Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)

jaybravo wrote:Hi guys I've been lurking here for a while. This is the only place I've found where PAWS folks seem to hang out and know what they're talking about, and it's a relief to hear I'm not alone.

I developed PAWS after taking low dose naltrexone for CFS. It made me feel anxious and elated while on it, but was suddenly ten times worse when I quit the medication after 6 months of treatment. I've had many episodes of terrible anxiety and dread and nervous tension, waking up feeling upset for no reason and the slightest stressor seems almost unbearable, with PTSD symptoms.

I've just moved out of a shared house to get away from the triggers but I'm still having terrible anxiety living with someone and don't know how I'm going to get through the next 6 months tenancy contract, feeling like I desperately need to get away a lot of the time. It's been 18 months so far. I'm really hoping at 24 months this problem will magically vanish. Can anyone relate to this?

olskoolru wrote:Winning over one’s mind is only done by DOING something, not thinking something. As we say in the program: Recovery is not a “thinking” thing, it is a “doing” thing. So many try just to think differently about it (where has that gotten you in the past?), but that’s not an active pursuit of recovery. Think about all of the ways you actively pursued your addiction – yes, a lot of it involved thinking (planning, lying, trying to figure out ways to get and use), but much of it was actively seeking out the substance, physically experiencing, physically recovering or withdrawing and then repeating the cycle.

Think about the lengths you would go to in order to make sure you used the substance every day. Recovery is going to be similar but in a positive direction: thinking differently (untraining your brain from addictive thinking to recovery thinking – which will take a lot of help, by the way), but also actively participating in 12-step meetings, picking up a phone and calling a sponsor, getting out of the house to exercise or hang out with positive friends, taking necessary steps to better yourself and your life rather than sitting still – going great lengths to stay on a healthy path. As we also say: put as much effort into your recovery as you put into using and you will do well in your recovery! The process of recovery takes a lot of hard work – and most of us want it to come too easily. Nothing good comes easy – and the difficult lessons you’ll learn along the way will strengthen you for the rest of your life. The irony of addiction is that you end up being plagued with the very symptoms that you were attempting to avoid by using in the first place. The irony of recovery is that you have to work really hard at it up front – but it definitely becomes the easier road in the long run.

Most addicts want what they want and they want it NOW! They want instant gratification – that’s why substance use is appealing: I use a substance and it instantly changes how I feel. What can be so hard about recovery is that now you are working hard for delayed gratification: I’m really suffering today, but I know if I keep working hard, it will lead to health and happiness eventually. That’s really hard to deal with – especially for an addict seeking an instant fix – but a life of addiction only leads to inevitable long-term suffering – and a life of recovery (if you put the necessary effort in) will lead to a healthy/happy way of life for the long-term (as long as you keep up the good work).

Stick with it – you’ll get there…one step, one day at a time. Just as addiction trained you over time for a life of addictive behaviors, recovery is a process of training you for a life of recovery-focused behaviors. It takes time and effort – and you can’t do it alone. The process of recovering is as much a part of the learning as anything – and you are on your journey, your process has started. Keep it up!

Moderator for Dopamine Dialogues