Why we don’t get better right away
Note: This material was developed from Relapse Prevention seminars hosted by Terence Gorski. I recommend his excellent Staying Sober and its accompanying workbook for anyone interested in following the subject further. Most of these concepts are Dr. Gorski’s, adapted for a series of relapse prevention lectures.
Surprisingly, many of the problems associated with sobriety do not stem directly from drugs and alcohol. Instead, they are associated with physical and psychosocial changes that occur after the chemicals have left our bodies. These alterations in our nervous systems, physical condition, and psychosocial adjustments are known as post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS).
Post acute withdrawal results from: (1) the combination of damage to our bodies and nervous systems as a result of using addictive chemicals, and (2) from the psychosocial stresses of coping with lives without alcohol and drugs. PAWS is the cause of most relapse.
