PAWS

[Twoyearnurse]

do any of you have PAWS (post acute withdrawl syndrome) or have had it? I am wondering what some of you did to combat the symptoms? Mine typically consist of drinking dreams (nightmares usually, waking up terrified I broke my sobriety) and generalized discontent (like I don't quite fit in my own skin). Typically it hits for a couple days with a quick return to my baseline and has been steadily getting better each time. But wow is it a pain when I am in the midst of it. I typically increase my meetings and pick up running (I rock climb 3x a week as a general rule). Any ideas?

[seanzilla]

I used to have many of those feelings early on in my sobriety. Even after 2 1/2 years of being sober, I still have the occasional (and yes, vivid), dreams of drinking; often waking with an almost overwhelming amount of anxiety. Yet...it goes away, and like you, I rebound into "normality" with greater ease each time. It's an unfortunate and uneasy feeling, yes, but continues to be more rare as time goes on. During the throws of these intense feelings, I began to realize that I could actually work on it to make them go away. However, this required a lot of concentrated effort and skill. The skills, of course, are the ones that I was learning about in A.A. from others. Coupled with relaxation techniques and meditation, I found that they became less and less significant over time. Going to meetings, reading out of the Big Book, and working with others have made them almost non-existent these days. It seems that everyone is a bit different in this area (PAWS), and it appears that most of us just have to find something that works best for us.

Continue your workouts, climbing, meditation/prayer, and above all...meetings! I think you're on the right path already, but you just need to feel that even THIS STUFF (PAWS) is somehow "okay." It is a right of passage for most of us, and in the end, will only get better!

Best regards!

[poppycat, ADN, BSN]

I agree with seanzilla about these episodes getting fewer the more sober time we have. I've come to the conclusion they may never go away completely. I have almost 26 years sobriety and every once in a blue moon I have a very vivid drinking dream. When I first wake up, I'm very disoriented & can't believe I threw away my sobriety. After a few seconds, I realize it was just a dream, though.

One correlation I have made is that the times I have dreams like that are times I've been slacking on my meeting attendance. I start to get kind of squirrelly in other ways, too, and know it's time to start making more meetings.

Hang in there. This, like everything else, does get better with time.

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

i like very much your recovery plan two year, and i am very proud of you !