How Heavy Alcohol Use Damages Memory Function
This led to numerous articles falsely stating that couples who drink together stay together. “Alcohol can’t serve any purpose in your relationship,” Dr. Forman says. He says that if your partner needs to drink to calm themself, or you need to drink to tolerate your partner, then the relationship will be eventually hindered by alcohol.
Similarly, in nearly 40% of violent incidents, surveyed individuals from the United Kingdom said they believed their perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol. While drinking alcohol isn’t the sole reason for assault, it plays a substantial role in whether someone commits a violent crime. An aggressive drunk may make poor decisions that lead to worse scenarios. Since your judgment becomes clouded when you’re intoxicated, a simple misunderstanding can quickly turn into a bar fight. Furthermore, an angry drunk may not feel like consequences matter, making it seem like a good idea from their perspective to create or partake in a dangerous situation. There are several risk factors, all of which impact people differently.
Habits for a Healthier Mind!
They subtly reinforce our beliefs that alcohol equals good times and pleasure. But people without that trait don’t get any more aggressive when drunk than they would when they’re sober. Researchers like Roope Tikkanen, M.D, Ph.D., have learned that HTR2B Q20 carriers have a lower number of brain receptors that contribute to controlling impulsive behavior. This decrease in receptors contributes to a lack of impulse control. Someone with HTR2B Q20 may be less likely to control their impulse to punch someone who bumped into them at a crowded bar or blurt out all the resentments one has towards their sister or best friend. This mutation is believed to only affect up to 2% of the population, and Dr. Tikkanen suspects that it is exclusive to individuals of Finnish descent.
- Another research study, conducted in Finland, took an approach that considered the genetics of individuals and how their makeup may make them more prone to aggression when under the influence of alcohol.
- Studies show that displays of anger are seen more often in men than in women and in people who already tend toward anger.
- Specifically, it found that problematic drinkers may be more likely to attend to aggressogenic stimuli while intoxicated, and that is, they were more likely to experience certain cues as aggressive.
- Kelley Kitley, a licensed clinical social worker and international women’s mental health expert, was afraid that her relationship with her husband would struggle to work if she changed her drinking habits.
- Potential (but not yet adequately validated) therapeutic approaches involve reinforcing cognitive processes or pharmacologically modulating serotonergic neurotransmission (and other target processes).
Another issue with alcohol consumption and anger is that the person is less likely to consider the consequences of their actions¹. They may get in a fight and not think about going to jail or losing a friendship. Studies show alcoholic rage syndrome that displays of anger are seen more often in men than in women and in people who already tend toward anger. Research also indicates that people who become angry after drinking cannot identify facial expressions correctly.
How Heavy Alcohol Use Can Damage Memory Function
Even if your partner has a different stance, they should be willing to work through the changes you want to make. “Our 15-year relationship, as a married couple, is stronger today than it has ever been,” she says. It’s easy to pinpoint a reason for someone’s behavior or put blame elsewhere. It was the tequila, or the fifth beer, or the lack of food, or the friend who bought one-too-many pitchers that needed to be drank.
There were 34 trials, and the participant «won» half of them (randomly determined). Each time they «lost,» the participants received electric shocks that increased in length and intensity over the course of the trials, and the researchers measured if they retaliated in kind. «If you carefully consider the consequences of your actions, it is unlikely getting drunk is going to make you any more aggressive than you usually are.» They also explain that our emotional state after a stiff drink may be significantly influenced by the context of consumption, how the drink is advertised, and how much alcohol it contains.
Consequences of Being a Mean Drunk
This means people who are constantly angry might take advantage of alcohol’s presence to unleash their emotions. Maybe they’ll finally say all the things they’ve been holding back or get into a fight with someone that’s been harassing them. Poor judgement and lack of self-control can lead to making irrational decisions, which can make a person even angrier with everything.
