Eli5 If alcohol is a poison why does it make us feel good?

Question

Eli5 If alcohol is a poison why does it make us feel good?

In: 3

Answer 1

If you drink enough quickly enough you can die directly from ethanol intoxication.

Excluding vomit aspiration, or passing out into a pool, etc….

A region of your brain, the Area Postrema, monitors blood for various toxins. It will induce vomiting in most cases, as most toxins are from something you ate.

One can drink enough to numb the Area Postrema so it doesn’t do its job.

So smaller doses numb other areas of the brain–this can be interpreted as “feeling good. ” maybe like a cheap valium, it can help anxiety.