What Does Alcohol do to Your Mood?
Do you know what kind of drinker you are? Do you think that “drinking personalities” are real? Many people talk about whether they are angry, happy, depressed, giggly, or stubborn drunks. Today, we’re going to talk about whether or not those ideas and “drunk types” are real and what alcohol does to the body and mood.
What Are You Drinking?
If you’ve ever chosen your drink based on your mood, you are not alone. According to a study published in the BMJ Open, different types of alcoholic beverages can lead to mixed emotions. Drinking can also be affected by gender and age as well.
In their publishment, 29,836 survey respondents were allowed into the final analysis. 29.8% of those responding said that they felt more aggressive when drinking spirits versus the 7.1% who felt more aggressive when drinking wine.
Another detail of note was the age of a drinker concerning relaxation. Younger respondents often said they felt relaxed and tired after drinking red wine and spirits while older respondents said those things about beer and white wine.
Do “Wants” Affect Choices?
Out of the survey participants, many reported stating that they would choose something if they were looking for a particular mood. For example, younger respondents would often look for drink choices that would make them feel alive, beautiful, and confident while out drinking. At the same time, older respondents would choose drinks that they hoped would make them feel tired and relaxed.
Does This Study Offer Proof?
Researchers within the study said that expectations about the effects of drinking could bring about those very effects. For example, if a person always drinks whiskey after a bad day, they might associate whiskey with their anger rather than drinking whiskey as a result of an already bad day.
However, this study does help one to understand how their own emotions can be affected and can affect drinking. As the researchers concluded, “Results from these analyses can be used by public health bodies to understand alcohol consumption behavior better and to inform strategies and interventions...”
In the end, the researchers did acknowledge that the findings were non-probability samples of people who chose to complete the survey. The authors noted that there was a chance that the conclusions of the study would not reflect the reality of alcohol drinking.
They also noted that the assumption made through the survey was that each person makes rational choices when picking and consuming alcohol. While the review does not show credible proof that alcohol changes moods, it does show at least the power of the mind when it comes to desires and needs.
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