Substance abuse of depressants is the overuse or misuse of legal drugs, including alcohol, that calm you or help you sleep. This topic focuses on the treatment of overdose of such drugs, excluding alcohol.
Depressants are drugs that cause sedation by depressing the central nervous system.
They include tranquilizers, antianxiety drugs, and sleeping pills. The most common sedatives are benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and hypnotic agents. The depressants abused the most are short-acting barbiturates, such as amobarbital, pentobarbital, and secobarbital. Intentional abuse occurs when you knowingly take these drugs without a prescription or increase the dosage or frequency without medical supervision. Unintentional abuse can occur if you forget easily and do not have a careful system for tracking how much and how often you take the drugs.