This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Sean Kernan. Your body fights hard to maintain homeostasis, so when you suddenly switch and turn off a common chemical that comes in it can cause severe problems. Alcohol withdrawal actually kills a lot of people. If you are a severe alcoholic it can cause dysfunction in your heart and organs as a result of that sudden change in chemicals in your body. It’s not pretty. I’ve seen it go down. Benzodiazepine is super deadly too as it causes seizures when you go from huge doses to none. If you are a major addict, I’d get supervision if you are planning to detox. Sometimes medical interventions are life-saving. Addiction is no joke. Source
