Starting a new journey towards sobriety from drugs or alcohol is a courageous step that requires a lot of strength and perseverance.

And the path to recovery is more challenging than the initial hangover and withdrawal phase.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) can create bigger obstacles for your sobriety and you may not even know it's happening. 

We're getting into the world of Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, what it is, how it affects you, and effective ways to navigate the challenge.

What is Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS)?

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, often abbreviated as PAWS, is a prolonged withdrawal syndrome that some people experience after the initial withdrawal or detox stage. 

While the acute (immediate) withdrawal phase typically lasts for a few days to a couple of weeks, PAWS can persist for several months, even up to a year. 

PAWS happens because of neurological changes caused by substance abuse.

With continued substance use, the brain changes because...

We've all had that stuck feeling in our lives. Like we are on a rollercoaster and can't make it stop... up... and down... and all around...

When the spiral gets bad enough you decide in a moment of desperation that you simply can't live like this anymore. You have to change.

It doesn't matter if it's drugs or alcohol, food, or relationships. When you hit that rock bottom moment and understand you can't keep doing things the way you've been doing them, you figure out a solution and take action.  

The problem is, change isn't easy and it's definitely not fast. 

Maybe you don't feel like change is happening fast enough, or you feel like you're doing it wrong, or you feel like it's so hard that you want to give up. Before you know it, you end up right back where you started. Rock bottom.

And you decide again that you have to change... you have to do it differently this time... and this time has to be different.

• You quit drinking.
• You walked away from the relationship.
• You stoppe...

The difference between sobriety and recovery. Not many people think about it in this way, but these two things are not the same.

For me, I had to get sober before I could recover and I think this is true for most people.

Sobriety

Sobriety is stopping the substance.

In twelve steps, it is recommended that you don’t make any major life changes in your first year of sobriety.

It's not because we have some overwhelming desire to control you and your life. It's because in your first year you want your focus and energy to go into NOT DRINKING.  Period.

I’m not talking about changes like changing your toothpaste. But big changes like starting or ending a relationship, a new job, moving to a new city- these changes disrupt your life and routine. They can also create additional stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and general discomfort.

You don't want situations and activities that are going to cause you to have high highs, or low lows. You want to stay even, because highs and lows are going to ...

I have been a Life Coach for many years. 

I've  worked with people for all kinds of things, setting job goals and creating strategy around that, recovering from a divorce and starting life over, recovering from significant weight loss and building self esteem in that new life, empty nesters recovering from children and adapting to a new way of life and figuring out what that's going to look like... all of it is a process of recovery, growth and change.

And right now, especially because of this pandemic, we're all having to do a lot of adapting to a new lifestyle.

Through all of the work I've done, with myself and my clients, I consistently see the same mistake.

You wonder why your choices aren't working out for you.

You start to second guess your every decision because it seems like you are always wrong or screwing things up.

It feels like nothing will go your way.

The good news is... you're not crazy. There's nothing wrong with you and you aren't bad at making decisions.

The...

In my day, we went out and bought all the self-help books and vowed to get our lives together and try harder than we’ve ever tried before! And you start a whole life makeover plan and eat better and workout and start journaling every day and you have a whole new commitment to life. 

For about a week. 

Now, you do the same thing, but you hit the internet and podcasts and all the sober people's books. I’m sad I didn’t have all this good stuff when I was struggling and that’s also what fuels me to continue creating a ton of resources and information for you so you can find everything you need, learn at your own pace, and have honesty and knowledge about alcoholism, addiction, and recovery. 

There seems to be this misconception that you have to be one or the other- you either fit in the box of having your shit together or you fit in the box of being an alcoholic. But, the truth is, it is almost always a combination of both. 

We have talked about high & low bottoms on this show many t...

Are You Alcoholic? 

When you want to make changes in your life it's easy to fall off track because that’s how we're wired.

Change is hard and changing habits is hard because we are hardwired to stay the same.

One of the things that makes it easier for me is when I have things laid out, super simple, to keep me on track. 

That’s why I make you all of these worksheets and cheat sheets- the road to success is keeping things very simple, and getting consistent. When you can master consistency, that’s when your true power kicks in and you can accomplish anything!

This conversation actually leads me perfectly into today’s topic- there is a saying that floats around all over the internet, and it is powerful:   

I have no idea who said it or where it comes from- I’ve seen it hundreds of times over the years and it strikes such a deep chord with me. 

I was never a person in denial. I never tried to convince myself I wasn’t an alcoholic because I don’t really care about the word o...

It’s a daily struggle

You feel like you are never enough. Not only do you have to eliminate alcohol from your life, but you have to learn how to think in a way that is more supportive of your new sober life.

In one of our online recovery meetings the other day one of our members said she knows whatever her first thought is, it’s usually wrong. She said she has come to terms with the fact that when she recognizes her first thought in a situation, she automatically does the opposite. 

It’s so true. I was the same way in the beginning. 

You have heard me tell the story of my early sobriety when someone approached me at a meeting and invited me to a girls dinner with several ladies from AA.

I was about two weeks sober and scared to death. 

I’m an introvert and I had major social anxiety so this was not something in my comfort zone. And when I was new, my anxiety was unbearable.  The only places I wanted to be were home, and my AA group. 

She invites me to this dinner, I don’t kno...

Hello friends, welcome to episode #79 of the Addiction Unlimited Podcast, I’m your Coach, Angela Pugh. Here to help you get that sober life you want! Thank you for hanging out with me today and listening to the pod- I’ve got an awesome topic today with a little bit of a truth bomb- that relapse is a choice.

That’s right, you heard me, my friends, it’s a choice. And we are going to dig into that in depth in just a moment. But first- let’s do a quick shoutout-

This shout out is going to be to my Facebook group members who are stepping up and getting raw and honest and posting in their first 1-2 days of sobriety. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

The bravery it takes to show yourself, to share your struggle- and it’s so smart of you to reach out and let people know exactly where you are! Those are the actions that show me you are serious about not drinking, you want help and support and guidance, you aren’t hiding in the shadows letting addiction run the show- you are creating accountability and bein...

First things first- I want to give a shoutout and say thank you for all the great reviews!

You probably don’t think too much about reviews, but in podcast world they are super important and for me, personally, it’s so good to get feedback and it really keeps me going to hear from you, so thank you for taking a few minutes to write something, I love that.

And when you hear an episode you enjoy, make sure you share it with someone!

That’s a huge part of the beauty of doing a podcast is it has the ability to reach and help so many people- and as people in recovery, we have to constantly be of service and share resources with one another to help us all get through this journey- so share this episode with a  few people you think would enjoy it, or pick out another favorite you listened to in the past and share it with some people- let’s spread the word and stay sober!

For those of you who don't know, September is national recovery month. So I decided to do a whole month of solo episod...

Do you sometimes feel like you are sabotaging your own sobriety and life? You get some sober time under your belt and start feeling pretty good, then all of a sudden you find yourself drunk again, hating life, wondering how the heck this happened. Self-sabotage is a phrase we hear often, especially as addicts.

In this episode, we’ll talk about the 3 stages of belief with clear examples of what they look like, how to recognize them, and show you how to transition from not believing you can ever live successfully sober and happy, to believing anything is possible for you.

This may not sound like it’s part of the getting sober process, but your beliefs shape your reality. If you don’t truly believe you are capable of living a life without alcohol, then how far will you really make it? If you quit drinking, but are overwhelmed with doubt about staying sober, how long will you stay sober?

These 3 stages of belief are important to recognize in everything we do. Getting honest about wher...