the drinking began. Information may be retained for a short time (days/weeks) and then lost, requiring the individual to learn it anew. As recovery requires inspection of the past, the individual may discover that developmental and childhood memories are totally absent or only remembered in a spotty fashion.

All of the above PAWS issues can obviously affect the early recovering person. The recognition of this syndrome by the recovering person as well as by friends, family and colleagues is important. The individual will note that the severity of PAWS decreases as time progresses and that PAWS is stress sensitive. Lowering of stress is helpful. Healthy habits such as limiting caffeine, getting 8-10 hours of sleep, eating three balanced meals and exercising three-four times weekly usually prove beneficial. Meditation, or relaxation exercises can be invaluable once properly learned. Obviously AA involvement with a sensitive and experienced sponsor is key to navigating through PAWS.

Most individuals find the first six months to be the most PAWS impacted with decreasing severity over the next six-month period. By the end of one year, most persons have returned to their respective levels of functioning.

Post Acute Withdrawl (PAW)

Exerpted From "Staying Sober" By: Terence T. Gorski

with additions by: Lee Jamison

When most people think about alcoholism or drug addiction they think only of the alcohol/drug-based symptoms and forget about the sobriety-based symptoms. Yet it is the sobriety-based symptoms, especially post acute withdrawal, that make sobriety so difficult. The presence of brain dysfunction has been documented in 75-95% of the recovering alcoholics/addicts tested. Recent research indicates that the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal associated with alcohol/drug-related damage to the brain may contribute to many cases of relapse.

Post-acute withdrawal means symptoms that occur after acute withdrawal. Post means after. And syndrome means a group of symptoms.

Syndrome: A group of symptoms

Post: After

Post Acute Withdrawal: Symptoms that occur after acute withdrawal.

Post-acute withdrawal is a group of symptoms of addictive disease that occur as a result of abstinence from addictive chemicals. In the alcoholic/addict these symptoms appear seven to fourteen days into abstinence, after stabilization from the acute withdrawal.

Post-acute withdrawal is a bio-psycho-social syndrome. It results from the combination of damage to the nervous system caused by alcohol or drugs and the psychosocial stress of coping with life without drugs or alcohol.

Recovery causes a great deal of stress. Many chemically dependent people never learn to manage stress without alcohol and drug use. The stress aggravates the brain dysfunction and makes the symptoms worse. The severity of PAW depends upon two things: the severity of the brain dysfunction caused by the addiction and the amount of psychosocial stress experienced in recovery.

The symptoms of PAW typically grow to peak intensity over three to six months after abstinence begins. The damage is usually reversible, meaning the major symptoms go away in time if proper treatment is received. So there is no need to fear. With proper treatment and effective sober living, it is possible to learn to live normally in spite of the impairments. But the adjustment does not occur rapidly. Recovery from the nervous system damage usually required from six to 24 months with the assistance of a healthy recovery program. Recent research is showing that for some recovering people the symptoms of PAW often occur at regular "moon cycle" intervals and without apparent outside stressors. Often those 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 1 & 2-year sobriety dates seem to be "triggering" times for PAW symptoms to increase. People recovering from long term opiate and stimulant use often have PAW symptoms for no apparent reason for up to 10 years after they have stopped using their drug of choice. Often PAW symptoms appear to come and go without apparent reason and without any specific pattern. Individuals who intend to have consistent long-term recovery must learn to recognize these symptoms and learn how to manage them.

SYMPTOMS OF POST ACUTE WITHDRAWAL

How do you know if you have PAW? The most identifiable characteristic is the inability to solve usually simple problems. There are six major types of PAW symptoms that contribute to this They are the inability to think clearly, memory problems, emotional overreactions and numbness, sleep disturbances, physical coordination problems, and general problems in managing stress. The inability to solve usually simple problems because of any or all of these symptoms leads to diminished self-esteem. A person often feels incompetent, embarrassed, and not okay about themselves. Diminished self-esteem and the fear of failure interfere with productive and challenging living. Lets take a look at some of the PAW symptoms that contribute to the inability to solve usually simple problems.