Question

Aliciababy · Member

Question

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Dry drunks, as I experienced them, are basically fits of rage over ordinary situations in life that we have no control over, such as automobile traffic. lol

jj · MIP Old Timer

IMO (in my opinion) they are usually cranky ballbusters "who have a better way" or "know the right way" to stay sober... folks who don't need AA bullshit or 'change.'

dry drunks are the alcoholics who are not drinking and who are not in recovery.... or a 12 step program of recovery. they are the white knucklers who can do it "all by themselves" and will make everyone around them as miserable as they are.

i am not sure what the scientific explanation is, but i have been a dry drunk, so i have told you about me.
jj/sheila

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

JJ I think the poster is asking about having a "Dry Drunk" not meeting one lol

jj · MIP Old Timer

well, by God, if she meets one she will know what one is!
;)
lol

Rob84 · MIP Old Timer

For me, it's a return to obsessive thinking, the fear, anger and self seeking. The obsessive thinking takes our minds off all other things and give us a "high" of sorts, or at least a escape from reality.

A sign I need to get into spirtuality, my program and working with others. Below is a pretty good solution based article on the matter.

Hope this can help.

Dry Drunk Syndrome
Dry drunk syndrome is a term that refers to someone who is not drinking or using drugs but they have already relapsed emotionally.

If someone is a dry drunk it basically refers to the fact that they are not actively working on their recovery, and therefore they might just as well be drinking although they have not technically done so yet.

So basically:

Dry drunk = relapse mode.

It is often characterized as being restless, irritable, and discontent. Anyone who is in this state of mind is headed for trouble unless they can somehow pull themselves out of it before they pick up a drink.

Identifying dry drunk syndrome
It all starts with self awareness. This is critical because if you simply storm through your life and your recovery without paying close attention to your own emotional state then chances are good that you will at some point be knocked off balance and thus risk relapse. So we have to pay attention to our own emotional state and occasionally take action to correct it.

How quickly do we always recognize when we are getting restless, irritable, and discontent? You might think that we can identify these states instantly but they can creep up on us sometimes. Therefore we must make a conscious decision to recognize these emotional states and catch ourselves when we think we are going there. Now there are some things you can do once you realize you are sliding into this emotional state but if you never even realize it in the first place then these things will do you no good.

So you have to be aware of when things start sliding out of control. How can you practice this? By simply paying attention. Become aware of it and watch it happen in yourself. Notice it. This is a huge part of the solution and in fact it is almost the entire solution. Simply become more self aware and tune in to your own emotional state. Recognize where you are at throughout the day.

Strategies for overcoming dry drunk syndrome
1) Self awareness - Like I mentioned above, simply increasing your self awareness is a huge part of this process and can work wonders. The more mindful you can become of your own emotional state, the more protected you will become against becoming overly off balance.

2) Networking - If you are restless, irritable, and discontent, find someone who is even worse off than you are and then help them through it. This might sound ridiculous but it absolutely works. One of the best ways to do this is to regularly work with newcomers in recovery. When we reach out and help others we actually help ourselves. When we reach out to others and calm them down emotionally we are actually calming ourselves. When we teach others the way to emotional balance we teach ourselves.

When networking with others in recovery becomes a habit then this creates a safety net. This is why 12 step programs recommend daily meetings. If you are plugged in to this type of networking every single day then it can help protect you from becoming too far off in your emotional balance.

3) Action based recovery one of the worst ways to fight dry drunk syndrome is to do nothing. If you dont do anything to try and actively correct your emotional state then you run the risk of letting it progress into a true relapse. Essentially a dry drunk has already relapsed emotionally and is one step away from the bottle. So the key is to pull yourself out of the emotional relapse. How can this happen?

Action. It is purposeful action that will make a difference in this case. Dont think that you can sit around and wait for the solution to come to you. It wont. You have to get out there and create your recovery.

Remember that it is our natural state for addicts and alcoholics to be using drugs and alcohol. This is our normal behavior and we will return to it eventually unless we take action to do something else.

For me, that something else that we need to do in recovery is to create a meaningful and purposeful life of sobriety. This doesnt happen while sitting on a couch. You have to have vision and you have to chase your goals and you have to get out there and do stuff.

Find your passion and take action.

Action items what you can do:
1) Tune in to your emotional state so that you are aware if you are acquiring dry drunk syndrome.

2) Make a habit - of helping others in recovery as protection against relapse.

3) Focus on action in recovery dont do nothing

Rainspa · Senior Member

There is an old AA presentation that illustrated the first four steps. It was at one time very popular. Popular enough that to meet the need for this visual aid talk, Hazelden published it. It talks about "Dry Drunks" and being "on a dry drunk" in the fourth step.

"eight of our most common character defects. They contrubute largely to all mental drunkenness in AA. They all belong in out invetories because of their harmful effect upon our lives." --Stools and Bottles, Hazelden 1970

The idea was that these character defects are just as intoxicating as "wet" alcohol, and a "dry" drunk preceeds and will lead to a "wet" drunk.

After the above quote, for each of these defects, they have a couple of paragraphs on one page and on the facing page a picture of a bottle with the name, subtitle and description, just as if they were a wet bottle of alcohol. The character defects are:

RESENTMENT
DISHONESTY
CRITICISM
SELF-PITY
INTOLERANCE
JEALOUSY
ANGER
FEAR

They also list how to get rid of or overcome these defects.

Jerry F · MIP Old Timer

For me "dry drunks" are a replay of the real thing without the alcohol and can include
stumbling, slurred speech, loss of mental fitness, emotional confusion and the like
without the alcohol. Mostly for me it's my subconscious drunk having a go at it while
my conscious person is out of the room. Play back. Lots of friends, family and
spouses get to react and ask, "have you been drinking again?"...

happycamper · MIP Old Timer

I have been in and allowed myself to be a dry drunk many times. It is my own fault, and I know it. It is when Im doing what I want to do instead of what I know is the right thing to do , which would be to work the program of AA like its meant to be worked. Following and working and applying the steps to me.

bikerbill · MIP Old Timer

A dry drunk, for example, would be following the same thought processes and behaviours that you used to follow when drinking.

Like being cut up by a lorry, driving like a fool to get alongside and ranting and raving at the driver, offering them out, then flooring it and driving up a perfectly empty road. Then you get to the services and sit there and ask yourself just WTF was that all about? Yep, that was me last week.

I know the better reaction would be self preservation - don't drive up the arse of a panic braking artic, don't invite a 250lb knuckle dragger out for a dance, back off and let the crazies get on with it - acceptance - I'm going to be delayed for a short while, Tolerance - not everyone on the road is as selfless as me! Humour - not everyone on the road is as selfless as me!!(or as important either!!!)

So take this mini incident and play it through your whole day - that's a dry drunk!

StPeteDean · MIP Old Timer

Bill that's what I was thinking about, and apparently there are several definitions for dry drunk, as I alluded to ealier, Having one, and being one. Having one is episodic and the other is a transformation or metamorphosis.

Jerry F · MIP Old Timer

LOL Bill and Dean...You guys say it as I love to get it!! Mahalo Nui...or Mucho Gracias
or Thanks Much. smile

leeu · MIP Old Timer

Happy Camper sez "It is my own fault, and I know it. "

That runs counter to our First Step. What we know, scientifically, today, about the diesase of alcoholism includes the phenonena callled the "dry drunk". . JerryF has the closest description of the "dry drunk", which is a physiological brain process that manifests--just like the active disease when we ARE drinking--when we are not drinking (in recovery or not). We don't cause it, can't control it (though we can absulutely practice all our tools to keep it in remission and at bay) and we can't cure it. This is a no-fault disease and blaming ourselves is just the disease's sneaky way of fooling us into thinking that we are EVER powerful over it, which we are not!

Dry drunks emerging in people who ARE in recovery are sometimes related to stress, inadequate high-quality nutrition, insufficient rest, and other lowered elements fo self-care, including keeping up with our daily reprieve based on our spiritual condition. Increased anger, anxiety, feeling foul, REALLY wanting a cigarette if you are an ex-smoker!! , losing some physical balance, and so on as many have already described, are good clues.

Aliciababy · Member

This is great.... Thank you, so much.. I am now educated and I have an idea of what to look for. Thanks again...

lol.... on the road rage

-- Edited by Aliciababy on Monday 8th of November 2010 02:59:54 PM

Rainspa · Senior Member

Step 4 should help in clearing that up.

LinBaba · MIP Old Timer

Aliciababy wrote:

I've been sober almost 60 days and people talk about Dry drunks...

What are the warning signs.... I am confused on this... Thanks

Post Acute Withdrawl (PAW)

(click link above for complete explanation)

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.

TYPES OF PAW SYMPTOMS

1.Inability to think clearly

2.Memory problems

3.Emotional overreactions or numbness

4.Sleep disturbances

5.Physical coordination problems

6.Stress sensitivity