I think at a month or two sober, PAWS isn't necessarily raising its ugly head. From what I recall, PAWS can kick in after a few months sober and for any doubters out there it can be a very real physical and mental gig.
For me it included ringing ears, a pins-and-needles feeling persistent throughout the day on my scalp, muscle spasms and twitches, shaking hands. Those were all very real physical symptoms I had after six months sober and they didn't begin to diminish until after a year of sobriety.
And then you can add in slammed-to-the-mat depression, anxiety, cognitive failure -- like not being able to read a sentence or follow a news broadcast -- and repetitive thoughts, like getting a song heard at the convenience store stuck in my head for hours, only to be replaced by the very next tune heard...
...call it brain damage, call it PAWS, there is a lot to be said about the brain rewiring after a few years or few decades of drinking and drugging.
PAWS is a very real phenomena, and not just from my experience but from my trolling through medical journals, etc. It's something that can be diagnosed after six months of sobriety and can rear its head throughout the first couple of years. I can recall at two years sober having some fleeting symptoms return.
I think there's something to be said for some AA old timers who bite their tongue and don't tell newcomers that it takes about five years of sobriety to beat this thing. I'm at three years and I believe it. That's not to discourage newcomers. Hell, I wouldn't wish my first year of sobriety on my worst enemy, but you really got to give this time thing what it needs. Time. The sober kind. The grab the edge of the mattress and don't drink or drug no matter what variety. It does get better. But if you were an alcoholic and a benzo addict like I was, there's a whole lot of suck coming. That's why I needed a fellowship of like-minded and like-experienced others to get me through. And that prayer thing, too.