There is no such thing as "life time PAWS". That is ridiculous. Even the idea of it lasting for years is foolish. With drugs like methadone and bupe the PAWS stage does last for a while, but it's months.. not years..
I think people often confuse PAWS with how they felt pre-dependence. There was a reason you developed an addiction and became dependent on your DOC, and its most likely because you were not truly happy with your life. Of course you go back to feeling that way and are even more depressed because you remember how enjoyable it was to use your DOC. Granted PAWS has some legitimacy but I think it is too often a scapegoat for people who really are just miserable living a sober life.
If you developed an addiction, kicked it, but nothing else in your life has changed, you will likely relapse. You need something in your life to change, you cannot simply believe you can go back to a life you were unsatisfied with and not be overly tempted to use again. I suppose that is why suboxone can be helpful. You can still receive an opioid high, although minimal as it is, while being able to focus on things like saving money and improving your career and life. It is almost impossible when your only concern is making sure you are high and not sick while spending every dime on it. And you are clean in the sense that you will pass drug tests on suboxone (a big factor in the progression of my career).