Drinking may also be a method to self-medicate negative emotions, including anger. Alcohol is a depressant substance, meaning that it helps to suppress some of the “fight-or-flight” stress reactions that anger can induce. Repeated alcohol abuse as a coping mechanism increases the odds for developing problems alcohol depression and anger related to alcohol, however. It also raises the risk for negative consequences of outbursts related to explosive and uncontrolled anger. In addition to potential mental health disorders related to difficulties managing anger, there are several physical side effects of unchecked and chronic anger.

Alcohol affects how brain chemicals called ‘neurotransmitters’ work. The main neurotransmitters affected by alcohol are GABA and Glutamate. There is no ‘safe’ level of alcohol consumption, as everyone’s bodies work differently. Different alcoholic drinks contain different ‘strengths’ of alcohol. This means that some alcoholic drinks have more of an effect on the body than others.

The Effects of Alcohol-Related Aggression

The best approach to treatment for you can depend on your symptoms and how they affect your life. If you couldn’t react or express anger in childhood, you might continue to suppress it later in life, even when it happens as a natural response to humiliation or unjust circumstances. Suppressed anger, again, tends to leak out — usually as persistent irritability or verbal and physical outbursts. Anger might characterize depression for men so often in part because of long-standing social norms around emotional expression and vulnerability.

• Intimate partner violence is of great concern when it comes to alcohol and anger.
• ‘Delirium’ describes a state of disorientation, which often includes hallucinations and delusions.
• Identifying those factors that might contribute to heightened anger when consuming alcohol is important for individuals who have anger issues and those who treat them.
• In contrast, anger on its own is not a diagnosable mental health condition.
• These changes are caused by the effect alcohol has on the front of the brain, which controls behaviour and social interactions.
• It’s sometimes easier for angry people to become aggressive when they’re inebriated.
• Consuming alcohol and recreational drugs, or withdrawing from these substances, can exacerbate anger with depression, Dr. Ranjbar says.

It may temporarily suppress feelings of isolation, anxiety, or sadness, but that won’t last. Recognizing the symptoms of depression and alcohol use disorder can help ensure that you get the right diagnosis and treatment. Meditation can help clients to relax physical tension, become more self-aware, and work toward creating a healthy mind-body balance. Other holistic methods are often used during a comprehensive addiction and anger management treatment program as adjunctive, or complementary, treatment methods.

Treatment for Angry Depression

However, you can learn some coping strategies that can help you escape a bad mood, manage your anger, and feel better. Treatment for depression that includes anger is similar to treatments for depression alone. In short, medication and therapy are both empirically validated treatments for depression that can help alleviate feelings of anger, hostility, and irritability.