Why Do I Get Angry, Sad, or Depressed After Drinking Alcohol? Understanding Alcohol Intoxication

Alcohol can have different effects on different people. Some people feel more happy, relaxed, or social while drinking. Others may find themselves feeling more sad, irritable, or angry. 

Alcohol is a substance that affects your brain’s communication pathways, which can alter your mood. While there is no way to guarantee that you won’t experience sad or angry feelings while drinking, taking steps to prevent yourself from getting too intoxicated can help you manage your emotions. Read on to learn more.

What does alcohol do to my body while drinking?

Depending on how much you drink, alcohol can have negative effects on your body. Alcohol affects many different organs, including the:

• Brain

• Liver

• Pancreas

• Heart

Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of developing health conditions like:

• Liver disease

• High blood pressure

• Heart disease

• Stroke

• Certain cancers

In addition to the physical effects of alcohol on your body, it can also impact your emotional state and increase your risk of developing depression and anxiety.

Levels of alcohol intoxication

The effect of alcohol on your body depends on your level of intoxication. When you drink alcohol, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) rises. At mild levels, you may feel more happy and relaxed. As you continue to drink and your BAC goes up, you may start to experience more severe effects.

The amount of alcohol and how quickly you drink plays a large role in your level of intoxication, but other factors can also affect how drunk you become, such as:

• Biological sex: Males metabolize alcohol more quickly than females because they tend to have more muscle mass. Females have less muscle mass and fat, so alcohol stays in their bodies longer, which causes them to feel drunk for a longer period of time.

• Body weight: A person who weighs more will have a lower BAC than someone who weighs less and drinks the same amount.

• Food: Drinking on an empty stomach will cause your BAC to rise faster.

• Medications: Taking certain prescription and over-the-counter medications, like Tylenol, antibiotics, and hormonal birth control can affect how your body metabolizes alcohol.

• Health: Certain health conditions or genetic enzyme deficiencies can affect how your body processes alcohol. 

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Depending on how much you drink and the factors listed above, you may find yourself experiencing the following levels of intoxication:

Mild (BAC 0.0-0.05%)

• Euphoria

• Relaxation

• Fatigue

• Minor effects on balance, coordination, memory, and attention

Moderate (0.06-0.15%)

• Increased intoxication

• Aggression

• Impairments in driving abilities

• Higher risk of injuries and falls

• More significant effects on balance, coordination, memory, and attention

Severe (0.16-0.30%)

• Blackouts

• Inability to drive safely

• Vomiting

• Impaired judgment and decision-making abilities

• Seriously impaired balance, coordination, memory, and attention

• Loss of consciousness

Life threatening (0.31-0.45%)

• Slow heart rate

• Difficulty breathing

• Seizures

• Coma

• Death

What makes someone an angry drunk?

While some people become happy and relaxed while drunk, others may become angry. These people are often referred to as “angry drunks.” 

Alcohol affects the parts of the brain involved with inhibition and control. Being under the influence also affects your ability to regulate your emotions and make decisions, which could lead to more volatile behavior.

Social factors can also play a role in drunken anger. People may “learn” this behavior by witnessing friends and family acting aggressively under the influence. Drinking in settings that promote aggression, like at sporting events, may increase the likelihood that you become an angry drunk.

Signs of an angry drunk include:

• Appearing more irritable and hostile

• Trying to provoke others

• Making hurtful comments

• Getting into verbal or physical fights

• Showing a lack of empathy for others

• Breaking things

Being an angry drunk is likely to cause problems in many areas of your life. It can lead to:

• Relationship conflict

• Physical injury

• Emotional distress

• Legal troubles

If you’re an angry drunk, you may benefit from professional help so that you can learn how to abstain from or moderate your drinking and cope with your emotions in healthier ways.

Why do you get sad when you drink alcohol?

You may also feel sad when you are drinking alcohol or recovering from a hangover. Alcohol intoxication can lead to an unstable mood. You may feel happy one moment and then sad the next. 

You may also feel more sad if you’re going through alcohol withdrawal. This happens when someone is physically dependent on alcohol. When they stop drinking, they may experience a range of difficult physical and emotional symptoms, depending on how much they were drinking. Withdrawal activates the stress systems in your body, causing greater concentrations of certain chemicals like cortisol, which can lead to depression. 

Is getting emotional when you drink a sign of a mental health problem?

In some cases, becoming emotional while drinking may indicate a mental health problem. If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by emotions like sadness, anxiety, and irritability often when you drink, you may be dealing with a mental health condition. 

Some people without mental health conditions may also get emotional while drinking. In some cases, becoming overwhelmed with emotions may be your body’s reaction to alcohol combined with stress. If you find that you tend to get emotional while drinking, you should consider talking to a professional, who can assess whether your drinking is a problem and if you are dealing with a mental health condition.

What does alcohol do to your body the day after you drink?

If you drink a large amount of alcohol, you may develop a hangover the following day. Symptoms of a hangover include:

• Headache

• Nausea

• Sweating

• Excessive thirst

• Weakness

• Body aches and pains

• Light and noise sensitivity

• Irritability

• Anxiety

• High blood pressure

Hangovers are caused by the body’s reaction to alcohol. There are many effects that alcohol has on your body that can contribute to a hangover, including:

• Sleep disruption: Alcohol can keep you from getting quality sleep, so you may wake up feeling more tired. 

• Dehydration: Drinking alcohol causes you to urinate more often, which can lead to dehydration, increased thirst, and fatigue.

• Stomach pain: Drinking releases acids in your stomach that cause irritation and can result in nausea and stomach pain.

• Exposure to acetaldehyde: When your body metabolizes alcohol, it releases a toxic compound called acetaldehyde, which causes inflammation in the brain, liver, pancreas, stomach, and other parts of the body. 

• Withdrawal: When you’re drunk, you may feel euphoric and relaxed, but as you come off of alcohol, your brain and body need to restore balance. This may cause irritability and anxiety.

The symptoms of a hangover are most intense when the body’s BAC returns to zero. Most symptoms improve within a day.

Am I depressed, or is it hangxiety?

Fatigue and anxiety (irritability, agitation, and worry) are common symptoms of a hangover. Some people refer to this type of anxiety as “hangxiety.” Hangover anxiety is a reaction to the body coming off of alcohol and typically resolves within 24 hours. It is different from major depression or an anxiety disorder. 

A depressive episode lasts at least 2 weeks and includes symptoms like:

• Feelings of guilt and worthlessness

• Loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable

• Moving or talking slower than usual

• Fatigue

• Suicidal thoughts

• Difficulty concentrating

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that includes uncontrollable worry about many different things for at least 6 months and other symptoms like:

• Restlessness

• Irritability

• Muscle tension

• Sleep disturbance

If you’re feeling anxious or depressed when you’re hungover, you may want to wait and see how you feel after a full day without alcohol. If you feel better after that, then the feelings were probably due to the hangover. However, if you continue to feel anxious and depressed, then you may be dealing with a mental health condition. Consider reaching out to your healthcare provider for assessment and support.

How do I know when I’ve had too much to drink?

Signs that you have had too much to drink include:

• Slurred speech

• Feeling overwhelmed with emotions like sadness

• More hostile or aggressive behavior

• Engaging in risky behaviors

• Memory difficulties

• Loss of coordination

• Nausea or vomiting

It can be hard to stop yourself from getting too intoxicated while drinking, since alcohol impairs your judgement and decision-making abilities. Taking steps to avoid getting intoxicated can help you stay in control of your drinking and prevent negative outcomes. 

Tips for managing alcohol consumption

If you are trying to manage your alcohol use, there are steps that you can take to help control your drinking:

• The liver can handle on average one standard drink per hour, so avoid drinking more than that. A standard drink is:

  • 12 oz. of beer

  • 8 oz. of malt liquor

  • 4 oz. to 5. oz of wine

  • 1.5. oz of hard liquor

• Set a limit on the number of drinks you will drink.

• Avoid drinking on an empty stomach.

• Be mindful of what you are drinking. Hard alcohol is highly concentrated, which can cause you to get drunk more quickly. 

• Do not drink while taking medications without first asking your healthcare provider.

• Drink water or a non-alcoholic drink after each alcoholic beverage to help slow down your drinking.

• Avoid drinking when you feel emotional, as you may be more likely to drink a lot to cope with your feelings.

• Do not drink and drive. Create a plan to get home safely before you start drinking.

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Written by:

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD

Emily Guarnotta, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health professional with over 10 years of clinical experience.

Reviewed by:

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP

Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP, has 15 years of clinical experience providing therapy. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Indiana and Illinois with treatment experience in individual, couples, family, and group therapy modalities.

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