Myths & Misconceptions About Depressants

Depressants rank among America's most commonly abused and least understood substances. Alcohol drinkers mistakenly see their drug of choice as a stimulant, while relying on another one--caffeine--to counter its effects. Minor tranquilizers carry their own particular risks. Users may become dependent on them, even when taking low dosages. Withdrawal can also trigger severe anxiety, insomnia and seizures, which users may mistake for the exact symptoms that they hoped to treat.

Alcoholism Cannot Be Cured

• Alcoholism is considered a disease, but cannot be "cured" like one, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA). Relapses are still possible, even if an alcoholic has stopped drinking for a long time. Treatment is possible through professional counseling, and medications like Antabuse, which reduce the body's cravings for the substance. Even with this support, not drinking remains the safest course for alcoholics to maintain long-term abstinence.

Alcohol Is Not a Stimulant

• The euphoria and lowered inhibitions that drinkers first experience lulls them into thinking that alcohol is a stimulant. In reality, alcohol is a depressant, according to authorities like the NIAA. The depressant effects take over after the initial effects wear off. Upbeat feelings give way to drowsiness and sedation, often resulting in unconsciousness. However, alcohol's depressive effects are sufficiently powerful to suppress reflexes like gagging and breathing--leaving drinkers at risk of vomiting or choking to death.

Antidepressants Are Not Risk-Free

• The legal status of prescription drugs often blind users to their harmful side effects.

  More than 60 million prescriptions are written annually for so-called "minor" tranquilizers like Librium and Valium, the American Psychiatric Association estimates. Unlike barbiturates, these drugs do not unduly affect breathing and thought processes--but are not risk-free, states an overview by the Do It Now Foundation. Withdrawal attempts may lead to insomnia, severe anxiety and seizures. However, users may not recognize these symptoms, which appear similar to the emotional problems that the drugs were designed to treat.

Caffeine And Alcohol Do Not Mix

• Mixing alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks can lead to risky behaviors in long-term users.

  The belief that caffeine counteracts alcohol's depressant effects has no basis, according to results of an "Addictive Behaviors" study cited on the medicmagic.net website. While reducing the drowsiness of drinking, the stimulant effects of caffeine may inspire risky behaviors. Regular bar customers who mix alcohol and caffeine-laced energy drinks tend to drink for longer time periods, but are four times likely to drive home afterwards, the study showed.

Tranquilizing Effects Are Temporary

• Tranquilizers and other prescription drugs exert an insidious effect on users--because psychological effects may occur, even at low doses. Long-term users often fail to understand that these types of drugs cannot "cure" the underlying causes of their nervousness, or anxiety. For most medical professionals, minor tranquilizers simply mask the user's real problems until they become strong enough to address them realistically.