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Paws I feel like such a noob, but can someone explain to me what "PAWS" is? I've asked Siri, so I know what the term means...but like specifically what "should" I be looking out for? Long term sickness? Cravings? I'm just having trouble finding what the heck it really means. I'm on day 179 of my sobriety and haven't really noticed any of this. Maybe I'm one of the "lucky" ones, but I find that hard to believe based on my journey. If there is already a thread explaining this, I apologize, and please direct me that way. |
I think it's going to vary and some people have no problems long-term. Count yourself lucky! This is a great article that is often linked here: https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/ Don't borrow trouble. :wink3: |
Lots of discussion on PAWS, I'll let others who have experienced it chime in. I'm on my first, longest sobriety stretch as well (10 months) and I never had it. Consider us both lucky then. And congrats on 179, awesome stuff. |
PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome) is just a catch-all term for a collection of withdrawal-like symptoms which persist or recur beyond the normal period for acute withdrawal. Not everyone experiences it. If you're 6 months in and haven't noticed anything, then it's probably safe to say you have nothing to worry about, except perhaps a case of self-induced PAWS caused by researching it too much! :lmao There's one go-to article regarding PAWS that's often linked. While it doesn't fit my personal experience of PAWS all that well, it covers the essentials: https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/ Oops, I see the article was already linked while I was laboriously typing out my post. Oh well! Well done on your sober time! |
Good question, I don't know what it is either, and felt a bit of a plum asking 🙏💖 |
Originally Posted by lessgravity
(Post 7128205)
Lots of discussion on PAWS, I'll let others who have experienced it chime in. I'm on my first, longest sobriety stretch as well (10 months) and I never had it. Consider us both lucky then. And congrats on 179, awesome stuff. |
Originally Posted by Andante
(Post 7128206)
PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome) is just a catch-all term for a collection of withdrawal-like symptoms which persist or recur beyond the normal period for acute withdrawal. Not everyone experiences it. If you're 6 months in and haven't noticed anything, then it's probably safe to say you have nothing to worry about, except perhaps a case of self-induced PAWS caused by researching it too much! :lmao There's one go-to article regarding PAWS that's often linked. While it doesn't fit my personal experience of PAWS all that well, it covers the essentials: https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/ Oops, I see the article was already linked while I was laboriously typing out my post. Oh well! Well done on your sober time! |
I suffered from PAWS big time in my journey. Based on what I've read I think I had it bad for several reasons: I had relapsed twice before. I quit cold turkey this time. This last withdrawal likely had me close to death. I'm talking full on DTs, seizures, visual/auditory/tactile hallucinations. I first learned about PAWS from a google search. At 10 months of sobriety life was going so much better for me, I was happy, and one morning while driving to work I started sobbing in the car. Seriously I thought I was losing my mind. The depression came in and out in waves but when they struck it was awful. I'm talking crying and borderline suicidal thoughts. The last episode occurred in mid December which is when I opened my account out of desperation. I just celebrated 22 months of sobriety and I think it has finally passed. If you're not experiencing turbulent depression and mood swings in your sobriety consider yourself very lucky. It is terrible. |
Originally Posted by WeThinkNot
(Post 7128281)
I suffered from PAWS big time in my journey. Based on what I've read I think I had it bad for several reasons: I had relapsed twice before. I quit cold turkey this time. This last withdrawal likely had me close to death. I'm talking full on DTs, seizures, visual/auditory/tactile hallucinations. I first learned about PAWS from a google search. At 10 months of sobriety life was going so much better for me, I was happy, and one morning while driving to work I started sobbing in the car. Seriously I thought I was losing my mind. The depression came in and out in waves but when they struck it was awful. I'm talking crying and borderline suicidal thoughts. The last episode occurred in mid December which is when I opened my account out of desperation. I just celebrated 22 months of sobriety and I think it has finally passed. If you're not experiencing turbulent depression and mood swings in your sobriety consider yourself very lucky. It is terrible. |
Originally Posted by WhoDeyPI
(Post 7128327)
Wow, thanks for talking about it. That's intense, and I do feel very fortunate. My first week or so of sobriety I had the cold sweats and mild shakes....but nothing since then. I have feelings of depression at times, but I've always dealt with depression my entire life. Can you imagine that? I went from never happy but never depressed to being happy and making big improvements in my life and depressed at the same time. No wonder I was losing my mind. I had other physiological symptoms which I ascribe to PAWS because I never had them before I quit drinking and they have since disappeared. Things like sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction (no joke). I chalk it up to my brain needing time to do a full system reboot. |
Unfortunately, I’ve had brushes here with what I’m assuming is paws. First 6 months sober were great! After the 6 month mark, I started getting random dizziness and sleeping a lot more from time to time. which in turn causes paranoia and anxiety. So yeah, I don’t know if I am actually losing my mind🙃 or just read too much on paws and manifesting “symptoms” or what! I had so much energy in the beginning months of sobriety, but now have some fatigue, but know that the “pink cloud” has lifted, I’m just trying to maneuver through life sober which has been a learning experience. I’m sure random twinges and tiredness are just regular parts of life, I numbed natural feelings for so long that I’m not entirely sure what is “normal” or abnormal anymore. Paws symptoms are so vast that essentially any ailment you might have could be a symptom. My take is, these symptoms may be pars, may be depression, may be anxiety, or may just be parts of life. Who knows? But what I do know is that every day sober is an extra day of healing, and I will gladly take some rough moments as I know they will pass, in exchange for lifelong sobriety. |
Originally Posted by WeThinkNot
(Post 7128349)
I had made a comment in another thread that I'll repeat here. As a kid I was never happy on the inside. Deep down I knew that something was missing and that I felt "different". However because that was my default setting I never suffered from depression. After working my program I learned what it meant to be happy inside for the first time in my life. But because of the PAWS I was suffering from periodic depression. Can you imagine that? I went from never happy but never depressed to being happy and making big improvements in my life and depressed at the same time. No wonder I was losing my mind. I had other physiological symptoms which I ascribe to PAWS because I never had them before I quit drinking and they have since disappeared. Things like sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction (no joke). I chalk it up to my brain needing time to do a full system reboot. |
Originally Posted by AmbyMarie
(Post 7128375)
Unfortunately, I’ve had brushes here with what I’m assuming is paws. First 6 months sober were great! After the 6 month mark, I started getting random dizziness and sleeping a lot more from time to time. which in turn causes paranoia and anxiety. So yeah, I don’t know if I am actually losing my mind🙃 or just read too much on paws and manifesting “symptoms” or what! I had so much energy in the beginning months of sobriety, but now have some fatigue, but know that the “pink cloud” has lifted, I’m just trying to maneuver through life sober which has been a learning experience. I’m sure random twinges and tiredness are just regular parts of life, I numbed natural feelings for so long that I’m not entirely sure what is “normal” or abnormal anymore. Paws symptoms are so vast that essentially any ailment you might have could be a symptom. My take is, these symptoms may be pars, may be depression, may be anxiety, or may just be parts of life. Who knows? But what I do know is that every day sober is an extra day of healing, and I will gladly take some rough moments as I know they will pass, in exchange for lifelong sobriety. |
Originally Posted by WhoDeyPI
(Post 7128385)
Oh man, now you've got me thinking....my first few weeks sober I was always tired...then after a few more weeks I was full of energy all the time....now....I often fall asleep on my couch watching TV around 7pm. I just wrote it off as being tired from a long day at the office, but maybe it's this PAWS thing. |
Who, Paws is a state of losing my mind. Not sure how far, but it is along the way to institutional insanity. It might be from preexisting conditions or it might be from too many bouts with mind altering substances. I am not sure exactly what it is, but I know that if I ever drink again, I will end up in a worse place next time. I feel like I barely made it out this far, this time. Some folks probably have several more relapses in them, maybe I do, but i don't want to find out that this last relapse was the one the i can't recover from. Education and the desire to stop drinking got me this far. SR saved my wretched soul. I am usually very happy and content. Probably, 90%. I will take it. Thank God. Thanks for the therapy. |
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