Section 6-4: Party time

I think we can agree that most people over the age of majority (and some people under) have experienced the mind altering effects of alcohol. As a friend of mine once stated "Whoever called Alcohol a depressant obviously didn't drink enough of it". Sadly, I think most people generally feel the same as he does.

The reason that most people will not realize that Alcohol is a depressant is because it is almost always paired with some sort of dopamine stimulant, I don't mean chemically, but some sort of social activity or public event such as a party, dance, sporting event, nightclub or just generally experienced with friends. Thus Alcohol is associated with "having a good time" and people only realize the inhibition loss but not the effects of the depressant.

-Image courtesy uniquesquared.com-

Ever have a really bad hangover? While you are suffering this hangover not only are you experiencing mild alcohol poisoning but your self-appraisal is probably a lot worse than what the objective reality of the situation is as your dopamine uptake is temporarily reduced.

Except this guy... his self-appraisal is spot on.
-Image courtesy thechive.com-

Just prior to having my depression diagnosed I became acutely aware of the depressant effects of alcohol. While drinking I would have all of the desired effects of alcohol: loss of inhibition, mild dizziness/coordination loss, dopamine release from fun activities. I soon began to notice that the day following a night of drinking, light or heavy consumption irrelevant, was an absolutely terrible day. I was consistently moody, irritable, upset and felt as though something was out of place. This was consistent even if all logic suggested that I should feel otherwise. Only after self-inflection did I realize that all that was occurring was the depressive effects of alcohol being compounded by depression, my bodies reduced ability to counter with dopamine and serotonin release.