Go ahead and have a glass of ****, @Aster, it really will help bring your blood pressure down and help calm your mind. Ethanol, the main alcohol component found in wines, ****, liquors, and other alcoholic beverages, is classified as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant – a substance that can slow down brain activity. Thus, the ingestion of some will have a physiological relaxing effect, whether or not one gets tipsy. If you have ever had a sudden serious shock (almost being hit by a car, for example) a shot of some kind of liquor, while not enough to impair, will likely calm you, stop the shaking, slow down the racing thoughts, etc. It is a physical response. If you ingest more than one “to relax”, then you are likely looking to get a little buzz as well, but the one will actually relax you.