It’s common to use ‘mean drunk’, ‘loving drunk’ or ‘silly drunk’ to describe how people act when they’re under the influence of alcohol. It’s true that drinking can magnify certain personality traits. However, alcohol doesn’t generally change your entire personality. In fact, some research shows that drinking doesn’t change how you act as significantly as you might think.1
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Alcohol’s Effects on Your Brain
Alcohol is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant that decreases inhibitions and blunts bodily senses. Alcohol slows down the CNS, which affects reaction times and intellect. Alcohol also impacts the frontal lobes of the brain, which controls reasoning, decision making, and thoughts. Over the long term, the impact of heavy drinking can cause permanent damage to these parts of the brain.2
Alcohol can cause severe memory impairments that may occur after just a few drinks. The more someone drinks, the more impaired their decision making becomes. Large quantities can cause blackouts, where someone forgets essential details of an event. Over the long term, chronic alcohol consumption can cause permanent memory loss and brain damage.3
Personality Types and Alcohol
Some contemporary psychologists believe there are five core personality traits, which are often cited as the ‘Big 5’.4 These types may change, emerge, or become distorted when under the influence. For example, most people can attest to witnessing a quieter friend acting more outgoing or someone who’s more neurotic appear more laid-back when drinking.
The big five personality traits are:
- Openness: Openness refers to curiosity, insight, and novelty. Someone high on openness generally seeks out new experiences and enjoys learning.
- Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness refers to being ambitious, thoughtful, and intentional with your actions. Someone high on conscientiousness tends to plan ahead and live according to a set routine.
- Extraversion: Extraversion refers to sociability and the desire to spend time with others. Those high on this scale like meeting new people, and they feel energized when working in a group or being at the center of attention.
- Agreeableness: Agreeableness refers to compassion, trust, and affection. People high on this scale care deeply about others and have heightened levels of empathy.
- Neuroticism: Neuroticism refers to emotional instability and worry. Someone high on this scale often feels anxious and may experience chronic mood swings.
Personality traits can change with alcohol use. Some characteristics may increase and others decrease. These shifts largely depend on the individual, how much they drink, and other individual factors.
4 Types of Drunk Personalities
Researchers examining 374 college undergraduates concluded that there are four main types of drinkers.5 While one study should never inherently be applied to the general population, some people find that they relate to these specific categories. While most personalities stay stable over time, certain traits may become more intensified with life circumstances.
There have been multiple systems for classifying categories of drunk behavior, such as the four types of drunk personalities and the seven types of drunks. The lists include overlapping features and you may find your behavior changes in different circumstances, or you may find you consistently fall into one of the four or seven categories.
The four types of drunk personalities are:
Hemingways
Hemingways are cited after the writer, Ernest Hemingway. No matter how much they drink, their personality remains largely intact. The majority of drinkers likely fall under this category. People who drink heavily (and have higher tolerances of alcohol) may also be more likely to resonate with this type.
Mary Poppins
Those who are ‘Mary Poppins’ drinkers tend to be more extroverted and happy, and alcohol intensifies that. They are friendly and enjoy spending time with others. They may also be more flirtatious and forward when meeting new people.
Mr. Hyde
The Mr. Hyde drunk refers to the drinkers who become more aggressive or hostile when they drink. They show decreases in conscientiousness under the influence. For these reasons, people in this category may be more prone to experience adverse consequences from drinking, such as getting into fights, getting arrested, or hurting themselves or others.
Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor category refers to more introverted people who become more outgoing and charismatic when they drink. They also tend to have lower inhibitions. It’s believed that people within this category show the most significant personality changes when under the influence.
All four types of drunk personalities exhibit problems with coordination, reaction time, alertness, and decision making – even if they don’t have substantial personality changes.
Help for Alcohol Use
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Which of the 7 Different Types of Drunk Are You?
Few people fit perfectly within any label. In addition, it’s unhelpful to assume that any one category best explains the nuances of human behavior. That said, it may be beneficial to understand how alcohol affects your personality. This is especially true if you find that you continue regretting decisions you made while drinking.
1. The Angry Drunk
Some people become more angry or irritable when drinking. It’s unlikely that these feelings emerge out of nowhere; instead, alcohol often exacerbates emotions that already exist. But because alcohol lowers inhibitions, people prone to anger may be more likely to engage in fights or other aggressive behavior when they are intoxicated.
2. The Happy Drunk
Alcohol can temporarily lift one’s mood, especially just after alcohol enters the bloodstream. That’s because alcohol activates the GABA receptors which may also subsequently affect dopamine activity, which is associated with pleasure and relaxation. If someone sticks with just 1-2 drinks (and doesn’t become fully intoxicated), they may stay in this happier mindset. But more drinking often reverses these effects.
3. The Reckless Drunk
Since alcohol lowers inhibitions, many people find that they’re more impulsive when they drink. This can result in reckless decisions, including drunk driving, which can be fatal and accounts for a death every 39 minutes.6 Other reckless choices can include impulsively spending money, having unprotected sex, or using other drugs along with drinking.
4. The Affectionate Drunk
Some people become extremely affectionate and sensual under the influence. This is the person who often wants to hug everyone around them and be as physically close as possible. They may also approach strangers for physical contact. They may also be affectionate in daily life, but the effects seem more amplified when drunk.
5. The Nostalgic Drunk
Alcohol can trigger high levels of nostalgia in certain people. However, this may have more to do with the situation surrounding the alcohol than the drinking itself. For example, being around certain friends or drinking in a familiar bar can trigger old memories, which can cause someone to ruminate about their past.
6. The Sloppy Drunk
It’s no secret that alcohol impacts motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and balance. It also slows down reaction times. All of these cumulative effects can result in people acting clumsily. Some may be more at risk of falling or stumbling around, which can result in them presenting as sloppy in social settings.
7. The Sad/Crying Drunk
Some people appear to become highly distressed when they drink. They may only feel safe crying when they’re under the influence (even if they aren’t conscious of this truth). When they drink around others, they may often talk about sad subjects or present as highly emotional. In reality, this may have more to do with their tendency to suppress emotions in daily life.
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Can Your Behavior Change Based on the Type of Alcohol You Drink?
There’s no research to support that certain types of alcohol trigger different mood states. That said, many people individually find that specific drinks trigger specific emotional reactions. It’s important to note that alcohol’s effects are incredibly complex. Likewise, a person’s current mood may predispose them to choose one type of alcohol over another- and that may have more to do with how their behavior changes.
Should Your Type of Drunk Concern You?
Chronic or excessive drinking is dangerous and can have serious physical and emotional consequences. You should be concerned if you frequently regret how much you drink- or what you did while you were under the influence of alcohol. You don’t have to struggle with alcoholism or experience binge drinking to have these valid concerns.
Signs your drunk type is concerning may include:
- Increasingly erratic behavior
- You believe you have a ‘drunk alter ego’ that causes problems within relationships
- You’ve caused injury while drinking
- Guilt or shame after drinking
- Not believing others when they tell you what you did while drunk
- Fears about how you might behave when drinking
- Downplaying the mistakes/problems you caused while drunk
Seeking Help for Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse is a widespread problem, and chronic drinking often progresses over time. It’s important to seek support if you are struggling. Alcohol use disorder is generally best treated as an integrative health model that may entail a combination of individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and even rehab programs in either inpatient or outpatient rehab settings.
If you’re starting to review your options, it may be helpful to consider looking for the right therapist. You should work with someone who specializes in addiction and understands the complexity of alcoholism. If you have co-occurring mental health issues (as many people do), it’s also important to seek support for those concerns. You can use an online therapist directory to get started.
In My Experience
Many people can drink in moderation without it harming their quality of life. But once you experience consequences or relationship problems due to alcohol, it may be time to reevaluate your relationship with drinking. This is true regardless of what kind of drunk you are (or aren’t). If it feels like alcohol controls your life and personality, you may be struggling with a substance use disorder.
Additional Resources
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Alcohol Treatment – Cut Back or Quit Entirely
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Drinking Moderation
Sunnyside – Want to drink less? Sunnyside helps you ease into mindful drinking at your own pace. Think lifestyle change, not a fad diet. Develop new daily routines, so you maintain your new habits for life. Take a 3 Minute Quiz
Detox or Rehab Center Covered by Insurance
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Treatment for Mental Health Conditions That Coexist With SUD
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Online medication-assisted treatment programs are fairly new to the telehealth industry, but existing companies are expanding quickly with new programs emerging every day. It’s important to explore your options and understand the level of virtual care available so you can choose the best addiction treatment program for you.
Best Mindful Drinking Apps
If you’re thinking about joining the sober curious movement and you’d like to cut back on drinking, mindful drinking apps are a great place to start. Practicing mindful drinking can take some time, attention, and patience, but with the help of the right app, you can completely transform your relationship with alcohol.