Bobko
6 May 2025
News / Attacks against healthcare workers in Poland [142]
I have no idea what they were studying there, but I wasn't talking about addictiveness per se but physical withdrawal.
As far as I know, and I could be completely wrong - alcohol is the only substance which has an almost 50% chance to kill you if you quit suddenly. That is, if you have a full blown addiction. Your whole life becomes focused around finding more alcohol - otherwise you cannot function PHYSICALLY. I never heard of people spending their entire day trying to get weed or coke.
Withdrawal from heroin may seem like a living nightmare, but there isn't much chance that your heart will simply stop.
From a medical website:
"According to a 2022 paper, the mortality rate for delirium tremens is between 5 and 15% with treatment. However, this figure is much higher if an individual does not receive medical care. Without appropriate treatment, the mortality rate is around 37% ."
Wrap your mind around that. You could already be in the hospital, with everyone busily flitting about trying to save you - and you still have a 5-15% chance of dying.
Alcohol fundamentally rewires the body - not just the brain. It teaches your stomach and other vital organs to rely on and demand completely other substances than a normal human being for normal function. When this is denied - the body shuts down. I can't emphasize enough how strong this physical need is. My friend - an alcoholic - cannot walk properly without alcohol. After a drink - he can (and often does) go to the gym for a long workout. It's literally like his medicine, and no one can tell he is drunk.
This is why quitting cold turkey is so dangerous with booze - and why doctors need to use various antipsychotics (like benzos) to keep people from going raving mad while their body tries to reset itself.
Cocaine and weed do not even come close in this ability to kill you.
one of the most addictive substances on Earth
I have no idea what they were studying there, but I wasn't talking about addictiveness per se but physical withdrawal.
As far as I know, and I could be completely wrong - alcohol is the only substance which has an almost 50% chance to kill you if you quit suddenly. That is, if you have a full blown addiction. Your whole life becomes focused around finding more alcohol - otherwise you cannot function PHYSICALLY. I never heard of people spending their entire day trying to get weed or coke.
Withdrawal from heroin may seem like a living nightmare, but there isn't much chance that your heart will simply stop.
From a medical website:
"According to a 2022 paper, the mortality rate for delirium tremens is between 5 and 15% with treatment. However, this figure is much higher if an individual does not receive medical care. Without appropriate treatment, the mortality rate is around 37% ."
Wrap your mind around that. You could already be in the hospital, with everyone busily flitting about trying to save you - and you still have a 5-15% chance of dying.
Alcohol fundamentally rewires the body - not just the brain. It teaches your stomach and other vital organs to rely on and demand completely other substances than a normal human being for normal function. When this is denied - the body shuts down. I can't emphasize enough how strong this physical need is. My friend - an alcoholic - cannot walk properly without alcohol. After a drink - he can (and often does) go to the gym for a long workout. It's literally like his medicine, and no one can tell he is drunk.
This is why quitting cold turkey is so dangerous with booze - and why doctors need to use various antipsychotics (like benzos) to keep people from going raving mad while their body tries to reset itself.
Cocaine and weed do not even come close in this ability to kill you.
