You may have heard that alcohol is a depressant, and you may be wondering what that means. That’s okay, don’t be afraid to ask, it’s the best way to learn new things.
What is a Depressant?
Generally speaking, alcohol aside, a depressant is a substance that works to lower the amount of stimulation one feels, by reducing the neurotransmission levels in the brain.
Essentially, a depressant will slow down the data that moves between your brain and your body. It can impact your reflexes, your motor skills, your speech, and more.
If you just looked at the same and assumed it means that it’s something that makes you depressed, and you’ve thought to yourself “wait, I drink alcohol and I’m not depressed..”, hopefully now you understand that this isn’t related to depression, but rather it’s named after the way it can depress your body’s functions.
Is Alcohol a Depressant?
Yes, Alcohol is a depressant. It affects your brain function and neural activity.
Alcohol is classified as a depressant, even though it’s commonly used by people who want to go out and party and try to have a good time. People may use alcohol in social situations because it reduces inhibitions, so they feel like they can let loose, however an impairment of judgement and cognitive abilities can have many negative outcomes when it’s not used in moderation.
Why Is Alcohol a Depressant?
Alcohol can impact your body in the ways that a depressant does because alcohol is a depressant.
Drinking will have a big impact on one’s mood, how you act, the decisions you make, and your ability to process information. It doesn’t always feel like it when you’re drinking, but you can usually still tell when you’re a bit “off”, so to speak.
People may also use alcohol to suppress bad thoughts or feelings, to forget about their problems, or to try to get over something. The problem with this strategy is that it doesn’t actualyl fix any of the issues, it just gives people a vehicle to ignore them, but that vehicle (alcohol) ends up causing its own set of problems.
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