system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How can alcohol withdrawal or detox kill you?

Edit: I’m not an alcoholic, I just couldn’t find concrete answers anywhere. 😊
gpt
Alcohol activates a receptor in the brain to tell it to be sleepy and drunk. 

In long term use, the brain doesn’t want to be sleepy and drunk all the time, so it does three things to maintain a normal awake/alert state:
1. Gets rid of some of the receptors that alcohol acts on
2. Gets rid of some of the normal brain chemical that says “be sleepy/sedate” at normal times. 
3. Increases the normal brain chemical that says “be awake and alert and active”

When you stop drinking, you now have fewer receptors for chemicals saying “be sleepy” and also less chemicals saying “be sleepy” and also more chemicals saying “be alert and active.”

The result? Seizures. Lots and lots of seizures. Which are basically just too much brain activity. Which use up the sugar and energy in the brain and produce poisonous waste products in amounts too high for the body to get rid of it.