Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome Alcohol Drug Rehab
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Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) is a very common drug related issue that lasts upwards of 2 years!
The effects of alcoholism is very debilitating long after you quit drinking. There are many different causes of alcoholism, but more importantly is that the symptoms of alcoholism are addressed! Alcoholism and the post acute withdrawal syndrome alcoholism causes is not a well-known, or well-studied phenomena. No one nowadays should be asking is alcohol addictive. PAWS is often mistaken as post alcohol withdrawal syndrome. This is most likely because the post withdrawal effects of alcohol are severe and can manifest for a long, long time past detox. This fact is often not talked about in schools when they are doing prevention classes. If more were known about this phenomenon, it might be easier to deal with. As it is, we know enough to know that the brain is in a state of flux. |
It learns new things every day, processes billions of bits of information and has the storage capacity of a supercomputer. When a chemicals go in and bombards the brain, it sets off other chemical reactions that can lead to “misfires” in the brain, or even seizures until the original chemical is neutralized either by the brain, or another chemical.
All the while you are putting alcohol or drugs or both in your system, your brain is literally being damaged! Is it no wonder that two years later you could see that in the sudden prolonged withdrawal symptoms you are having! If you think of it in terms of someone who has been in a devastating car accident and ended up with severe brain trauma.
There is the crisis stage of impact (your drug or alcohol use) where the brain swells and is inflamed and obviously damaged. Then there is the healing stage where the brain is somewhat of out of danger but not quite healed. You may have to learn to walk, eat, talk or even move again. Once that stage is done or mostly done, the brain goes into stasis and is simply taking care of day to day business, as the deeper wound slowly heals. Just like a scab itching, PAWS “itches” the brain causing it to react like it did in the withdrawal stage.
You maybe be moody, weepy, have aches and pains, a runny nose, yawning, shaking, nausea, diarrhea and insomnia. Most people don’t know what this is and chalk it up to a virus or food poisoning. If it is PAWS, there are certain things you can do to relieve the symptoms. These symptoms are very real, have been measured and recorded. There just have not been longitudinal studies of recovered addicts or alcoholics to see if they have experienced this syndrome.
At Deer Hollow Recovery, we are well educated on PAWS symptoms and we go over this in our groups a lot. We don’t want anything to take you by surprised. We want you to have a plan A-Z to help you succeed!
All the while you are putting alcohol or drugs or both in your system, your brain is literally being damaged! Is it no wonder that two years later you could see that in the sudden prolonged withdrawal symptoms you are having! If you think of it in terms of someone who has been in a devastating car accident and ended up with severe brain trauma.
There is the crisis stage of impact (your drug or alcohol use) where the brain swells and is inflamed and obviously damaged. Then there is the healing stage where the brain is somewhat of out of danger but not quite healed. You may have to learn to walk, eat, talk or even move again. Once that stage is done or mostly done, the brain goes into stasis and is simply taking care of day to day business, as the deeper wound slowly heals. Just like a scab itching, PAWS “itches” the brain causing it to react like it did in the withdrawal stage.
You maybe be moody, weepy, have aches and pains, a runny nose, yawning, shaking, nausea, diarrhea and insomnia. Most people don’t know what this is and chalk it up to a virus or food poisoning. If it is PAWS, there are certain things you can do to relieve the symptoms. These symptoms are very real, have been measured and recorded. There just have not been longitudinal studies of recovered addicts or alcoholics to see if they have experienced this syndrome.
At Deer Hollow Recovery, we are well educated on PAWS symptoms and we go over this in our groups a lot. We don’t want anything to take you by surprised. We want you to have a plan A-Z to help you succeed!
