alwayssober1

Hi guys,

I'm coming up to 10 months sober and I think PAWS is hitting hard again.... feeling really strange?

I wake up and feel like I'm in a dream all day long, feel like I'm disconnected from everything?...depressed, irritable, oversleeping etc.

Even when I'm walking the dog out in the countryside, in the fresh air, the past 3 days I've just been totally zoned out, like I'm walking around in a constant daydream? Away with the fairies...lol.

Is this PAWS? Anyone have similar symptoms around this time?

Andante

Yes. I experienced this sense of disconnection as one of my PAWS symptoms, and it eventually got better.

PAWS was so frustrating for me because the progression toward getting better wasn’t linear. Bad periods followed good periods, even when the good periods were long enough that I began to think I was finally over it.

One of the most helpful things I heard was a reminder that the condition is self-limiting: I might have ups and downs, and the downs might be frustrating, but the overall progression WILL be towards improvement — as long as I don’t drink.

If I drink even once, all bets are off.

At 19 months, I still have issues, and the bad periods are still frustrating, but the overall trend (even if it’s imperceptible at times) has been for the severity and duration of symptoms to lessen.

Hang in there!

sugarbear1

wait....things get Really Clear soon....

alwayssober1

Thank you so much for your replies! Its really reassuring to hear its part of recovery.

I had this derealization symptom around July time quite badly, I thought I was losing my mind! But it eventually disappeared. I've suffered pretty badly with PAWS symptoms the past 10 months, I struggle to read without losing concentration, struggle to think deeply with clarity, get irritable, moody, really frustrated with my poor cognition but no way am I going back to drinking, if it takes 2 years to feel normal again than so be it! I'm in this for the long haul!

GracieLou

I got the same feeling from time to time. I started taking B12 and started on a low dose anti-depressant and I am feeling much better.

That disconnect feeling is bothersome to say the least. It felt like I was in another dimension or another phase/plane than every one else was.

It can be very upsetting and hard to get out of.

alwayssober1

Thanks for your reply GracieLou, yeah its really scary, its like a really bad trip! Like you've lost your sanity!

I'll look into B vitamins, maybe might try and eat more fortified cereals.

Soberwolf

I still have bad days at 15 months but im sober and i realise its all part of my sobriety

10 months is so awesome btw

alwayssober1

Thanks soberwolf, just got to keep going!

15 months is very cool!

SonomaGal

I definitely have PAWS related stuff that comes and goes. I don't know if it's the same for you, but often when the PAWS goes away it seems like my brain was making improvements during that time.

10 months is awesome, cant you just see a year on the horizon?

courage2

I had those kinds of mental symptoms a lot in 2013 between about 6 months to 1 year sober. (The first six months it was nothing BUT mental fog; after that is when I started to notice PAWS-type cycles.) I suggest that if your symptoms continue to bother you extremely after 1 year and especially if you consider drinking to relieve them, you should see a psychiatrist or specialist in alcoholism.

hayley86

Hi, congrats on ten months! I had similar symptoms to what you describe (poor concentration, mental fog, feeling disconnected) on and off for pretty much the whole of the first year. Things improved slowly for me, i figured that i drank excessively for so long that it was always going to take me a long time to feel better. My symptoms did pass and i remember feeling significantly better around the 18 month mark. Maybe check with your doctor if you're concerned. Hope you feel better soon. Keep up the great work!

RecklessEric

There is the possibility that we make some of these things worse by getting anxious or stressing about them.
I DO NOT say that to, in any way, diminish what you're going through.
I had a really bad time coming off Benzos. Horrible withdrawal symptoms.
My CBT therapist helped me to try not fight against the symptoms and that, of course, they would improve.
Once I accepted that, and didn't battle, I felt better.

I wish you well, what you're feeling is very uncomfortable.

alwayssober1

Wow thank you for all your helpful replies! That's why I find this place so invaluable, your experiences are very reassuring.

Good news is I'm feeling better today, the paws symptoms seem to be easing up. If it happens again I'll just accept it, go with the flow, I'm heading in the right direction anyway!