Why is alcohol a “depressant”, but makes you feel less depressed while drinking it?
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Chemically speaking, a “depressant” means that the drug slows down chemical signals in the brain. Psychological depression is an entirely other branch of study.
Alcohol is technically classified as a depressant because it slows, or “depresses”, basic functions such as speech, reactions, and movement. It also affects brain function and activity, impairing the ability to think clearly, altering perceptions of one’s immediate surroundings, and distorting issues of judgment. In that sense, it “depresses” your depressed thoughts.
A *depressant* slows your chemical signals – you can see this in drunkenness by the way you’re slower to react to things, you’re slower to think of something, your words slur.
Now compare that with a *stimulant* like cocaine. People high on coke often talk a mile a minute, they bounce around the room, they’re making new connections and coming up with a dozen new ideas a minute, etc.
Alcohol functions as a depressant. It works by slowing down brain activity. That same slowing down, allows it to also act disinhibiting. You can’t worry, or stop impulsive actions and thoughts if your brain has slowed down a bit. So the immediate effect is to forget your troubles.
Everyone has told you what “depressant” means, but I wanted to add that alcohol makes you feel “less depressed” because it floods your brain with dopamine.
This why it feels fun to be drunk even if you’re not actually doing anything fun.
But if you continue to drink excessively, your brain relies on the alcohol to release dopamine instead of earning it via exercise, accomplishment, interaction, etc. So your brain becomes alcohol dependent (alcoholic) because you only feel good when drinking.
The movie “Flight” made me realize I was an alcoholic.
Depressant as a type of drug is unrelated to the mental health disorder depression. It doesn’t mean “thing that makes you clinically depressed”. (Also see “Great Depression”.)
“Depressant” in this sense is *”a substance that reduces arousal or stimulation”*. They work on the central nervous system, slowing down messages between the brain and body.
“Being depressed” is a psychological condition.
The two terms are not related.
I’m not sure about other people but there’s some alcohol that makes me depressed when I drink it. The term depressant when referring to a substance is that it slows down functions of the body when consumed.
I agree with what people are replying, that depressant as a drug has a different meaning than as a mood disorder. But, stimulants also help people feel focused and calm (e.g. ADHD medication, caffeine), and I think the answers don’t get to the heart of the question.
My ELI5 answer: people get nervous around strangers, and alcohol/depressants help calm that anxiety. People dwell on their thoughts when feeling sad/down, but alcohol results in less complex, higher-level thinking. In the same way, many people who have ADHD are seeking stimulation and feel chronically bored. Therefore, taking a stimulant helps replace that feeling and allow them to focus on tasks with more sustained attention.
“Depressant” in this use doesn’t mean “makes you sad”.
It means “makes you slow”.
It slows your body and mental functions.
Depress: definition 2. “reduce the level or strength of activity in (something, especially an economic or biological system).”
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