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How Depressants Affect Humans Essay

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How Depressants Affect Humans
Depressants slow down brain and body functions. These types of drugs are often called “downers”. Some medications are depressants, such as Xanax. Depressants are commonly used to relieve people of anxiety, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and seizures. These are all afflictions where the body functions are too fast (heart-rate too high, brain activity malfunctioning, etc.), so depressants are used to slow body function down to normal levels. People often abuse or are dependent on depressants, mostly alcohol. Someone who is drinking for the first time may feel the effects of alcohol long before a habitual drinker. Constant use of depressants will lead to tolerance. In turn, this will lead to the person needing more and more of the drug to get the effects they crave. This will cause an addiction to the depressant, and if the person tries to quit they may feel symptoms of withdrawal. The use of depressants without moderation can lead to substance use disorders. The general short term effects of depressants are: slow pulse and breathing, drowsiness, fatigue, and …show more content…
It is known for causing people to lose their inhibitions and act upon feelings that they would not act upon sober. Intoxicated people are generally noted as clumsy and more outgoing. This makes it confusing that alcohol would be a depressant. However, it is a depressant that disinhibits the individual, lowering cognition. Another common aspect of alcohol is sexual urges; people, especially men, have more aggressive sexual tendencies when intoxicated. Alcohol can slow neural processing, which affects judgment. The more someone has had to drink, the more likely they are to drive drunk. This is extremely dangerous because alcohol also reduces self-awareness and self-control, which can lead to fatal motor vehicle accidents. The abuse of alcohol, or alcohol use disorder, can shrink the brain and lead to smaller neural

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