By Gillian May: For Complete Post, Click Here…
Why you should care about this, and why no one understands how dangerous it actually is.
It’s become clear to me that most people don’t understand the biological mechanisms behind alcohol withdrawal. When people hear about that, they automatically assume I’m talking about a “drunk,” whatever that means. The truth is, everyone who drinks, even if it’s only one drink, goes through alcohol withdrawal. The difference is that the amount of alcohol and how the body reacts to it determines how severe the withdrawal will be.
On the one hand, if you only have one drink, your body can clear that amount of alcohol reasonably quickly, so the withdrawal symptoms will be barely noticeable. However, if you take heavy medications or have other major health problems, even one drink can cause noticeable withdrawal symptoms. However, if you have more than one drink or even move into binge drinking, the withdrawal will be much more pronounced and problematic.
You can find all the research that informed this article at the bottom of the page. I encourage you to read and educate yourself.
Alcohol has an immediate effect on the nervous system and neurotransmitters. These are chemical messengers that help nerve responses travel down the network of nerves. Alcohol has an impact on both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters. Because of this, the nervous system has to adapt to the alcohol to try and maintain equilibrium. However, the way the nervous system adapts to alcohol causes nerves to be primed for excitation. So when alcohol is removed, the whole nervous system becomes overexcited, causing many uncomfortable and potentially dangerous symptoms.
