FormerWineGirl

Thought I was finished with PAWS. Although I know it can strike anytime up to two years, at 14.5 months sober it has been quite a while since I have had an episode. It came out of nowhere, although I have been dealing with quite a bit of stress lately. The AV is trying to whisper in my ear, but I am pushing it away. Just have to wait it out, I guess. At least I know it is tempoary.

doggonecarl

Stress doesn't help, that's for sure. I have over 60 months, and when things got rough this past month, my AV started up. Just have to cope with the stress and it will pass.

CelticZebra

I have been having episodes of overactive AV during high periods of stress... I remind myself I don't drink, ever and try to do something absorbing which helps sometimes. Wish I could get the hang of this relaxation thing *sigh*

Driving my wagon of hope through beautiful views on my road to myself

Andante

Congrats on 14.5 months!

I can relate to your PAWS frustration. At around 33 months, I'm still not entirely free of symptoms myself.

Sounds like you have it sorted well enough, and realize it's only temporary. If you continue on course and don't drink, the episodes should gradually become fewer and less severe. Mine certainly have! Not that I don't still have a frustratingly bad day or series of days now and then (and stress is certainly a factor), but when it happens, I try to remind myself that the overall trend is for things to get better.

FormerWineGirl

I had been awhile, so this one took me by suprise. I'm about 4 days into this episode, so hopefully it will disappear soon. Amazing how one could even think about wanting the very substance that got them into this situation to start with! BTW Andante, GREAT job on 33 months!

Andante

Yeah, it's actually pretty amusing how the addicted part of the brain can ignore even the starkest cause-and-effect relationship (taking a drink would not only put me back on the short road to ruination, but I'd have to go through an even worse PAWS rigamarole -- if I survived!) and turn in into, "Yada, yada, yada, whatever, screw it, let's party!"

The good news is that along with the PAWS symptoms, the "addictive voice" becomes fainter and less persuasive with time... at this point for me it's never more than a brief, distant twinge, easily shrugged off with a flex of my nicely toned sober muscles... nothing like the intensive workouts required in the early days.

Berrybean

Maybe have a look at your sobriety plan and check that you have still been working on all areas of it. I know that if I let things slip then I stop feeling the benefits.