Why is alcohol a “depressant”, but makes you feel less depressed while drinking it?

Question

Why is alcohol a “depressant”, but makes you feel less depressed while drinking it?

In: 105

Answer 1

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.