Alcohol is a depressant, and it will not help you to deal with life. Much more commonly, men and women struggle with alcohol addiction because of their use. If you are using alcohol now and are finding that it is limiting your health and well-being, take a step towards healing. At Fort Behavioral Health, we can work with you to provide you with this guidance.
Is Alcohol a Depressant or a Stimulant?
Many people use alcohol as a way to enhance their mood. They want to let loose and have fun. Yet, alcohol is a depressant. That means that it can lead to depressed mood and emotional health and the need for a depression treatment program. In fact, alcohol will change a person’s mood, behaviors, as well as their brain function when they drink. In many cases, people will use alcohol as a way to relax and unwind after a long day. They may also use it as a way to deal with their symptoms of anxiety.
In these situations, alcohol works to slow down the brain’s function. It slows down the neural activity present. That means it changes the way your brain is functioning. You may experience symptoms such as:
- Unsteady movements
- Inability to react quickly
- Changes in speech, such as slurred speech
- Inability to reason
- Poor decision making
It also has an impact on your physical being. For example, it will significantly slow down the central nervous system when you drink too much alcohol. This alcohol usage can lower your heart and breathing rates to dangerous levels. When this happens, it can lead to respiratory failure, meaning that you’d stop breathing, as well as coma or death. It is important to seek help from a substance abuse treatment program if you are struggling.
Is Alcohol a Depressant That’s Dangerous to You?
It is also important to recognize what alcohol does to the brain in the long term. These short-term changes are often a primary area of concern, but there are long-term impacts. Many times, a person’s cognitive function can decline when a person is often drinking. It does not always improve, either. This decline in your cognitive abilities may mean you struggle with brain damage.
It is also important to realize the risk of addiction. For many people, alcohol use can develop into an addiction. When this happens, you may not find it easy to stop using alcohol. It may even be impossible. Your brain has become dependent on the drug to function and puts out pain and distress signals to you if you fail to drink. You end up drinking more and harder alcohol. That puts you at an increased risk of health problems.
At Fort Behavioral Health, we want to change that by giving you the tools and addiction therapy programs to break your addiction. That includes:
- Alcohol detox support
- Residential treatment treatment
- Partial hospitalization program
- Intensive outpatient treatment
- Outpatient treatment
- Aftercare
When you are ready to stop letting alcohol control you, this is the place to start.
Find the Treatment You Need at Fort Behavioral Health
If you are asking, “Is alcohol a depressant?” chances are good that you know you have a problem. The good news is coming to that realization can help you to make changes with your future. We use a wide range of holistic and evidence-based therapy options, all of which give you the chance for long-term recovery. Holistic treatments address the damage that addiction causes to a person’s mind, body, and soul. Additionally, evidence-based treatments are therapies that experts in addiction treatment have thoroughly investigated to ensure that they can effectively treat addiction. Our therapy options include:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy program
- Dialectical behavior therapy program
- Trauma therapy
- Yoga therapy
- Meditation therapy
Our team at Fort Behavioral Health can support you as you heal. Contact us today by calling 844.332.1807.
