BlissWithin

Just a thing I'm curious about. I don't plan to drink or rationalize drinking in any way, about to have 22 months in a few days.

I read a definition about kindling and it made sense that the repeated withdrawals are what causes a stronger physical addiction to alcohol. What you people think?

tomsteve

imo, that could be 1 cause of stonger physical addiction.
years of continued drinking can,too.

doggonecarl

I've read about kindling, and that's not been my take away.

Mine is this: Repeated withdrawals (which only happen if you are already physically addicted) intensify the withdrawal process each time its undergone. Since addicts often stay addicted to prevent withdrawals, this just leads to longer use...which means a stronger physically addiction.

Just my opinion.

Forward12

I'm not sure it leads to more drinking, just that the withdrawals after hard benders just keep getting worse and worse over time.

Andante

Seems to me like you're putting the cart before the horse. You can't experience withdrawal without first being addicted. Withdrawal happens when the body and nervous system have become dependent on the drug and scream bloody murder when it is taken away. Dependence is part of the definition of addiction.

"Kindling" happens when repeated detoxes cause minor withdrawal symptoms to progress -- sometimes quite suddenly -- into major ones. It follows that you must have had the minor ones before you can progress to the major ones. The addiction is what comes first.

AnvilheadII

it made sense that the repeated withdrawals are what causes a stronger physical addiction to alcohol

no, continued DRINKING causes a stronger addiction, as the illness is progressive unless halted in it's tracks. many IN withdrawal crave their drug of choice to stall the withdrawals.

BrendaChenowyth

I don't think so, no. You have withdrawal symptoms worse and worse the more you abuse alcohol on a chronic continual basis.

totfit

I think the repeated withdrawals are a sign one is already there. My personal experience is that birth, then a later introduction of alcohol into my system was all it took. I did not become...........

Jack465

Going through repeated withdrawals is more stressful to the body than consistent drinking over the same time period.

I don't have any sources right now, just my own first hand experience, and a lot of other people have said this as well.

I gave myself horrible kindling by stopping and starting again many times, because I didn't know that this was one of the worst possible things I could have done.

I found that my alcohol cravings absolutely got worse as the kindling progressed. So I think the original poster is on to something. I don't think kindling causes alcoholism, but it can definitely make it worse.

Fly N Buy

Progression of the illness - worse, never better in severity of withdrawals.

This is a good SR resource on the topic - pretty well read with over 500,000 views

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...lly-again.html

wpainterw

I would rephrase it a bit: "Repeated drinking causes a stronger physical addiction to alcohol which in turn leads to repeated and stronger withdrawal symptoms." Those who are strongly addicted drink even more since they fear withdrawal. They are better advised to let their doctors supervise withdrawal instead of self medicating.

W.