To make a lasting recovery, drug addicts need to understand and be able to recognize the symptoms of Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, or PAWS. Though PAWS is responsible for more relapses and failed recoveries than any other condition, most treatment facilities and rehabilitation programs do little to mitigate its frustrating and crippling effects on recovering addicts. PAWS symptoms are normal and even expected for addicts who have completed detoxification and overcome the obstacles of their initial withdrawal. However, the ways in which addicts experience these symptoms are highly individual, so it can be difficult to clinicians and patients to recognize exactly when they occur. To maintain clean and sober lives, recovering substance abusers must learn to constantly self-reflect and monitor their behavior patterns for signs of this dangerous condition.

PAWS typically sets in as soon as addicts complete detoxification. Detox is a painful but necessary five to fourteen-day process of purging their bodies of drugs. The symptoms can affect the bodies, intellects, and emotions of its sufferers, and they range from mild to severe. They can even cause addicts to abusively self-medicate in an effort to relieve their pain, thereby continuing their cycles of addiction. Some of the most common symptoms are as follows:

Physical Problems:

Those familiar with PAWS often refer to its sufferers as “dry drunks” because of their apparent lack of motor skills. The visible, physiological symptoms of this condition include impaired balance, poor depth perception, and chronic dizziness. Read the rest of this entry »