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Alcohol can produce stimulating effects, but it is a depressant.
Depressants affect theneurotransmittergamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which slows down your brain activity.
It can also cause other side effects, including a risk for dependence and addiction.
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What Makes Alcohol a Depressant?
Alcohol is a depressant because it slows down the communication in the brain and body.
Specificially, alcohol acts on the body’s central nervous system.
It disrupts the neurotransmitters in your brain that are responsible for transmitting information.
This can affect your behaviors, thoughts, and feelings.
It acts on an inhibitory neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
GABA makes nerves cells less able to send, receive, or create signals.
In other words, it reduces activity in the brain.
The immediate effects of drinking alcohol can help you feel more relaxed, more confident, and less inhibited.
However, as these short-term effects wear off, other effects begin to take hold.
This includes feelings of anger, anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions.
For some, alcohol canincrease confidenceandself-esteem.
It can also decrease feelings of anxiety and make some people chatty or sociable, even energized.
It can also feel rewarding to drink, as alcohol releasesdopaminein the brain, encouraging you to keep drinking.
These “feel good” effects, however, are short-lived.
Depressants are commonly known as “downers,” as they typically reduce stimulation.
A commonpsychoactive drug, alcohol, alters your consciousness, thoughts, and mood.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor.
If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
Drinking can be harmful to anyone, regardless of their susceptibility to alcohol misuse or dependence.
Alcohol is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths every year.
This is equivalent to 261 deaths per day.
As yourblood alcohol concentration(BAC) rises, so do the risks.
Treatment options may include medication or therapy.
The FDA-approved options includenaltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram.
Naltrexone may also be used to reduce drinking without quitting cold turkey.
What works for you might not work for someone else, so know there are alternative programs available.
Takeaway
Alcohol affects everyone a little differently.
Its important to remember that alcohol is a depressant, and you might overdose if you drink too much.
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