What Is Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome?

Some recovering addicts experience withdrawal symptoms months after getting sober.

Photo by Fernando @cferdophotography on Unsplash

I expected to experience withdrawal symptoms when I quit drinking. I had been getting drunk every night, and I knew that breaking that habit would be difficult on my mind and body.

I had also tried to quit drinking many times before. These attempts normally lasted just a few days or weeks, but they were long enough to give me a good idea of what the withdrawal symptoms were like.

When the brain fog set in on my second day sober, I wasn’t surprised. I had been through it before. When I had trouble sleeping and broke out in sweats in the middle of the night, it was nothing new.

These acute withdrawal symptoms were hard on me, but they were expected and familiar. What I wasn’t ready for was what came next.