By ending alcohol misuse, you can make positive decisions with a clear outlook. Those who are dependent on alcohol should participate in alcohol addiction treatment to break the cycle. Remember, quitting a substance cold turkey can lead to health issues, so it’s best to enlist professional help. Many people may naturally become angry or upset when consuming alcohol, but it’s not necessarily their fault. Sometimes, people with alcohol use disorders have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol due to specific genetics. Using one or more of several types of psychological therapies, psychologists can help people address psychological issues involved in their problem drinking.

The Nugent Family Counseling Center team, under the leadership of Dr. Geoff Nugent, offers anger management counseling and support from locations in San Jose, California, Los Gatos, California, and Reno, Nevada. Life can be really frustrating, and you might find yourself struggling to deal productively with emotions of anger. Or, you may have someone in your life or family who has a problem with a short fuse or a hot temper. When anger gets out of control, this emotion can become very destructive to yourself and others.

How do alcohol use disorders affect people?

By understanding how alcohol abuse influences your mood, you can learn to make positive choices instead of ones you may regret. The study concluded that alcohol increased the odds of physical aggression in those men who had high trait anger and poor anger management skills. It also noted that sexual aggression was higher with alcohol, even in men with low trait anger and reasonable anger management skills. “Trait anger” refers to a person’s general tendency to experience chronic anger over time.

My approach to therapy is grounded in compassion, empathy, and a deep understanding of the unique experiences and perspectives of each of my clients . I utilize a person-centered approach to my clients to help empower change within themselves. Alcohol withdrawal can be potentially life-threatening, in the case of severe dependence.

How Anger and Alcohol Contribute to Domestic Violence

Research indicates that the chance of dating violence including physical aggression increases when alcohol is consumed. The same was discovered to apply to sexual aggression, even in males with otherwise fair anger management skills. Anger is an emotion that varies from person to person and adapts to different situations. A cognitive, behavioral, and physical reaction to it happens all at once. Anger is typically defined as a strong feeling of displeasure, hostility, or annoyance.

alcoholic rage syndrome

Some may lose a block of minutes or hours, or even days, depending on the amount of alcohol that was consumed. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. As a whole, alcohol use naturally heightens emotions, and for people who are predisposed to aggressive tendencies, it can quickly make bad scenarios worse. By Buddy T

Buddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.

The Link Between Alcohol and Aggression

Sometimes these two effects can happen simultaneously, resulting in a drunk rage blackout. Family members go about their days—and years—confused and frustrated, wondering why the person alcoholic rage syndrome has been so mean. This is why it’s so important for loved ones to get help and support. If an angry alcoholic has abused a loved one, they should not have access to the family.

This can often be a result of affected brain function from alcohol, rather than simply a personality issue that makes a person angry when drunk. If you’re frustrated or stressed out, you might see a drink as a good way to calm down and relax. However, if anger management is currently a problem in your life, drinking alcohol is just as likely to fan the flames. While some individuals respond to alcohol by feeling sad, others respond to the neuroinflammation of alcohol use by getting mad. If you believe you’re displaying more than one of these behaviors, you might be dealing with a dry drunk syndrome or another co-occurring disorder in your recovery. Consider speaking with an addiction therapist to discuss your feelings and explore the various treatment outlets to find happiness and fulfillment in your sober life.