Alcohol and Rage: What You Need to Know

Then, the more they drink, the more anger is released because of the lack of inhibition. It’s a cycle that can really wreak havoc in the individual and oftentimes families. Thus, alcohol rehabsare always on standby to help those who are caught up in the cycle. This isn’t such a bad thing if your lowered inhibition means you might flirt more with your partner or be more sociable with your friends.

• Alcohol and anger are not a good combination, and you are putting yourself and your loved one at risk when you engage in drinking.
• Some examples of evidence-base therapies include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and contingency management.
• At one point, many drinkers have considered whether they should stop drinking altogether.
• For those who already don’t think about the future, this could easily lead to making a short-sighted decision and possibly getting into drunken altercations.

Majority of the dependent and abstainers attributed it to personal reasons (persisting irritation, frustration, negative attitude toward the alcohol users, decrease communication with others). 60% of the dependent and abstainers experienced it significant impact on family (decrease communication with wife, frequent fights) and workplace area (loss of job and conflict with employers). There was no significant difference in relation to age on onset of drinking, occupation, and education. In addition to potential mental health disorders related to difficulties managing anger, there are several physical side effects of unchecked and chronic anger. This activates the stress response, which speeds up heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure, and increases body temperature.

Brain chemistry, alcohol, and rage

Suffering from high stress or anxiety can make people more reactive to situations that would otherwise go without notice. Consequences of these actions can have a lifelong impact as they can include jail time, lost relationships and trouble finding employment due to a criminal record. Consuming alcohol can serve as a distraction from a range of negative feelings, including anger. And all too often, as in Ryan’s case, it reflects displacement, directing anger toward a target that is not the source of an individual’s original anger. Under the influence of alcohol, those already predisposed toward anger may vent or, more seriously, direct their anger toward a target that might be experienced as less threatening than the original target. I’ve observed this pattern over several decades in helping clients deal with anger.

Our goal is to make treatment accessible and comfortable for those who need it most. At the end of the day, alcohol is a depressant and interferes with the central nervous system’s ability to interpret and react to what’s going on around it. Social cues become difficult, emotions are less regulated alcoholic rage syndrome and critical thinking skills suffer greatly. Alcohol makes it harder for those with anger management issues to judge a situation and prevent a hostile reaction. It doesn’t have to be a diagnosable condition in order to have an impact on how likely it is to become angry while drunk.

Alcohol Recovery at FHE Health

68% of the dependent and abstainers perceived anger as negative emotion and 76% in control perceived it as negative. The presence of significant difference was seen for relapsers group in relation to trait anger and state anger. The group who remained abstinent from the intake to follow-up differs significantly from the dependent group in relation to state anger and anger control out. A total of 100 males (50 alcohol-dependent and 50 abstainers) in the age range of 20–45 years with a primary diagnosis of alcohol dependence were taken for the study. As with all co-occurring disorders, it’s important to treat anger management issues and AUD at the same time as part of a comprehensive treatment program. Drinking cocktails that include energy drinks should be considered a possible factor for aggressive behavior as well.

Lastly, alcohol also greatly impairs your decision-making and judgment skills, which makes controlling your anger much more difficult. In this blog, we’ll discuss how drinking alcohol can make people behave aggressively and harm their mental health and how getting help for both substance abuse and mental health can aid recovery. Although a person may be drunk, it doesn’t mean they are going to be aggressive. Anger is exacerbated by alcohol, but an easy-going person isn’t likely to become angry while drunk. If you are struggling with an addiction to alcohol and you are told that you have anger control problems when you are drinking, pay attention to what people are saying to you.

The Impact of Anger on Constriction of Perception and Assessment

If you’ve ever started or been involved in a drunken altercation, reflect on what happened and how the situation could have been handled better. For example, some cases of domestic violence have turned fatal because one person refused to leave when their partner was being abusive to them. In some cases, you can’t change an angry drunk, and you need to make the decision that’s right for you and other members of the household, especially children. This has an effect on the life of the person exhibiting this consistent anger. It makes people — even their closest friends — less willing to spend time with them.

Recovering from an alcohol use disorder can be isolating, especially when you consider how widespread drinking culture is in the United States. In a support group, you can meet like-minded individuals who can help make recovery that much easier. Unfortunately, feeling aggressive from alcohol can stem from more than one variable that’s beyond your control.

Choose Recovery Over Addiction

If you’re looking for help getting started, it’s wise to speak with your physician first. According to research compiled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, alcohol use is a considerable contributing factor to sexual assault. 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. If you feel like you have a pattern of being aggressive when drinking alcohol, you should understand how your behavior can impact yourself and others. Furthermore, alcohol can make you focus too much on specific words or behaviors from other people.