Alcohol and the Kindling Effect: Everything You Need To Know
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There’s an age-old metaphor of addiction as the seemingly self-destructive flight of a moth toward a flame. Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann captures it vividly in her song “The Moth”:
“The Moth don't care when he sees The Flame.
He might get burned, but he's in the game.
And once he's in, he can't go back,
He'll beat his wings 'til he burns them black …”
However, there’s another lesser-known metaphor related to fire and alcohol misuse: “kindling,” a term that describes the tendency of seizures related to alcohol to get more frequent and intense with time. What is kindling, exactly? And how are kindling, alcohol, and withdrawal connected? Let’s find out more!
Why does withdrawal happen in the first place? To understand that, we need to take a look at alcohol’s effects on the brain and body.
When we drink, alcohol quickly enters our bloodstream and affects pretty much every system in the body, including the brain. It causes blood vessels to dilate — a process known as vasodilation, which leads to a temporary feeling of warmth — and raises our heart rate. The liver gets busy eliminating alcohol from the body and puts the metabolism of other nutrients on hold, while the kidneys open up the waterworks and send us to the bathroom throughout the night.
As far as the brain is concerned, a few changes take place:
Over time, the brain and body get adjusted to the presence of alcohol. The brain comes to expect the “free” influx of dopamine and makes up for it by producing fewer “feel-good” neurotransmitters naturally, making activities that used to be pleasurable lose their spark. At the same time, the body accepts the presence of booze as the “new normal” and adjusts its workings accordingly. Eventually, dependence sets in: we are no longer simply using alcohol to get a certain effect but need it to function at baseline levels — or as close to them as we can get.
One of the hallmarks of dependence is withdrawal — a set of physical and psychological symptoms that crop up soon after our last drink. Here are the symptoms and their causes in more detail:
At first glance, withdrawal symptoms might seem similar to those of a really bad hangover, which often comes with headaches, nausea, anxiety, and the shakes. However, that’s where the similarities end. A hangover is caused by the aftermath of booze in our system, specifically dehydration, inflammation, and toxin buildup related to alcohol metabolism. It tends to last 48 hours max, but withdrawal is a different beast.
The timeline of withdrawal varies based on many factors, such as how long we’ve been drinking or if we have other medical conditions. In general, acute withdrawal usually lasts a few days to a week and tends to be a lot more intense than a typical hangover. Moreover, according to the National Institutes of Health 2023 guidelines, there are two categories of serious withdrawal symptoms, with the “moderate” one including seizures and the “severe” category reserved for delirium tremens, or DTs.
Seizures and DTs are both medical emergencies. If you are experiencing these, contact emergency services immediately.
The sneaky thing about alcohol withdrawal is that it tends to get worse every time we go through it, which is where the idea of kindling comes in. We’ll explore why this happens in more detail, but before taking a closer look at how kindling functions in withdrawal, let’s find out what role it plays in the dynamics of seizures in general.
Back in the 1960s, researcher Graham V. Goddard noticed something curious about some lab rats, which made an important (albeit involuntary) contribution to medical science by revealing an interesting fact about seizures. When Goddard induced seizures in the amygdala region of the rats’ brains by administering electric shocks, he noticed that the seizure threshold seemed to get lower with repetition: each time, it took less and less stimulation to induce the same effect.
Goddard compared this situation to using kindling to light a fire. As anyone who has ever tried to start a fire in a barbecue pit or living room fireplace knows, the hardest part is getting the fire going. After the initial flame has been lit, it’s a matter of adding kindling to the fire.
The findings were originally applied to the study of epilepsy. It seemed that prior seizures lowered the threshold for subsequent ones. Later, the same principle was applied to substance misuse — in particular to alcohol withdrawal, which is known to induce seizures, especially in those who’ve been drinking frequently for a long time.
In the context of alcohol use disorder (AUD), kindling refers to the progressive response of the body and brain to alcohol withdrawal, which gets more intense over time. While seizures are the main kindling symptom, there are several others to look out for:
The neurological changes that are responsible for withdrawal in general are also at play in the kindling effect, but they get amplified as the brain becomes more sensitive to the sudden “jolt” created by shifting neurotransmitter levels.
Scientists point to two neurobiological mechanisms behind kindling. The first has to do with GABA neurotransmitter levels, which plummet when we stop drinking. The second relates to NDMA — a type of glutamate receptor affected by alcohol. Receptors for both neurotransmitters undergo sudden shifts when alcohol is no longer in the picture, contributing to abnormal brain activity that can induce seizures. Even after the receptors have begun to rebalance, the kindling effect has already established itself.
The kindling effect is bad news for a few reasons.
If you’re going through alcohol withdrawal and suspect that kindling might be at play, these tips can help you stay on track.
While all of this might sound a bit daunting, there’s certainly light at the end of the tunnel. In the end, it helps us see the challenges as part of the journey to a happier and healthier version of ourselves. As ancient philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
Most importantly, let’s remember that although certain aspects of the alcohol journey, such as withdrawal, can be increasingly challenging, the reverse is also true. Positive changes in the brain have a type of “kindling” effect of their own: the more we explore life beyond booze and the more our brain chemistry returns to normal levels, the more joys we tend to discover. In other words, positive changes and the rewards that come with them tend to grow exponentially, if we let them. In the words of author Joseph Campbell, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
1. What causes alcohol withdrawal symptoms?
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms happen when the brain adapts to the presence of alcohol. Alcohol affects neurotransmitter levels by increasing GABA, which inhibits the nervous system, and decreasing glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter: the brain adjusts its chemistry to compensate. When alcohol is suddenly removed, the resulting imbalance leads to withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, restlessness, elevated heart rate, insomnia, and nausea.
2. How does kindling relate to alcohol withdrawal?
Kindling refers to the phenomenon where repeated alcohol withdrawal episodes lead to increasingly severe withdrawal symptoms over time. It is believed to result from the brain becoming more sensitive to the changes in neurotransmitter levels caused by alcohol use and withdrawal. This can lead to more intense withdrawal symptoms and an increased risk of seizures and delirium tremens with each subsequent detox.
3. What are the dangers of the kindling effect?
The kindling effect can make withdrawal increasingly difficult and dangerous, potentially leading to life-threatening conditions like seizures and delirium tremens. It also increases the risk of falling back into alcohol misuse, as the fear of severe withdrawal symptoms can deter individuals from attempting to quit.
4. Why is withdrawal from alcohol potentially dangerous?
Unlike a simple hangover, withdrawal can lead to severe health complications, including rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, seizures, and delirium tremens. These symptoms can be life-threatening, especially in individuals with underlying health conditions, making medical supervision during withdrawal crucial.
5. What steps can someone take to safely manage alcohol withdrawal?
To manage alcohol withdrawal safely, it's important to seek medical assistance, especially if there's a risk of severe symptoms like seizures or delirium tremens. Medical professionals can provide withdrawal medications and support to reduce the risk of complications. Staying hydrated, maintaining good nutrition, and having psychological support are also key components of a safer withdrawal process.
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