Overcoming Dry Drunk Syndrome or PAWS

Key Takeaways

• Find enjoyable activities to fill the time you once spent drinking, like gardening or building things.
• Make your physical health a priority by trying healthy recipes, joining a gym, or doing yoga.
• Joining a support group like Alcoholics Anonymous can help you overcome dry drunk syndrome.

If you have quit drinking but are still struggling with the negative and destructive attitudes and feelings you had during active addiction, you may be dealing with what’s called dry drunk syndrome.

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.

While dry drunk syndrome is most common among people who quit alcohol without the support of addiction professionals, anyone can become a dry drunk, especially during the emotionally charged first year of sobriety.

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.

What It Looks and Feels Like

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. This process can last for weeks, months, sometimes even years.

Symptoms of PAWS include dizziness, slow reflexes, and problems with balance and coordination.

A person dealing with side effects of PAWS actually may look like he’s intoxicated even though he’s been totally abstinent (which explains where the term “dry drunk” may come from).

Emotionally, a person dealing with PAWS may have mood swings and become depressed, making them tough to be around—maybe even as unpleasant as they might have been when they were drinking. Alcohol used to provide temporary relief from such feelings, but you can’t rely on that anymore.

Symptoms

Dry drunk syndrome doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, the following symptoms can develop slowly over time, especially during the first year of recovery.

• Self-centered or superior attitude (in 12-step circles, this is known as “terminal uniqueness)
• Poor impulse control
• Sour, impatient, or complacent in your recovery
• Anger and negativity about recovery
• Resentment toward loved ones
• Isolating yourself from your support network
• Increasing anxiety and depression
• Fear of relapse
• Jealousy of sober friends or those not dealing with addiction
• Romanticizing your drinking days
• Cross-addiction or abuse of other behavioral addictions (sex, food, internet use)

Coping With Dry Drunk Syndrome

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.

You may still be dealing with the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression before finally reaching the point of accepting the absence of alcohol in your life.

Some people truly experience sobriety as a kind of death and have to accept the loss and learn and grow from the experience before they can move on.

Dry drunk syndrome interferes with this process and, although challenging, with the right support, it’s not insurmountable. You may greatly benefit from the encouragement you can find at a support group meeting like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). You can also contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for referrals for treatment and support groups.

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.

Find a Hobby

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. The goal is to fill the time you once spent drinking with activities that are enjoyable and engrossing.

Get Healthy

There’s no question years of drinking can take a toll on the body. A big part of recovery and your new sober life is making your physical health a priority. Try healthful recipes, join a gym, take up a sport, try yoga (which can have mental benefits as well as physical ones).

If you love dogs and don’t have one, this is a great time to adopt a stray or volunteer to walk dogs at your local shelter.

Try Something New

Now that you’re no longer drinking, you have a chance to embrace your sober life and redefine your passions. Now is the time to pursue those things you’ve always wanted to learn.

Audit a class at a local university or college, take a new dance class, pick up that book you’ve been putting off reading for the past year, or call up that friend you’ve been meaning to get to know better, the possibilities are endless.

Lean on Your Loved Ones

No one expects you to recover from an alcohol use disorder alone—nor should you. Even the people who you alienated before you quit drinking may welcome the opportunity to spend time with you.

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.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Dry Drunk Syndrome. Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery. doi:10.4135/9781412964500.n120

2. Mirijello A, D’angelo C, Ferrulli A, et al. Identification and management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Drugs. 2015;75(4):353-65. doi:10.1007/s40265-015-0358-1

Additional Reading

• Fischer, G., Roger, N. Dry Drunk Syndrome. Encyclopedia of Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment, & Recovery. doi: 10.4135/9781412964500.n120.

• Gogek, E. B. The Dry Drunk Syndrome: Subtype of Depression? The American Journal of Psychiatry.151(6), 947-948. doi: 10.1176/ajp.151.6.947b.

By Buddy T

Buddy 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.

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