Overcoming Dry Drunk Syndrome or PAWS

When dealing with problems overwhelming you to the point of driving you to become an alcoholic, without that crutch, you’re essentially “white-knuckling” each day to get through to the next. The therapy that coincides with detox is essential because it helps you deal with what made you depend on that crutch, but the work is twice as hard. Let’s review some signs, distinct indications, and symptoms that you’re dealing with dry drunk syndrome. Other signs of a dry drunk can relate to their ability to function in their day-to-day lives.

Mood symptoms

This almost seems like a contradiction in terms, so how do we explain it. From that point, it’s a matter of slowly weaning away from the alcohol, kicking the habit. It’s a fundamental point in the right direction toward a new way of living, earning much recognition, support, and respect. Regard Healthcare offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs. Inpatient programs commonly offer a wide array of treatment services that help to treat the whole person, rather than just the alcohol dependency itself. Rehab centers offer supervised, structured settings where a person can receive 24-hour comprehensive care.

Coping With Dry Drunk Syndrome

These individuals either have minimal therapy or don’t engage in therapeutic treatment at all. Now you have to find a new way to deal with whatever trauma forced that reaction, and if you aren’t in therapy or recovery, that’s asking a lot of yourself. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. However, having symptoms of PAWS, which can last for up to 2 years following alcohol withdrawal, can put a person at higher risk of relapsing. The symptoms of PAWS can come and go, which may cause a person to believe that they are not making progress.

Supporting Loved Ones with Substance Use or Mental Health Disorders During the Holidays

For instance, a dry drunk may have trouble getting or keeping a job, maintaining healthy relationships in their personal life, and have difficulty making decisions about their future. Dry drunk syndrome is different from moodiness or having an off day in sobriety. Ask your partner out for regular date nights, get more involved with any kids in your life, find fun activities to do with friends that don’t involve drinking. Take up gardening, start collecting an item you’re truly interested in or fascinated by, learn how to build things and focus on the creative project.

Instead, focus on taking small steps to build some of them into your routine. Try talking to your treatment sponsor, accountability partner, or member of a peer support group. Expressing your emotions might seem tough or dry drunk syndrome impossible, which can lead to further frustration. Symptoms can also seem to resemble a late withdrawal, as some treatment professionals have pointed out. I am a passionate beer connoisseur with a deep appreciation for the art and science of brewing.

Sign up for text support to receive:

Symptoms of PAWS drug addiction include poor coordination and balance, delayed reflexes, mood swings, depression and dizziness. An individual battling PAWS symptoms may appear to others as if they’re intoxicated when, in fact, they are sober. Dry drunk syndrome is part of the phenomenon known as post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS). When a heavy drinker quits drinking, their brain must adjust to the chemical damage that alcohol has caused. If a person is having difficulty with their PAWS symptoms, they should speak with a healthcare professional.

Health Conditions

One potential challenge involves “dry drunk syndrome,” a slang term that originated in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). It refers to traits and behaviors often seen with alcohol use that persist into recovery. Many people who stop drinking of their own volition and deal with the dry drunk syndrome will relapse because they don’t resolve the underlying issues that cause them to drink, to begin with.

There are also a few steps you can take on your own to start enjoying your new sober life as you work toward lasting recovery. They may seem simple and unsurprising, but they do work for many people. Recovery from an alcohol use disorder means more than quitting alcohol. Even after you no longer crave alcohol, you need to deal with the psychological and behavioral issues that contributed to your addiction in order to prevent relapse. Originally coined by the creators of Alcoholics Anonymous, dry drunk syndrome can have a negative impact on the process of giving up drinking both physically and mentally.

• There is no obligation to enter treatment and you can opt out at any time.
• These individuals either have minimal therapy or don’t engage in therapeutic treatment at all.
• Plus, labeling someone in recovery as any kind of “drunk” generally isn’t helpful.
• Specialists can guide you through therapy to work through the underlying causes so you’re not left with those feelings and emotions, albeit not drinking.

Try healthful recipes, join a gym, take up a sport, try yoga (which can have mental benefits as well as physical ones). Learning the symptoms of dry drunk syndrome as well as a few strategies to better cope can help you or someone you love to move past this stumbling block toward lasting recovery. They used the term to refer to people who no longer drink alcohol but experience the same issues or behaviors as when they did. A person who has PAWS may find it helpful to have the support of their loved ones.