Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAW)                                                                                                                    STAR - Week 1

 

 

Student Worksheet

 

POST ACUTE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

(Symptoms of internal dysfunction)

 

Post Acute Withdrawal (PAW), the internal warning signs of relapse, sneak up on you around 7-­14 days after abstinence, last for a few days and then disappear for awhile. PAW peaks at about three to six months into recovery. It is NOT relapse; it is a part of the healing process of recovery. Your damaged body is repairing and is adjusting to its new condition of sobriety. If your PAW symptoms are identified and managed, and if you can learn to cope with the stress in your life, you will not progress into relapse. HOPE!

 

Check the symptoms of PAW which you have experienced:

 

Inability to think clearly

1. Can't solve simple problems.

2. Same thoughts keep repeating themselves.

3. Mind goes blank.

4. Can't concentrate on anything for very long.

5. Can't make sense out of things.

6. Can't make mind up about what to do next.

7. Make bad decisions even when I know better.

 

Can't Manage Feeling and Emotions

 

1. Feel too much; overly sensitive

2. Feel nothing; emotionally numb

3. Don't really know what I am feeling

4. Feel like I am going crazy as I feel the "wrong" thing

5. Mood swings

6. Feel down in the dumps a lot

7. Feel worried, but stuff these feelings

8. Have fears that I can't explain

9. Overreact in ways not like me

 

Memory Problems

 

1. Can't remember things I've learned for more than 20 minutes

2. Can't remember important things from my past

3. Sometimes I can remember; other times I can't

4. Feel cut off from my memories

5. Make bad decisions because I can't remember things

 

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAW)                                                                                                                        STAR - Week 1

 

 

Difficulty in Managing Stress

 

1. Don't realize when I am stressed.

2. Can't relax when I do feel stressed.

3. Hard to relax even when doing things that should help (exercise)

4. Get very tense and feel like I am losing it.

5. Can't get anything done because I am so stressed.

6. Feel like I am going to collapse, physically or emotionally

 

Difficulty in Sleeping Restfully

 

1. Can't fall asleep

2. Have unusual or disturbing dreams

3. Wake up often and can't get back to sleep

4. Wake up feeling tired

5. Feel sleepy at the wrong times of the day.

6. Sleep around the clock for one or more days.

 

Difficulty with Physical Coordination

 

1. Lose balance at times

2. Feel dizzy

3. Eye-hand coordination "off”

4. Have slow reflexes

5. Clumsy

6. Accident-prone

 

Shame, Guilt, and Hopelessness

 

1. Feel like I am emotionally disturbed

2. Feel like something is wrong with me; I am no good

3. Feel guilty because I think I am not doing what I should do

4. Won't talk about things that bother me with others

5. Cover-up my warning signs

6. Dishonest at times to hide my shame

7. Can't handle things

8. Feel that it is hopeless for me to stay clean and sober

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adapted from The Staving Sober Workbook, Terence Gorski. Herald House/Independence Press 1-800-767-8181