What is PAWS (Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome)?
Oftentimes we focus most of our attention on the acute-withdrawal from opiates, but we fail to realize that there is a far milder form of withdrawal that can last up to 12 months after all the hardcore stuff is over. This “mild” withdrawal is called: Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome or PAWS for short. Some common PAWS symptoms are: • Depression • Impaired concentration • Lack of initiative • Stress sensitivity • Increased sensitivity to pain • Inability to think clearly • Drug cravings • and more… In the past I had no idea what post-acute withdrawal syndrome was. I would just assume that everything was back to normal once the worst of it was over, but in looking back, I can vividly remember how out-of-touch I felt with life for the few months that followed. I say “out-of-touch” because that was the only way I could explain it at the time. I remember being very sensitive to stressful situations, I remember having a very hard time concentrating or thinking about a complex problem. But, wha
