Is Alcohol a Stimulant?

Approximately 29.5 million people over 12 in the United States alone had alcohol use disorder (AUD) within the past year. In addition, over 894,000 teenagers also experienced problems with AUD. There is no question that alcohol continues to significantly impact many people’s lives.

If you drink alcohol regularly and are looking to make changes, it can help to learn more about the effects alcohol has on your body. Learning the answer to the question, “Is alcohol a stimulant,” will help you to understand more about what happens when you drink.

Keep reading this guide to learn what you need to know about alcohol, stimulant drugs, and alcohol treatment programs.

Overview of Stimulants vs. Depressants

Stimulants and depressants both affect how your brain and nervous system function, but they do this in different ways.

Stimulants excite or stimulate your nervous system and essentially speed up its functions. They can increase your heart rate and blood pressure and give you more energy.

If you take stimulants in high doses, you can feel impulsive and jittery and have problems sleeping. You can also experience physical effects like:

• Tremors
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Abdominal cramps
• Heart palpitations
• Chest pain

On the other hand, depressants slow your brain activity and cause muscle relaxation. They also cause you to feel relaxed and calm. Taking many depressants can actually cause you to become completely sedated.

If you take depressants in high doses, you can experience severe side effects that include:

• Blurry vision
• Speech problems
• Confusion
• Low blood pressure
• Dizziness
• Impaired coordination

If you take either stimulants or depressants for a long period, you can become physically dependent on them. As a result, you can experience withdrawal symptoms once you attempt to discontinue use.

Examples of Stimulants and Depressants

Common stimulant drugs include medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Prescription methamphetamines include Adderall for ADHD, and you can also find crystal meth illegally.

Caffeine is also a popular stimulant that most of us consume daily when we drink our morning coffee.

Other stimulants include cocaine. Cocaine is a well-known illegal stimulant drug that people can smoke, inject, or grind into powder for snorting.

Common depressant drugs include benzodiazepines and barbiturates. Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders, and insomnia. The main types of benzodiazepines include Valium, Ativan, Xanax.

Barbiturates are a type of sedative or depressant drug that’s been around since the 19th century. They’re mainly used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, and insomnia. Common barbiturates include Seconal, Nembutal, and Fioricet.

Both benzodiazepines and barbiturates are often sold without a prescription, and this misuse can lead to overdose complications.

Is Alcohol a Stimulant?

Now that you understand more about stimulants and depressants, it’s time to look more closely at alcohol.

Alcohol is produced by fermenting sugars, starches, and yeast. You’ll find it as the intoxicating ingredient in liquor, beer, and wine. Ethyl alcohol or ethanol is the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.

Many people think of alcohol as a stimulant since it can give you short-term energy; however, this isn’t the case. Alcohol is mostly a depressant that has initial stimulant effects.

Stimulant Effects of Alcohol

When you first start drinking alcohol, it sends signals to your brain to release the happy hormone known as dopamine.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter your nervous system uses to send messages between nerve cells. Dopamine is a feel-good chemical that plays a massive role in how we feel pleasure and happy emotions.

It can also increase your heart rate and cause agitation and aggression in some people.

However, the depressant effects begin to set in after this surge in dopamine and increased heart rate.

Depressant Effects of Alcohol

When alcohol causes depressant effects, it causes your brain activity to slow down. This is why people who are drinking have slower reaction times and impaired judgment.

Once alcohol enters your body, it goes to your brain quickly and then travels around your body. This absorption happens so fast that your liver can’t keep up with eliminating alcohol. This is what causes you to feel the effects of alcohol.

Eventually, these depressant effects will impact your entire body and cause symptoms like:

• Slurred speech
• Loss of coordination
• Low blood pressure
• Slow breathing
• Impaired mental functions
• Memory loss
• Loss of consciousness
• Nausea and vomiting

Drinking too much can lead to alcohol poisoning, which is an overdose of alcohol. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning include slow heart rate, mental confusion, and loss of consciousness.

What Is Alcohol Use Disorder?

While drinking may feel good initially, its stimulant and depressant effects cause changes in your brain. Ultimately this impacts your behavior and thoughts long-term.

In addition, since both stimulants and depressants can be highly addictive, drinking too much alcohol can lead to addictive behaviors.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a condition that’s identified by the inability to stop or control alcohol use despite the consequences it has on your life. You’ve likely heard AUD referred to as alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, or alcohol abuse.

AUD is a brain disorder that can cause mild, moderate, or severe symptoms.

Alcohol and Your Brain

Alcohol impacts the brain by interfering with your brain’s regular communication pathways. It does this by causing alterations in your neurons.

Using alcohol makes it more difficult for your brain to perform everyday tasks normally. The main areas of your brain that alcohol impacts include:

• Speech
• Memory
• Balance
• Judgment

This makes it more likely to have accidents like alcohol-induced blackouts. When this occurs, you have no memory of the events while drinking.

Alcohol Withdrawal

If you’re a heavy alcohol drinker, stopping suddenly can cause severe withdrawal symptoms. You can have withdrawal symptoms even if you only drink heavily for a few weeks to months.

Remember, alcohol has both stimulant and depressive effects on your brain and nervous system. Since it impacts your dopamine levels, your body has to work harder to keep your brain in a more awake state.

When the alcohol level in your body drops, your brain remains anxious and keyed up. Ultimately, this is what causes you to experience withdrawal symptoms.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to severe. Your symptoms will depend on how much you drink and for how long. You can start feeling symptoms within six hours of the last glass of alcohol, which includes:

• Sweating
• Shaking
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Vomiting
• Nausea

After about 48 hours, you can begin having more severe symptoms. These include delirium tremens (DTs), which involve serious symptoms like delusions and hallucinations.

It’s best to have a quiet and supportive environment when you start going through alcohol withdrawals. You’ll also need more assistance if you have a history of severe withdrawals or serious health conditions.

It can take up to two weeks for alcohol withdrawal symptoms to subside. However, it can take longer if you have severe symptoms from long-term use.

Alcohol Detox

Your first step in an alcohol detox program is to detox safely. You’ll first get a physical and mental health assessment once you arrive. You’ll also discuss the withdrawal symptoms you’re experiencing.

From this assessment, you’ll get a custom detox plan. Your treatment specialist will monitor your blood pressure and heart rate throughout detox.

The most uncomfortable detox symptoms usually occur 10 to 30 hours after your last drink. These symptoms will start to improve within 40 to 50 hours after you last had a drink.

Medication-assisted detox can help keep your body in balance. This involves various medications to help manage withdrawal symptoms like anxiety and muscle spasms. Benzodiazepines like Valium can help reduce these symptoms.

Medications like naltrexone help people to avoid drinking alcohol long-term. However, it’s usually given later in treatment since it can enhance withdrawal symptoms.

Once you get through detox, you’ll be ready to move to an alcohol treatment program.

Alcohol Treatment Program Options

You’ll have different options to choose from when it comes to alcohol treatment programs in the Bay Area.

Residential Treatment Programs

Residential treatment programs are intensive inpatient treatment programs. You’ll live at the facility during treatment, allowing you to focus on recovery. You should plan to be in a residential treatment program for 30 days, but this can vary.

Since mental health disorders often occur with addiction, you’ll receive individual behavioral therapy. Usually, this therapy consists of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT).

Other parts of the program include:

• Family therapy
• Group therapy
• Discharge and relapse planning
• Holistic therapies
• Nutritional therapies

You’ll also get access to specialized therapies like art therapy, music therapy, and equine therapy.

Intensive Outpatient (IOP) Treatment

IOP treatment is an intensive program allowing you to live at home and attend treatment sessions. It’s for people who’ve completed detox and residential treatment and no longer need continuous support.

Treatment is usually three days a week and focuses on behavioral, group, and family therapy sessions.

You’ll also have access to holistic therapies like meditation and yoga.

Find an Alcohol Treatment Program Today

Now you know the answer to the question, “Is alcohol a stimulant” you’ll understand why you have certain symptoms after drinking.

It’s time to take the next steps and find an alcohol treatment program. Reflections in Northern California is a luxury treatment center that can help you with your alcohol addiction treatment needs.

We provide alcohol detox, residential treatment, and intensive outpatient treatment programs to help you through the recovery process.

We also offer dual diagnosis treatment with behavioral therapies to address mental health issues. You’ll also have access to holistic, nutritional, and fitness therapies.

Make sure to reach out and contact us today to learn about our treatment programs, special program tracks, and insurance information.