the.com/depressant
Not sadness in a bottle — just your nervous system's volume knob turned way, way down.
means A substance that slows down activity in your brain and nervous system, dulling alertness, reaction time, and arousal.
from From Latin 'deprimere' — 'de-' (down) plus 'premere' (to press) — literally 'to press down.' The same root gives us 'depression' and 'press.' 'Depressant' emerged as medical and chemical vocabulary grew in the 19th century, when physiologists needed a word for substances that press down nervous system activity, as opposed to stimulants that rev it up.
- includes
- alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates
- mechanism
- boosts GABA, the brain's main brake pedal
- danger
- mixing types can stop breathing entirely
- misnomer
- does not cause depression, slows the CNS instead