A Timeline for Cognitive Recovery after Abstinence

Researchers at Neurobehavioral Research Inc developed a timeline for cognitive recovery by comparing long-term abstinent alcoholics to age-equivalent control subjects.

At 2 Weeks of Abstinence

The average recovering alcoholic experiences:

Increased confusion

Increased irritability

Distractibility

A decreased ability to attend and concentrate

Slower reaction times

A decreased ability to use verbal abstract reasoning

Decreased verbal short-term memory

Impaired verbal learning abilities

Impaired mental flexibility

Impaired visual-spatial abilities

Decreased non-verbal short-term memory

recovering alcoholics experience substantial and varied thinking deficits at 2 weeks into recovery. These thinking problems help to explain high relapse rates during the first period of abstinence and underscore the need for effective compensatory coping strategies (such as those you would learn in an addiction treatment program).

By 2 Months

By 60 days into recovery, distractibility, confusion and irritability have disappeared, but memory problems, concentration, learning, mental flexibility, abstract reasoning and visual-spatial deficits remain.

So by 2 months you can expect to feel quite a bit calmer and more clear-headed, but you will still suffer from significant deficits and you will still need to rely heavily on compensatory coping strategies that reduce your need to make significant or risky decisions.

By 5 Years

From 2 months to 5 years of abstinence people make incredible cognitive gains and get very close to a full restoration of normal functioning.

By 5 years, the average alcoholic may still experience:

Problems with non-verbal abstract reasoning and non-verbal short term memory

Diminished mental flexibility

Diminished visual-spatial abilities

By 5 years, all other cognitive functions have returned to a normal level state.

By 7 Years

By 7 years the average recovering alcoholic has made a nearly complete recovery. However, diminished visual-spatial abilities persist. These seem irreversible.

You Can Recover!

So even though you may have spent years working to destroy brain cells, your brain can still heal, so long as it’s given the opportunity to do so.
Take-Home Message

It’s never too late.

You can someday think as clearly as you used to.

The significant cognitive deficits seen in early recovery make quitting very difficult, and you give yourself a much better chance of success by learning compensatory coping strategies that make-up for your diminished abilities.

Read more: A Timeline for the Restoration of Cognitive Abilities after Quitting Alcohol