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Pictured above are bottles of alcohol, the most common depressant.
Depressants (also known as sedatives and informally as "downers") are a major class of psychoactive substances that decreases activity in the brain through the lowering of neurotransmission levels, depressing or reducing arousal/stimulation in various areas of the brain.[1] Depressants represent one of the three major classes of psychoactive substances alongside stimulants ("uppers") and hallucinogens.
Depressants exert their effects through a number of different pharmacological mechanisms. The most prominent include the facilitation of GABA or opioid activity and the inhibition of glutamatergic or catecholaminergic activity.
Disclaimer: The effects listed below cite the Subjective Effect Index (SEI), an open research literature based on anecdotal user reports and the personal analyses of PsychonautWikicontributors. As a result, they should be viewed with a healthy degree of skepticism.
It is also worth noting that these effects will not necessarily occur in a predictable or reliable manner, although higher doses are more liable to induce the full spectrum of effects. Likewise, adverse effects become increasingly likely with higher doses and may include addiction, severe injury, or death ☠.
These effects are listed and described in detail within their own dedicated articles below:
