Eli5: If alcohol is a depressant, why does our mood increase after drinking it?

Question

Eli5: If alcohol is a depressant, why does our mood increase after drinking it?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The same reason your mood increases when you smoke a stimulant out of a broken light bulb. You see, when the chemical interacts with our neurons by either inhibiting the uptake of serotonin or dopamine, or by coercing the release of more of these chemicals, our mood increases. It has nothing to do with whether a central nervous system is depressed or stimulated.