Withdrawal is a painful process that happens after someone stops taking a mind-altering
substance, but why exactly is it so miserable?
Withdrawal of any kind of substance can be harrowing and exhausting.
Some of the most dramatic symptoms include nausea, sweating, shaking, and even hallucination.
So what’s going?
Why does withdrawal wreak such havoc on the body?
First, let’s talk drug addiction in general.
There’s lots of different substances you can become addicted too.
While opioids are the most well known additive substances, alcohol and caffeine addictions
are common too.
You can get hooked on these substances because they alter the release of neurotransmitters
and change the way the brain works...sometimes with pleasing results.
But after long term exposure to a drug, the brain tries to restore normal functioning
through adaptations.
This is what building up drug tolerance is.
If this goes on for a long time, the user becomes dependent, needing the drug to maintain
just normal functioning and avoid withdrawal symptoms.
When that user goes off a drug, the brain’s compensation is still in place, leading the
brain to be more active in certain areas.
This leads to what’s called withdrawal syndrome.
Withdrawal symptoms can develop in 24 hours and last anywhere from a week to months on
end.
There’s lots of different mechanisms that create dependency and withdrawal.
One example is how opioids affect a brain chemical called noradrenaline.
Opioids are known to cause drowsiness, slowed respiration, and low blood pressure.
This is because opioids suppress the neurons that produce noradrenaline.
Over time, with opioid dependence, the body counteracts this suppression by releasing
more of the chemical to support these functions at normal level.
But, even if a user stops taking the drug, the body still releases an elevated level
of noradrenaline...which produces withdrawal symptoms like jitters, anxiety, muscle cramps,
and diarrhea.
Similarly to how opioids affect noradrenaline, alcohol affects production of another brain
chemical called GABA, which governs neuron activity.
Too little GABA, and neurons fire rapidly.
You feel excited, hyper, thoughts are flying around a mile a minute.
Too much GABA and neurons subside a bit.
You feel calmer, more relaxed.
Sometimes too much, like stumbling around, slurring words kind of sedated.
So you can guess which alcohol does, yeah it increases GABA.
Chronic alcohol use impairs the ability of GABA to calm the brain down.
So more GABA, and thus more alcohol is needed to get the same relaxing effect.
And once alcohol intake stops, GABA levels drop dramatically.
Which makes the brain overreact.
And that can lead to things like teeth-chattering, uncontrolled shaking, jumpiness, and even
seizures...that last one can even be deadly.
While you might think withdrawal doesn’t apply to you… put that coffee down.
I know most of you probably drink it.
According to New Scientist, it’s the world’s most popular drug.
But go without it for a day and you might experience a headache, tiredness, feeling
low, foggy, less sociable, and even feeling like you’ve got the flu.
Caffeine works on the receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine.
Adenosine facilitates sleep by calming the brain down.
Caffeine sneaks in there and binds to adenosine receptors, so it blocks adenosine from doing
it’s job.
That’s why you perk up with a morning cup of Joe.
Drinking caffeine regularly can also increase the number of adenosine receptors in the brain.
So you need more caffeine to get the same effect, or in other words, you build up a
tolerance.
But caffeine also causes your brain to release dopamine, so you tend to feel good after your
morning coffee.
Then once you stop drinking coffee, you crash because suddenly your body is without the
feel good boost and anti-sleepiness of the caffeine.
Thankfully, withdrawal from caffeine only lasts a few days.
One drug that’s incredibly addictive and deadly is heroin, yet it’s use in the US
is on the rise.
What makes heroin so deadly?
Find out more in this episode right here.