The Angry Drunk: How Alcohol and Aggression Are Linked

This involves expressing feelings behind thoughts and using “you” statements, allowing you to separate yourself from those thoughts. One way to manage anger-related to depression is to develop a sense of compassion for yourself instead of directing your anger inwards. With a kinder view toward yourself, you’ll be less likely to direct your anger inward. For this reason, self-compassion can be particularly helpful if your rage is directed inward. Sigmund Freud believed that depression results from anger repressed and directed toward oneself, rather than being expressed externally.

Therapy

1. Some studies suggest that these methods may also reduce cravings for addictive substances when practiced consistently.
2. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the United States.
3. We might feel our teeth clenched, our fists balled up, and our shoulders in knots.
4. In his case, he was already predisposed to anger arousal before he had his first drink.
5. Women were not included, because only four of the 12 studies presented complete data on women’s anger scores.
6. If you drink regularly to manage depression symptoms, it may have be beneficial to work with a therapist who specializes in treating co-occurring depression and alcohol use.

If they report daytime sleepiness, one possible cause is alcohol-induced changes in sleep physiology. The hallmarks of anxiety disorders are excessive and recurrent fear or worry episodes that cause significant distress or impairment and that last for at least 6 months. People with anxiety disorders may have both psychological symptoms, such as apprehensiveness and irritability, and somatic symptoms, such as fatigue and muscular tension.

In particular, for patients with more severe mental health comorbidities, it is important that the care team include specialists with the appropriate expertise to design personalized and multimodal treatment plans. Muscle tension, headaches, irregular heart rate and blood pressure, sleep difficulties, and the potential for heart problems or even stroke may be possible risk factors for chronic anger and emotional regulation issues. Add in alcohol abuse, and the multitude of possible social, emotional, physical, financial, and behavioral problems related to alcohol addiction, and the risk factors and potential for negative side effects go up exponentially. The journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology reports on studies showing that alcohol can increase aggression in both men and women, but more so in men. Alcohol impairs a person’s executive functioning, making it harder for them to think clearly and make rational decisions.

Effects of Stress and Trauma on Brain Pathways and AUD Risk

Drinking can seem like an easy way to cope with difficult emotions in the moment, but it’s generally not effective in the long run. You might feel a little unwell physically, but as long as the room doesn’t spin when you stand up, try to get outside for a short walk — or a longer one, if you can manage it. Then, try distracting yourself to help take your mind off how you feel. If you wake up feeling miserable after a night of drinking, you don’t have to wait it out.

See the Resources, below, for an NIAAA tool to help you locate these specialists. Some clinical features of AUD may also precipitate sleep disorders, such as a preoccupation with obtaining alcohol and AUD-related psychosocial stressors. Moreover, tolerance to alcohol can increase alcohol intake, which in turn may exacerbate sleep symptoms. Over time, your brain’s reward pathway builds tolerance and requires more and more dopamine (via alcohol) to feel pleasure.

Other factors that can affect alcohol-related aggression

Your doctor will likely conduct a physical exam and a psychological evaluation. These tests help them calculate your risk factors for either condition. This multi-test Addiction as a Coping Mechanism and Healthy Alternatives approach will help them rule out other conditions that might account for your symptoms.

Start with your family doctor, who can treat you or direct you to a specialist. Depression and anger may be seen as two sides of the same coin, depending on whether you are internalizing or externalizing your feelings. But these two emotions can also be two coins in the same purse, linked by the experience of major depression and other mood disorders. Another critical brain region affected by chronic alcohol use is the hippocampus, which plays a pivotal role in memory and mood regulation.