Day 34
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 400
So, 5 weeks today.
I was reading up on PAWS. I think I might be experiencing it now. Emotional overreactions and numbness seem to be symptoms. I hope this will pass.
Anyway, it is great to be sober. Thanks for all the support.
I was reading up on PAWS. I think I might be experiencing it now. Emotional overreactions and numbness seem to be symptoms. I hope this will pass.
Anyway, it is great to be sober. Thanks for all the support.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,237
I also read about PAWS, Mary and found this page
to share with you and others in early recovery.
https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/ar...rawal-syndrome
Go all the way down to this part for helpful suggestions.
What are some coping strategies for getting through PAWS?
to share with you and others in early recovery.
https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/ar...rawal-syndrome
Go all the way down to this part for helpful suggestions.
What are some coping strategies for getting through PAWS?
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,237
Remember everyones insides are made up differently
and may require extra help from their physicians and
therphysts.
For me, when i got sober, i wasn't placed on any medication
as I didnt need any. So while in rehab, yes, i did go thru mood
swings, but nothing to say i needed any medication.
There were others who were placed on med. if their
doctors issued them. Of course that wasn't my business
and was just happy to focus on learning how to stay sober
each day with the knowledge they were teaching us.
When i returned home, i did get a full physical
and still didnt need any kind of meds which i was
very grateful and thankful for.
Maybe because i was a drinker and not a pill
popper and my stubbornness and fear of addiction
to drugs kept me away from them.
Yes, i had anxiety and healthy fears, but with
raising a family and balancing recovery i plowed
thru day after day to achieve what so many before
me had already achieved.
They do give us the option of seeking medical
help if needed always working closely with your
doctors and letting them know about early recovery
and your addictions so that if anything has to be
administered that it is NOT habit forming and you
dont want anything to interfere with your own
recovery.
Many of my pains i had thru out my life have been
growing pain in life and recovery. But with the tools
of a recovery program to incorporate in my every
day life and in all my affairs, those pains do pass.
There are lots of healthy options that dont require
meds to help these growing pains not be so difficult
to withstand in your life.
Read those options that was suggested on Hazelden
and ask folks here what they do to help ease anxiety
or restlessness, depression, etc.
Try not to stay in your own thinking too long. When
things from my pass pop up, i replace them with the
Serenity Prayer. We cant change the past but we
can learn to live in peace with them. Dont let the
past define who you are today. Okay?
We all have been thru them and have become stronger
because of them. We learn from them so we dont have
to repeat them.
and may require extra help from their physicians and
therphysts.
For me, when i got sober, i wasn't placed on any medication
as I didnt need any. So while in rehab, yes, i did go thru mood
swings, but nothing to say i needed any medication.
There were others who were placed on med. if their
doctors issued them. Of course that wasn't my business
and was just happy to focus on learning how to stay sober
each day with the knowledge they were teaching us.
When i returned home, i did get a full physical
and still didnt need any kind of meds which i was
very grateful and thankful for.
Maybe because i was a drinker and not a pill
popper and my stubbornness and fear of addiction
to drugs kept me away from them.
Yes, i had anxiety and healthy fears, but with
raising a family and balancing recovery i plowed
thru day after day to achieve what so many before
me had already achieved.
They do give us the option of seeking medical
help if needed always working closely with your
doctors and letting them know about early recovery
and your addictions so that if anything has to be
administered that it is NOT habit forming and you
dont want anything to interfere with your own
recovery.
Many of my pains i had thru out my life have been
growing pain in life and recovery. But with the tools
of a recovery program to incorporate in my every
day life and in all my affairs, those pains do pass.
There are lots of healthy options that dont require
meds to help these growing pains not be so difficult
to withstand in your life.
Read those options that was suggested on Hazelden
and ask folks here what they do to help ease anxiety
or restlessness, depression, etc.
Try not to stay in your own thinking too long. When
things from my pass pop up, i replace them with the
Serenity Prayer. We cant change the past but we
can learn to live in peace with them. Dont let the
past define who you are today. Okay?
We all have been thru them and have become stronger
because of them. We learn from them so we dont have
to repeat them.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 400
Thanks Sharon. Some good suggestions on that site.
I don't know about the doctor. I don't think he took alcoholism very seriously. He advised to gradually cut back then eventually stop. I found this impossible to do. Therefore I quit cold turkey and had an unpleasant withdrawal. I really doubt he'd take PAWS seriously either.
Well, I'll just have to be very patient and stay sober
I don't know about the doctor. I don't think he took alcoholism very seriously. He advised to gradually cut back then eventually stop. I found this impossible to do. Therefore I quit cold turkey and had an unpleasant withdrawal. I really doubt he'd take PAWS seriously either.
Well, I'll just have to be very patient and stay sober
Life Goes On
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Posts: 6,069
Originally Posted by Mary88 
Hi Sharon, thanks yes I think mourning the loss of alcohol and then burying it is a very good suggestion. I'm still learning about healthy routines and tools and how to live a happier life.
You have real stuff going on under there; please don't discount how you feel. Just don't drink over it.
O
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,657
Drinking put my emotional growth, cognitive growth to sleep for many years. Upon 'waking up' in sobriety the emotions, or the overthinking- or doing stuff which looks a bit weird- is all part of healing. Such things are necessary and not to be repressed. Talking to professionals helps me, as does SR and journaling.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,237
Substance abuse over the yrs was used to numb
our feelings, our emotions because we didnt want
to face them. It was easier to grab that glass of liquid
poison and drink those worries away.
However, once we wake up the next day, those angry,
lonely feelings or what ever feeling we were having are
right there looking back at us in the mirror.
It is important to learn how to talk about what is bothering
us. Get it out in the open so we can find healthier solutions
to deal with them instead of reaching for alcohol or pills
to keep numbing them or sweeping them under the rug.
I like so many when we began our drinking careers, our
emotional state of mind stopped growing. We stayed in
this immature state acting like children throwing tantrums
when we didnt get our way. Refusing to do what was asked
of us. Being defiant, arrogant, and a boat load of other childish
behaviors.
Many of us emotionally stopped growing for one reason
or another at a young age and now, here we are suppose
to be mature adults with all these emotions that we never
learned how to work thru properly because we drank them
away over the yrs.
Yep, here I am in my early 60's and I'm still learning
how to grow up. It's a work in progress as I continue
to be teachable.
Of course there is a precious child in each of us
and it's okay to embrace that part of us each day
while remembering to be responsible thoughts
and actions.
our feelings, our emotions because we didnt want
to face them. It was easier to grab that glass of liquid
poison and drink those worries away.
However, once we wake up the next day, those angry,
lonely feelings or what ever feeling we were having are
right there looking back at us in the mirror.
It is important to learn how to talk about what is bothering
us. Get it out in the open so we can find healthier solutions
to deal with them instead of reaching for alcohol or pills
to keep numbing them or sweeping them under the rug.
I like so many when we began our drinking careers, our
emotional state of mind stopped growing. We stayed in
this immature state acting like children throwing tantrums
when we didnt get our way. Refusing to do what was asked
of us. Being defiant, arrogant, and a boat load of other childish
behaviors.
Many of us emotionally stopped growing for one reason
or another at a young age and now, here we are suppose
to be mature adults with all these emotions that we never
learned how to work thru properly because we drank them
away over the yrs.
Yep, here I am in my early 60's and I'm still learning
how to grow up.
It's a work in progress as I continueto be teachable.
Of course there is a precious child in each of us
and it's okay to embrace that part of us each day
while remembering to be responsible thoughts
and actions.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 400
Originally Posted by PhoenixJ
Drinking put my emotional growth, cognitive growth to sleep for many years. Upon 'waking up' in sobriety the emotions, or the overthinking- or doing stuff which looks a bit weird- is all part of healing. Such things are necessary and not to be repressed. Talking to professionals helps me, as does SR and journaling.
Thanks Phoenix. Yes, my emotional growth was probably put to sleep for years too. I find SR and journaling good too. I haven't seen a professional yet though. Maybe I will need to if this continues.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 400
Originally Posted by aasharon90
Substance abuse over the yrs was used to numb
our feelings, our emotions because we didnt want
to face them. It was easier to grab that glass of liquid
poison and drink those worries away.
However, once we wake up the next day, those angry,
lonely feelings or what ever feeling we were having are
right there looking back at us in the mirror.
It is important to learn how to talk about what is bothering
us. Get it out in the open so we can find healthier solutions
to deal with them instead of reaching for alcohol or pills
to keep numbing them or sweeping them under the rug.
I like so many when we began our drinking careers, our
emotional state of mind stopped growing. We stayed in
this immature state acting like children throwing tantrums
when we didnt get our way. Refusing to do what was asked
of us. Being defiant, arrogant, and a boat load of other childish
behaviors.
Many of us emotionally stopped growing for one reason
or another at a young age and now, here we are suppose
to be mature adults with all these emotions that we never
learned how to work thru properly because we drank them
away over the yrs.
Yep, here I am in my early 60's and I'm still learning
how to grow up. It's a work in progress as I continue
to be teachable.
Of course there is a precious child in each of us
and it's okay to embrace that part of us each day
while remembering to be responsible thoughts
and actions.
our feelings, our emotions because we didnt want
to face them. It was easier to grab that glass of liquid
poison and drink those worries away.
However, once we wake up the next day, those angry,
lonely feelings or what ever feeling we were having are
right there looking back at us in the mirror.
It is important to learn how to talk about what is bothering
us. Get it out in the open so we can find healthier solutions
to deal with them instead of reaching for alcohol or pills
to keep numbing them or sweeping them under the rug.
I like so many when we began our drinking careers, our
emotional state of mind stopped growing. We stayed in
this immature state acting like children throwing tantrums
when we didnt get our way. Refusing to do what was asked
of us. Being defiant, arrogant, and a boat load of other childish
behaviors.
Many of us emotionally stopped growing for one reason
or another at a young age and now, here we are suppose
to be mature adults with all these emotions that we never
learned how to work thru properly because we drank them
away over the yrs.
Yep, here I am in my early 60's and I'm still learning
how to grow up.
It's a work in progress as I continueto be teachable.
Of course there is a precious child in each of us
and it's okay to embrace that part of us each day
while remembering to be responsible thoughts
and actions.
I suppose I will have to learn to talk about my feelings and express them in a healthy way. It seems very difficult to talk about my feelings and sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm feeling or why I'm feeling it.
If you are in your early 60's and still learning how to grow up then maybe there is hope for me. I guess progress will be slow.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,657
Even though I scan lots of pages of new posts- I miss all of them sometimes Mary- apols. I see myself as a work in progress, until my last breath (when I am 160 years old). I have a lot of catch up to do- especially with emotions, and intensity of emotions- good or bad. I have learnt not to make decisions or spend money when very emotional.
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