Is Alcohol a Drug?
Yes, alcohol belongs to a family of drugs called depressants, which slow down your body’s vital functions. This results in unsteady movement, slurred speech, and slow reactions. Mentally, it reduces your ability to think rationally and impairs your judgment. Despite its classification as a depressant, alcohol has two effects. When you first begin to drink, alcohol has a stimulant effect. For example, one beer or a glass of wine might loosen you up. However, if you drink more than your body can process effectively, alcohol becomes a depressant. This can cause you to lose coordination and other functions. Alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol or ethanol, produced by fermenting fruits and grains. During fermentation, yeast reacts with other ingredients to create alcohol.Understanding What You Drink
Is alcohol a drug that can endanger your health and disrupt your life? That depends on your drinking habits and many psychological and physical predispositions that you may have no control over — and some you do. The following list contains the alcohol content of several popular beverages:- Beer 2 to 6% ABV
- Brandy 40% or more ABV
- Cider 4 to 8% ABV
- Wine 8 to 20% ABV
- Rum 40% or more ABV
- Gin 40 to 47% ABV
- Whiskey 40 to 50% ABV
- Vodka 40 to 50% ABV
- Tequila 40% ABV
- Liqueurs 15 to 60% ABV
Warning Signs of Alcoholism
Is alcohol a drug you should avoid? Many people drink alcohol socially with no signs of addiction. Others are prone to binge drinking and may become addicted if they continue to drink. At Recovery Ranch’s alcohol addiction treatment center, you learn new skills to deal with stress in healthy ways and resist cravings that can cause you to relapse. You may have an alcohol use disorder if more than two of these activities apply to you:- Drink more alcohol than you planned
- Drink more often than you anticipated
- Have been unable to cut back your alcohol consumption
- Spend a lot of mornings hungover
- Crave alcohol to the exclusion of everything else
- Struggle at school or work because of a drinking problem
- Keep drinking even after it causes problems with family and friends
- Stop other activities to drink more
- Continue drinking even when it makes you anxious or depressed
- Have withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, restlessness, nausea, sweating, seizures, or hallucinations
