– how does it work that withdrawals from alcohol can and will kill you, but other drug and substance withdraws won’t? What’s so different about alcohol?
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Alcohol’s primary effect is on GABA, which functions sort of as the brakes for your brain. Overexposure to it causes your brain to downregulate the number of available GABA receptors in order to maintain balance, and once the alcohol is out of your system, it’s like your brain’s gas pedal is stuck. Neurons can burn themselves out through over-activation and the dysregulation of brain activity by the lack of GABA transmission can cause seizures.
The car analogy is the best one I’ve thought of so far. It’s like driving around with enormous break pads and a sensitive pedal; they make you brake more effectively for a little bit and then your muscle memory gets used to it. If the braking mechanisms are returned to normal without you knowing, you’ll probably end up rear-ending the next person you try to stop behind.
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