The Connection Between Alcohol and Anger

An example would be if you were to get cut off by another driver on a busy or chaotic highway. Your heart may start to race, your palms might get sweaty, and you may feel like your entire body is “on alert” for the next 15 minutes. There’s a reason for this, and it’s not as simple as “alcohol makes you mad.” At Serenity Lane, we care deeply about everyone in our Oregon communities, and we don’t want to see them controlled by alcohol or anger. If you’re physically dependent on alcohol and need to stop drinking completely, stopping suddenly could be harmful. Your GP can give you advice and/or medication to help you do this safely.

While stimulants, such as coffee and Adderall, target dopamine receptors in the brain, alcohol and other depressants target the brain’s GABA receptors. GABA, which stands for gamma-aminobutyric acid, is a receptor in the brain that directly influences your cognitive and inhibitory actions. What that means is GABA has an effect on functions such as fine motor skills, speech, sight, reaction time, natural inhibitions, and emotions. This can also be responsible for the stimulating feeling some individuals get when drinking alcohol.

Acute and long-term care

It is also possible that excessive alcohol consumption is causing a depletion of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays a role in mood regulation. One of the most common misconceptions about seeking treatment for anger issues or alcohol use is that you’ll need to leave your family, your work, or your friends. If that’s something you feel you’re unable to do, we can support you with other methods of treatment. We also offer residential treatment for those needing intensive care. In other words, long-term anger management is borderline impossible when someone is drinking regularly or in excess.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you’ve hurt yourself or think you might act on suicidal thoughts. Dealing with physical health problems, debt and housing issues can all affect your mental health. In the short-term, drinking too much can lead to alcohol poisoning, sleep problems, an upset stomach, bloating and migraines. It may make you behave recklessly or aggressively, have an accident or become the victim of violence. We know that alcohol makes people do stupid things, so for some, it’s an excuse to do whatever they want. There have been studies where people thought they were consuming alcohol and acted like they were drunk anyway.

Follow the UK low risk drinking guidelines

If someone has raised concerns over your drinking behaviours and anger issues, or if you’ve started to worry that alcohol might be a problem for you, now might be the time to change your drinking habits. If you feel like you have a pattern of being aggressive when drinking alcohol, you alcoholic rage syndrome should understand how your behavior can impact yourself and others. While psychotherapy is the primary approach for co-treatment of alcohol use and anger management, medications like mood stabilizers and those used to treat substance withdrawal may also be part of your treatment plan.

A person is less likely to hold themselves back (in emotions or behaviour) under the influence. If normally you might suppress your emotions in a situation, alcohol can make you more dramatic. This link is even evident in historical records of ancient Greece in the 4th and 5th centuries. However, it is also well-documented that alcohol does not always cause aggression. Alcohol may lead the same person to feel happy one day and enraged the next.