Is Alcohol a Depressant?

Do you feel like alcohol leaves you feeling sluggish, tired, and depressed? Alcohol might be the most commonly consumed drug, but many people are unaware of how it impacts their bodies. If you are wondering, “Is alcohol a depressant,” you have come to the right place. Our helpful guide will explain all the facts, so you can make the right choice for your personal health.

Is Alcohol a Depressant or a Stimulant?

There is a lot of confusion about alcohol because it can have different effects. Unlike most other drugs, alcohol isn’t automatically sedating or stimulating. Instead, effects vary based on the amount of alcohol you drink and your physical chemistry. Some people on alcohol might seem more energetic and hyper than usual while others might seem more confused and drowsy. Typically, alcohol seems more like a stimulant in small doses and a depressant in large doses. To understand whether alcohol is a depressant or stimulant, it is necessary to take a closer look at how it interacts with your brain.

From a medical perspective, alcohol is a depressant. A depressant is any substance that slows down activity within the brain. Like other depressants, alcohol affects your body’s ability to absorb or create gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This important neurotransmitter is responsible for blocking impulses between nerve cells. When you take alcohol, it mimics the effects of GABA in your body and binds to GABA receptors. You end up with slowed interaction between nerve cells while the alcohol is in your system, and once the alcohol wears off, your body produces less GABA naturally.

Though GABA is the main reason alcohol is a depressant, it is not the only neurotransmitter affected by alcohol. Alcohol ends up also inhibiting glutamate. This leads to impaired brain function and memory loss. The other main neurotransmitter that alcohol impacts is dopamine. Drinking causes heightened dopamine which tends to result in feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. However, dopamine also ends up modulating breath and blood pressure.

How Depressants Like Alcohol Affect Your Body

When you consume alcohol, it impacts your brain in multiple ways. The alcohol binds with GABA receptors, so it starts to interfere with a variety of central nervous system processes. At the same time, you experience heightened levels of dopamine and inhibited serotonin. All of these various effects combine to slow down your bodily processes. While you are drinking, you will typically experience one or more of these symptoms:

• Slowed reaction time
• Low blood pressure
• Slower breathing
• Dizziness
• Reduced coordination
• Blurry vision
• Nausea and vomiting
• Poor judgment
• Mental confusion
• Memory loss
• Loss of consciousness

Are Alcohol’s Depressant Effects Dangerous?

At lower levels, alcohol’s depressant effects are mostly just inconvenient. However, once your blood alcohol levels rise past a certain point, alcohol is outright dangerous. Excessive amounts of alcohol start to interfere with the parts of the brain that manage essential functions like breathing and keeping your heart beating.

As you drink more and more alcohol, your breath rate and your heart rate begins to slow. If you are experiencing an overdose, you will struggle to keep enough oxygen circulating through your bloodstream. When overdoses go untreated, a person will typically lose consciousness, enter a coma, and possibly die. Keep in mind that a person can overdose long before fully losing consciousness. Other signs of an overdose include:

• Delayed responses
• Lack of gag reflex
• Very low body temperature
• Pale or bluish skin
• Sweaty or clammy skin
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Slow or weak pulse
• Difficulty breathing

The Long-Term Consequences of Abusing Depressants

Alcohol is definitely dangerous when you consume high levels all at once. However, even smaller amounts can still be very risky. Due to alcohol’s depressant effect, frequently consuming it disrupts your whole body. When you regularly drink more than the recommended safe amount, you can end up dealing with many problems.

Drinking and Depression

Chronic drinking causes your body to produce less GABA, dopamine, and other essential neurotransmitters. Regularly drinking more than five standard drinks is associated with a higher risk of depression, and people with alcohol use disorders have much higher rates of depression. On the bright side, this may be reversible. 2012 research found that going to alcohol use treatment halved the number of patients with depression.

Alcohol and Anxiety

Many people drink to feel less anxious, but alcohol actually makes anxiety worse. When you are sober, you experience a “rebound effect” that makes you feel more stressed and worried than ever. Multiple studies, dating back to 1999, find that people who chronically abuse alcohol have a higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder. Alcohol also increases the rate of panic attacks and other unpleasant symptoms.

Drinking and Dementia

Since alcohol is a depressant, it interferes with your brain’s memory-making process. This can cause problems even if you quit getting black-out drunk. According to the Alzheimer’s Society, excessive alcohol consumption is linked to higher risks of dementia. Alcohol consumption inhibits your brain’s ability to form and store long-term memories. As you age, you risk dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other types of age-related memory loss.

How to Avoid the Negative Effects of Alcohol

Ultimately, alcohol tends to have many negative effects on your physical, mental, and emotional health. If you suspect you are using alcohol excessively, it is important to seek professional advice right away. At Long Island Interventions, our team can help diagnose alcohol use disorders and recommend treatment options. Call or contact us today to get started on the path to recovery.

References
https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/depressants/
https://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20020225/koob2.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4065474/
https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/understanding-dangers-of-alcohol-overdose
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658562/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6927748/
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-2/186-196.htm
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/alcohol