Fact or Folklore: Are There Actually Different Types of Drunks?

The old myth is that choosing what type of alcohol you drink can predict whether you will be setting yourself up for a happy or a sad time. Another version of the myth is that you can identify different types of drunks depending on their choice of beverage. This myth has been debunked multiple times: in reality, no matter the alcoholic beverage, the same active chemical called ethanol is at work in your body.1

How Does the Brain Produce Emotion?

Are there happy and sad types of drunks?Neurotransmitters are chemical compounds that participate in brain activity.2 Neurotransmitters are molecules that act as messengers to produce your emotional state or mood.

For example, dopamine is often called the “feel-good” neurotransmitter. It can be released naturally through meditation or exercise, but many illegal controlled substances and alcohol trigger a release of dopamine as well.3

When you introduce foreign mind-altering substances, neurotransmitters are released in massively quantities higher than what occurs naturally. This is what produces the “high.” When the levels return to normal or dip below normal because the brain can’t compensate, this creates a “crash.”

This experience of extremely high levels of neurotransmitters associated with pleasure, reward, relaxation, arousal, euphoria, and other positive emotions is a contributing factor to the development of alcohol use disorder. Even people who appear to experience a negative personality change when drinking alcohol may feel sedation, emotional release, or social inhibition that encourages chronic patterns of substance misuse.

When a mind-altering substance is used repeatedly over time, the brain adjusts to this artificial level of neurotransmitters and you need more of the substance to achieve the same effects. This process is clinically known as tolerance.

The brain can also become dependent on the increased levels of the neurotransmitter in order not to experience withdrawal symptoms.

What Actually Happens When You Drink?

Alcohol is not digested like other beverages. Instead, alcohol is filtered and processed for the body to eliminate it. Alcohol is toxic, so as soon as it is ingested the body sets to work to process and remove the substance.5

When the alcohol reaches the brain, it starts an artificial reaction that signals an increase in neurotransmitters. The increase is what gives you that feeling of euphoria, happiness, or energy. Some of the neurotransmitters released include:6,7,8

  • Dopamine: Dopamine is at play when you feel pleasure and motivation. Dopamine encourages you to repeat pleasurable experiences. Natural dopamine encourages behavior like eating food you enjoy, being intimate, participating in fulfilling activities, and exercising. However, too much dopamine in the body can facilitate addiction because it leads to attempts to repeat the feel-good sensation of extreme levels of dopamine. Unnaturally low levels of dopamine can lead to depression.
  • GABA: Short for Gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA enhances sleep and reduces stress. Disruption in GABA can
  • Serotonin: Serotonin is responsible for mood stabilization, emotional well-being, and overall perceived happiness.

The more you drink, the more alcohol enters the bloodstream, increasing the blood alcohol content (BAC). The higher the BAC, the more the brain is getting overloaded with these neurotransmitters, so while it might feel great at the moment, what goes up must come down. As soon as the alcohol begins to leave your body, your body begins to struggle, as neurotransmitter levels try to right themselves as the BAC drops, often leading to hangovers.9

A hangover is “the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects that follow the consumption of high quantities of alcohol.”10 As your body’s BAC gets closer to zero, the effects become more pronounced.

Headaches, tiredness, nausea—over 47 different symptoms have been identified with the effects of a hangover. In essence, your body is trying to readjust .

Why Do There Seem to Be Different “Types of Drunks?”

What makes one person extremely happy when they drink alcohol and another incredibly sad? Do you actually experience personality change when drinking alcohol?

Tolerance

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines tolerance as: 11

The ability of a substance to have less of an affective property over time due to the brain compensating for the factors that substance use diminishes.

This means the body becomes accustomed to the prolonged ingestion of alcohol. For this reason, someone with alcohol addiction may not seem as intoxicated as another person after ingesting the same amount of alcohol.

Since the body and the brain have become more used to the ingestion of alcohol, the feelings of euphoria or excitement may no longer be there due to the compensation from the brain to tolerate the constant ingestion of the substance. Essentially, you can no longer get the same feeling from smaller amounts of alcohol.

People living with alcohol addiction might appear more unhappy than some of their peers because they drink not to get pleasurable feelings but also to maintain their status quo emotions. At this point, drinking is no longer considered fun, and you might find yourself depressed or stuck as you realize it is no longer having the same effects as before.

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Long-Term Use

What happens to the body and the mind with severe alcohol use disorder? Positron emission tomography (PET) studies show significant changes in neurochemical transmission.12

This means that the natural release of dopamine, GABA, and serotonin is compromised and can lead to mood regulation difficulties, including depression and mania. This can increase risky behaviors commonly associated with larger alcohol consumption, which creates more alcohol-related neurotoxicity.12

Studies show that excessive usage can also shrink the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for executive decision-making and rational thought.12

This is the part of the brain that will think through actions and weigh out the pros and cons before making a decision. All of these situations lead to different moods when drinking, as alcohol has now affected the brain’s ability to regulate mood and emotion.

Mental Health

Types of drunksThe term “self-medicating” describes when a person uses substances to manage mental health symptoms. You may experience anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms. Sometimes these symptoms indicate an undiagnosed mental health condition in addition to alcohol use disorder.

Individuals with profound mental health symptoms—whether or not they have a mental health condition—may experience more symptoms when drinking or complete relief from their symptoms. This effect can appear to create a complete and dramatic personality change when drinking alcohol.

However, alcohol is also associated with an increase in mental health symptoms after the “high” wears off. For example, this may mean that a person who has moderate depressive symptoms seems quiet before drinking, euphoric and uninhibited when intoxicated, but extremely upset, withdrawn, hopeless, or self-destructive after heavy drinking.

Nature

Everyone’s body has unique nuances. Even when you order the same drink as your best friend, the effect of the ethanol on your brain may vary dramatically. These differences may be hereditary or result from physical or mental characteristics.

Potential differences include:

  • Metabolism
  • Tolerance
  • Naturally occurring levels of neurotransmitters
  • Neurotransmitter response to alcohol

Nurture

In this context, nurture is the story of how you got here—your past, the family history, the culture or society you relate to, and any other experiences you might have picked up along the way.

In short, some of how your body operates has to do with what it has learned from the past. For example, people who experienced childhood trauma likely have higher levels of cortisol—the neurotransmitter responsible for stress responses—which increases the need for serotonin to create a balanced, content, or happy mood.13 While your experience may vary based on biological factors, without the increased serotonin, you may develop anxiety or depression symptoms.

Inhibitions

When you drink, ethanol affects the prefrontal cortex, reducing your inhibitions and removing the “filters,” which can lead to poor judgment and bad decision-making.

When your inhibitions are lowered, you may speak about or act on your surface thoughts or emotions without a thought of consequences. It also impacts the way you feel internally when drinking. For example, someone who:

  • Lost their job may appear depressed
  • Got good news before having their first drink may appear happy
  • Got into a fight with their partner earlier in the day may get upset again

The more intoxicated you become, the less control you have over your emotional state. This is why you might initially be in a great mood when you first start drinking, but by the end of the night, you might be crying and oversharing to a stranger.

Does a Personality Change When Drinking Alcohol Point to Addiction?

Not everyone who uses, or even misuses, alcohol has an addiction.

However, some signs and symptoms can indicate the need for an alcohol use disorder screening. Seek help if you notice that you:

  • Drink to access specific emotions, such as to calm down, to feel happier, or to enjoy social situations with less anxiety
  • Use alcohol in order to excuse or justify behavior you feel you can’t do while sober
  • Feel you can’t control how much or how often you drink
  • Feel that you can’t function at your best without a drink, such as not being able to sleep, process emotions, socialize, or be productive at work
  • Enjoy feeling like a different person when you drink, but feel guilt or shame about your drinking afterward (especially if drinking interferes with your relationships or responsibilities)
  • Think about using alcohol, crave alcohol, feel urges to drink, and spend time obtaining or drinking alcohol for large amounts of your day

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Only a mental health professional can diagnose alcohol use disorder. Professionals base this assessment on diagnostic criteria. Some of the things that they will assess for include:14

  • Present and past patterns of usage
  • Biomedical concerns (do you have alcohol-induced health issues or will continued usage be problematic for current health concerns)
  • Issues with your job, school, or family activities due to usage
  • Using alcohol in dangerous situations
  • Unsuccessful attempts to cut down on usage, and/or having others ask you to cut down your usage
  • Continued usage even knowing that using is going to cause or exacerbate a problem

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Resources

  1. Zakhari, S. (2006). Overview: How is alcohol metabolized by the body? Alcohol Research & Health : the Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 29(4), 245-254.
  2. Kerage, D., Sloan, E. K., Mattarollo, S. R., & McCombe, P. A. (2019, July 15). Interaction of Neurotransmitters and Neurochemicals with Lymphocytes. Journal of Neuroimmunology, 332, 99-111.
  3. Di Chiara, G. (1997). Alcohol and dopamine. Alcohol Health and Research World, 21(2), 108-114.
  4. NiDirect Government Services. What Happens When You Drink Alcohol.
  5. Healthdirect. (2021). Dopamine.
  6. Hepsomali, P., Groeger, J.A., Nishihira, J., and Scholey, A. (2020, September 17). Effects of oral gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) administration on stress and sleep in humans: a systematic review. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14,
  7. Endocrine Society. (2018). Brain Hormones.
  8. Palmer, E., Tyacke, R., Sastre, M., Lingford-Hughes, A., Nutt, D., & Ward, R. J. (2019). Alcohol hangover: underlying biochemical, inflammatory and neurochemical mechanisms. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 54(3), 196-203.
  9. Palmer, E., Tyacke, R., Sastre, M., Lingford-Hughes, A., Nutt, D., & Ward, R. J. (2019, March 27). Alcohol hangover: underlying biochemical, inflammatory and neurochemical mechanisms. Alcohol & Alcoholism, 54(3), 196-203.
  10. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2000). Alcohol alert. Alcohol Alert, 28, 356.
  11. Volkow, N. D., Wiers, C. E., Shokri-Kojori, E., Tomasi, D., Wang, G.-J., & Baler, R. (2017). Neurochemical and metabolic effects of acute and chronic alcohol in the human brain: studies with positron emission tomography. Neuropharmacology, 122, 175-188.
  12. Kubota, M., Nakazaki, S., Hirai, S., Yamaura, A., & Kusaka, T. (2001). Alcohol consumption and frontal lobe shrinkage: study of 1432 non-alcoholic subjects. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 71(1), 104-106.
  13. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
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