PAWS recovery protocol for friends and family
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,281
PAWS recovery protocol for friends and family
PAWS is Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome
It's typically used in reference to alcoholism and addiction.... I'm using it now in reference to my addictive thinking. I didn't drink or drug, yet I have been extremely consumed by this illness.
Many of the problems associated with early sobriety do not stem directly from drugs and alcohol. Instead, they are associated with physical and psychological changes that occur after the chemicals have left our bodies. When we use, our brains actually undergo physical change to cope with the presence of the drug in our body. When we remove the drugs, our brains then demand more to satisfy the desire caused by the changes. The extreme symptoms that we experience immediately after we stop using are called “acute withdrawal.”
----
My addiction is my husband. I'm currently in No Contact, yet we have a 10 year old son together. I am still in this acute withdrawal stage.
----
Acute withdrawal is not the whole story. Our bodies make initial adjustments to the absence of the drug, and the major symptoms ease up. However, the changes that have occurred in our brains need time to revert back to their original state, to the extent that they ever do. During that period they cause a variety of problems known as Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS).
All of us addicts and alcoholics suffered from damage to our bodies and nervous systems from drug/alcohol use, accidents, and malnutrition. We may also suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hepatitis, and we usually bring to early recovery a broad array of other problems.
Here again... substitute in our own issues into the context of addict/alcoholic and apply these words to ourselves... we may only have some of them, or none, simply take what helps and skip what doesn't apply to yourself.
Recovery causes a great deal of stress. Many addicts and alcoholics can’t learn to manage stress without alcohol or drug use, or do so only after many attempts at sobriety. Our ability to deal with stress depends on our willingness to take care of ourselves and maintain a healthy physical, emotional and spiritual lifestyle. Repairing the damage to our nervous systems can require from six months to two years with a healthy program of recovery. (The time varies greatly, depending on years of use, kinds of drugs and individual body chemistry.) During this period, PAWS is the cause of most relapse. We are well-advised to learn what we can about it.
Symptoms of PAWS
PAWS symptoms reach a peak from three to six months after we get clean. Use of drugs or alcohol, even in small quantities or for a short time, will eliminate much of the improvement gained over that time as it will keep the brain from healing. There are a variety of symptoms. Not everyone will experience all of them. Here are some of the main ones.
Inability to solve problems
Six things contribute to this: trouble thinking clearly, emotional overreaction, memory problems, sleep disturbances, physical coordination problems and difficulty managing stress.
Inability to solve problems leads to lowered self-esteem. We feel embarrassed, incompetent, and “not okay.” Diminished self-esteem and fear of failure lead to living and working problems. These all add to our stress, and the stress further exaggerates the other problems.
Inability to think clearly
Sometimes our head just feels fuzzy because of the changes that occurred in our brains while we were using. Our brain seems to work properly only part of the time. These changes take time to improve. In addiction to PAWS, they are also due to the simple fact that we are trying to process a lot more information than we did before. While using, we mainly thought about getting more, using, and turning off our brains. Now we are considering the myriad things necessary to truly live our lives. To begin with, it can be a bit much.
Inability to concentrate
Abstract reasoning suffers, and we find our minds, like a confused cowboy, jumping on its horse and riding off in all directions. Also related to the reasons above.
Rigid, repetitive thinking
Thoughts go around and around in our heads, and we are unable to put them into useful order. We have not yet developed the ability to channel our thoughts and concentrate on one thing at a time. Talking to someone else about our issues helps, because communicating forces us to organize our thinking.
Memory problems
We may hear something, understand it, and 2 minutes later…it’s gone! This sort of thing complicates our lives in many ways. It upsets supervisors, annoys significant others, and makes us wonder if we’re losing our minds.
With memory problems it is hard to learn new skills and absorb new information. We learn by building on what we have already learned, and memory difficulties can make it very difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Again, these difficulties add to stress, especially if we do not understand what’s happening to us.
Emotional overreaction or numbness *
People with emotional problems in early sobriety tend to over-react. When this overreaction puts more stress on our nervous systems than we can handle, we compensate by “shutting down” our feelings. We become emotionally numb, unable to feel anything. We may swing from one mood to another. These mood swings may baffle us, seeming to come without any reason, and may even be misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder. If we have developed insulin resistance or diabetes as a result of our drugs and drinking, this can become extreme. (See H.A.L.T. below)
Sleep disturbances
Sleep deprivation stresses the body, prevents our minds from working well, and generally exaggerates any other difficulties we may be experiencing. Disturbed sleep is common in recovery. It may last only a short time or a lifetime. Often, this depends on what we consider to be a problem. If we are night owls who used alcohol or pills to get to sleep in the daytime, we may discover that the only solution is to make significant changes in our schedule, and perhaps even in our occupations.
We may experience changes in our sleep patterns, sleeping for long periods at a time, or getting sleepy at different times of the day. Although these may persist, we are usually able to adjust to them. The important thing is to be willing to adjust. We may not be able to keep to our old sleeping habits. It is important that we be consistent in our attempts to make changes. It takes about a week to adjust our sleeping, so keeping a weekend schedule that mirrors our weekday pattern is critical to those adjustments.
Stress
Stress is the natural reaction of our bodies to situations that may our subconscious identifies as threatening or requiring immediate action. Unresolved problems and issues also contribute, if we dwell on them. Stress comes in all flavors: arguments with family, interactions with co-workers and employers, physically demanding situations, and even pleasant things, like preparations for a wedding, anticipation of a hot date, and so forth.
Managing stress is the most difficult part of post acute withdrawal, and of early recovery in general. Early on, we may not be able to distinguish between low and high stress situations, because for so many years we managed stress of all kinds by using mood-altering substances.
Worst of all, the other PAWS symptoms become worse when we are under stress, and this causes the stress to increase! There is a direct relationship between elevated stress and the severity of PAWS. Each amplifies the other.
At times of low stress, the symptoms of post acute withdrawal may lessen or even go away completely. When we are well-rested, relaxed, eating properly and getting along well with others, we seem to be fine. It is easy to see how we can get careless at these times, and many a relapse has occurred when things seemed to be going just great. Some of our triggers work best in such situations.
Tools of recovery include good nutrition, exercise and, of course, abstinence from our addictions.
Relaxation Equals Stress Reduction
Playing and relaxation are absolutely essential to successful recovery.
Playing is not so much what we do as how we do it. Playing is having fun, laughing, and being childlike and free. Playing is not working at preparing for a marathon, participating in competitive sports, or taking chess lessons. Of the 37 definitions I quickly scanned, perhaps the one that best describes it is “participating in an activity for amusement.” If we have to work at it—it isn’t play.
Other ways of relaxing include bubble baths, our walk (by ourselves or with a friend), a massage, a swim, and watching children and animals at play. Whatever we do, if we don’t feel better after doing it, it was the wrong choice.
Meditation
Meditation is part of the 11th Step: “Sought, through prayer and meditation, to improve our conscious contact with god as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Regardless of how we feel about god, we need to meditate. We need to learn to calm our minds and allow our subconscious to help us solve problems by serving up whatever it may have processed during the rest of the day. The only way to do that is to meditate in one form or another.
Think that’s too hard to learn? You already do it. Daydreaming is meditation. All we need to do is apply the skills we already know, whenever we want to.
One of the best relaxation exercises is also one the simplest. We find a comfortable sitting position. We move our bodies until our weight is centered, so that we can nearly go limp without changing position. We begin counting our breaths in our mind. We count up to ten, and then start over. We think only about breathing. In comes the fresh air and we…relax…and breathe the tension out. If other thoughts come in, we don’t fight them, we just recognize that they are there, and go back to counting breaths, always silently.
This is one of the oldest and most-used relaxation techniques in the world. It goes back at least 3500 years. We can do it for five minutes, then ten, working up to thirty minutes or more. It might be a good idea to set an alarm, in case we fall asleep sitting up. It happens.
Spirituality
Spirituality is an active relationship with a power greater than us, which gives our lives meaning and purpose. When we work a spiritual program, we consciously try to become a part of something bigger, greater and more powerful than we are, whether that be a 12-step group, our family, other humans generally, or that “god as we understood him.”
Trust in a higher power gives us a peace of mind and serenity that comes from awareness that there is something that is not restricted by our own weaknesses and limitations. Through spiritual development, we develop new confidence in our own abilities and develop a sense of hope. Through a spiritual program we can reach toward the future with hope and a positive attitude.
Spiritual discipline is uncomfortable for many recovering people.
We have lived lives of immediate gratification, and discipline is the reverse of that. Many of us have trouble with the concept of a higher power, as well. We may have been brought up as atheists or agnostics. Perhaps the god of our childhood was a vengeful god whom we cannot even begin to contemplate in the light of some of our past behavior.
This is why we say that our higher power can be god, as we understand god, or our recovery group, or the great outdoors — whatever. Recognizing a higher power is simply admitting that we aren’t perfect and don’t know everything. We let all those grandiose feelings go, substituting a bit of humility instead, and becoming willing to listen to the ideas and advice of others. In a sense, it is not so much recognizing the presence of a god as it is the realization that we aren’t one.
https://whatmesober.com/post-acute-w...hat-to-expect/
It's typically used in reference to alcoholism and addiction.... I'm using it now in reference to my addictive thinking. I didn't drink or drug, yet I have been extremely consumed by this illness.
Many of the problems associated with early sobriety do not stem directly from drugs and alcohol. Instead, they are associated with physical and psychological changes that occur after the chemicals have left our bodies. When we use, our brains actually undergo physical change to cope with the presence of the drug in our body. When we remove the drugs, our brains then demand more to satisfy the desire caused by the changes. The extreme symptoms that we experience immediately after we stop using are called “acute withdrawal.”
----
My addiction is my husband. I'm currently in No Contact, yet we have a 10 year old son together. I am still in this acute withdrawal stage.
----
Acute withdrawal is not the whole story. Our bodies make initial adjustments to the absence of the drug, and the major symptoms ease up. However, the changes that have occurred in our brains need time to revert back to their original state, to the extent that they ever do. During that period they cause a variety of problems known as Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS).
All of us addicts and alcoholics suffered from damage to our bodies and nervous systems from drug/alcohol use, accidents, and malnutrition. We may also suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hepatitis, and we usually bring to early recovery a broad array of other problems.
Here again... substitute in our own issues into the context of addict/alcoholic and apply these words to ourselves... we may only have some of them, or none, simply take what helps and skip what doesn't apply to yourself.
Recovery causes a great deal of stress. Many addicts and alcoholics can’t learn to manage stress without alcohol or drug use, or do so only after many attempts at sobriety. Our ability to deal with stress depends on our willingness to take care of ourselves and maintain a healthy physical, emotional and spiritual lifestyle. Repairing the damage to our nervous systems can require from six months to two years with a healthy program of recovery. (The time varies greatly, depending on years of use, kinds of drugs and individual body chemistry.) During this period, PAWS is the cause of most relapse. We are well-advised to learn what we can about it.
Symptoms of PAWS
PAWS symptoms reach a peak from three to six months after we get clean. Use of drugs or alcohol, even in small quantities or for a short time, will eliminate much of the improvement gained over that time as it will keep the brain from healing. There are a variety of symptoms. Not everyone will experience all of them. Here are some of the main ones.
Inability to solve problems
Six things contribute to this: trouble thinking clearly, emotional overreaction, memory problems, sleep disturbances, physical coordination problems and difficulty managing stress.
Inability to solve problems leads to lowered self-esteem. We feel embarrassed, incompetent, and “not okay.” Diminished self-esteem and fear of failure lead to living and working problems. These all add to our stress, and the stress further exaggerates the other problems.
Inability to think clearly
Sometimes our head just feels fuzzy because of the changes that occurred in our brains while we were using. Our brain seems to work properly only part of the time. These changes take time to improve. In addiction to PAWS, they are also due to the simple fact that we are trying to process a lot more information than we did before. While using, we mainly thought about getting more, using, and turning off our brains. Now we are considering the myriad things necessary to truly live our lives. To begin with, it can be a bit much.
Inability to concentrate
Abstract reasoning suffers, and we find our minds, like a confused cowboy, jumping on its horse and riding off in all directions. Also related to the reasons above.
Rigid, repetitive thinking
Thoughts go around and around in our heads, and we are unable to put them into useful order. We have not yet developed the ability to channel our thoughts and concentrate on one thing at a time. Talking to someone else about our issues helps, because communicating forces us to organize our thinking.
Memory problems
We may hear something, understand it, and 2 minutes later…it’s gone! This sort of thing complicates our lives in many ways. It upsets supervisors, annoys significant others, and makes us wonder if we’re losing our minds.
With memory problems it is hard to learn new skills and absorb new information. We learn by building on what we have already learned, and memory difficulties can make it very difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Again, these difficulties add to stress, especially if we do not understand what’s happening to us.
Emotional overreaction or numbness *
People with emotional problems in early sobriety tend to over-react. When this overreaction puts more stress on our nervous systems than we can handle, we compensate by “shutting down” our feelings. We become emotionally numb, unable to feel anything. We may swing from one mood to another. These mood swings may baffle us, seeming to come without any reason, and may even be misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder. If we have developed insulin resistance or diabetes as a result of our drugs and drinking, this can become extreme. (See H.A.L.T. below)
Sleep disturbances
Sleep deprivation stresses the body, prevents our minds from working well, and generally exaggerates any other difficulties we may be experiencing. Disturbed sleep is common in recovery. It may last only a short time or a lifetime. Often, this depends on what we consider to be a problem. If we are night owls who used alcohol or pills to get to sleep in the daytime, we may discover that the only solution is to make significant changes in our schedule, and perhaps even in our occupations.
We may experience changes in our sleep patterns, sleeping for long periods at a time, or getting sleepy at different times of the day. Although these may persist, we are usually able to adjust to them. The important thing is to be willing to adjust. We may not be able to keep to our old sleeping habits. It is important that we be consistent in our attempts to make changes. It takes about a week to adjust our sleeping, so keeping a weekend schedule that mirrors our weekday pattern is critical to those adjustments.
Stress
Stress is the natural reaction of our bodies to situations that may our subconscious identifies as threatening or requiring immediate action. Unresolved problems and issues also contribute, if we dwell on them. Stress comes in all flavors: arguments with family, interactions with co-workers and employers, physically demanding situations, and even pleasant things, like preparations for a wedding, anticipation of a hot date, and so forth.
Managing stress is the most difficult part of post acute withdrawal, and of early recovery in general. Early on, we may not be able to distinguish between low and high stress situations, because for so many years we managed stress of all kinds by using mood-altering substances.
Worst of all, the other PAWS symptoms become worse when we are under stress, and this causes the stress to increase! There is a direct relationship between elevated stress and the severity of PAWS. Each amplifies the other.
At times of low stress, the symptoms of post acute withdrawal may lessen or even go away completely. When we are well-rested, relaxed, eating properly and getting along well with others, we seem to be fine. It is easy to see how we can get careless at these times, and many a relapse has occurred when things seemed to be going just great. Some of our triggers work best in such situations.
Tools of recovery include good nutrition, exercise and, of course, abstinence from our addictions.
Relaxation Equals Stress Reduction
Playing and relaxation are absolutely essential to successful recovery.
Playing is not so much what we do as how we do it. Playing is having fun, laughing, and being childlike and free. Playing is not working at preparing for a marathon, participating in competitive sports, or taking chess lessons. Of the 37 definitions I quickly scanned, perhaps the one that best describes it is “participating in an activity for amusement.” If we have to work at it—it isn’t play.
Other ways of relaxing include bubble baths, our walk (by ourselves or with a friend), a massage, a swim, and watching children and animals at play. Whatever we do, if we don’t feel better after doing it, it was the wrong choice.
Meditation
Meditation is part of the 11th Step: “Sought, through prayer and meditation, to improve our conscious contact with god as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Regardless of how we feel about god, we need to meditate. We need to learn to calm our minds and allow our subconscious to help us solve problems by serving up whatever it may have processed during the rest of the day. The only way to do that is to meditate in one form or another.
Think that’s too hard to learn? You already do it. Daydreaming is meditation. All we need to do is apply the skills we already know, whenever we want to.
One of the best relaxation exercises is also one the simplest. We find a comfortable sitting position. We move our bodies until our weight is centered, so that we can nearly go limp without changing position. We begin counting our breaths in our mind. We count up to ten, and then start over. We think only about breathing. In comes the fresh air and we…relax…and breathe the tension out. If other thoughts come in, we don’t fight them, we just recognize that they are there, and go back to counting breaths, always silently.
This is one of the oldest and most-used relaxation techniques in the world. It goes back at least 3500 years. We can do it for five minutes, then ten, working up to thirty minutes or more. It might be a good idea to set an alarm, in case we fall asleep sitting up. It happens.
Spirituality
Spirituality is an active relationship with a power greater than us, which gives our lives meaning and purpose. When we work a spiritual program, we consciously try to become a part of something bigger, greater and more powerful than we are, whether that be a 12-step group, our family, other humans generally, or that “god as we understood him.”
Trust in a higher power gives us a peace of mind and serenity that comes from awareness that there is something that is not restricted by our own weaknesses and limitations. Through spiritual development, we develop new confidence in our own abilities and develop a sense of hope. Through a spiritual program we can reach toward the future with hope and a positive attitude.
Spiritual discipline is uncomfortable for many recovering people.
We have lived lives of immediate gratification, and discipline is the reverse of that. Many of us have trouble with the concept of a higher power, as well. We may have been brought up as atheists or agnostics. Perhaps the god of our childhood was a vengeful god whom we cannot even begin to contemplate in the light of some of our past behavior.
This is why we say that our higher power can be god, as we understand god, or our recovery group, or the great outdoors — whatever. Recognizing a higher power is simply admitting that we aren’t perfect and don’t know everything. We let all those grandiose feelings go, substituting a bit of humility instead, and becoming willing to listen to the ideas and advice of others. In a sense, it is not so much recognizing the presence of a god as it is the realization that we aren’t one.
https://whatmesober.com/post-acute-w...hat-to-expect/
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,281
Thinking of myself and my recovery in terms of PAWS is helping to put into perspective what I'm going through.
My brain, my thought processes, my body, my spirit... every bit of me has been affected by this family disease of alcoholism.
I am healing. Every time in the past I've gone back to my husband. This is the longest I've given time to my own healing and I'm now seeing things from a much different point of view.
My brain, my thought processes, my body, my spirit... every bit of me has been affected by this family disease of alcoholism.
I am healing. Every time in the past I've gone back to my husband. This is the longest I've given time to my own healing and I'm now seeing things from a much different point of view.
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