Acute stress disorder can occur after a person has experienced, witnessed or been confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of the person or others. Alcohol is a “depressant” drug. That means it slows down the parts of your brain that affect your thinking and behaviour, as well as your breathing and heart rate. The use of Alcohol has been traced as far back as 8000 BC, and is common in many cultures today.