After you’ve quit

Still feel awful months after quitting drinking or drugs?

Post-acute withdrawal syndrome is the set of symptoms that can hang on for months after the physical withdrawal is over. It catches a lot of people off guard because it shows up right when they expected to start feeling better.

What PAWS can feel like

• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Anxiety, irritability, or feeling low
• Feeling flat, like nothing is enjoyable
• Trouble concentrating, remembering things, or making decisions
• Being tired all the time
• Cravings that show up out of nowhere

How long PAWS lasts

It's different for everyone and depends on the substance. After alcohol, some symptoms can last a year or two, and sleep is often the last thing to settle. With other substances it may be weeks or months. The symptoms tend to come and go, so a few good weeks followed by a rough one doesn't mean you're going backward.

Why it matters

This is the stretch where a lot of people go back to using, because they feel worse than they thought they would and don't know why. Most treatment programs end before it starts. Knowing what's happening, and having someone to work through it with, makes it easier to get through.

What we work on

Sleep, managing cravings, handling the mood swings, pacing yourself so you don't take on too much at once, and noticing the small gains along the way.