TW Serious Post / Mental Health, ignore if not on theme.
This is about people that suffer from drinking problems and what I have discovered through seeing a therapist for 2 months and reading multiple articles around this issue. If you are someone who struggles with this, or someone I know/knew personally. I recommend reading.
Do YOU ever wake up and wonder why YOU acted like THAT?
"Alcohol-related psychosis is a secondary psychosis that manifests as prominent hallucinations and delusions occurring in a variety of alcohol-related conditions"
This mainly discusses the non-violent type of psychosis.
Remember, your past does not define you. What you do in the future is what matters, if you are going through the impact of alcohol induced psychosis, remember you can fix it from here. You will be a better person/partner/employee.
What is Alcohol Related Psychosis?
I've recently discovered through therapy that I have something called Alcohol Induced Psychosis, specifically a type which causes you to dream while you are awake. This is linked to your brain falling asleep but intoxication keeps you talking and walking. I'm by no means an alcoholic, but I found myself in a position where my nights out were getting out of control and it damaged relationships with people I loved. So I decided to make a change and look into why this was happening. No one had spoken to me about this before.
My favourite part about it is that usually you completely go insane, usually saying things that are both untrue and often your brain running with whatever thought crosses it. It also links directly with "Hangxiety" which a lot of people suffer from, myself included.
You form this psychosis through prolonged drinking in younger years, common in people that "Haven't taken a weekend off" since they were 17 but it is also commonly found in people that use drugs in the same capacity. It has a lot to do with tolerance, while most people will just fall asleep or vomit, people with extreme tolerance will often find themselves being so intoxicated your brain turns into an melted popsicle.
What does it look like when it happens?
Sad about something? Suddenly you want to kill yourself.
Struggling with sex life/can't get it up when you want to? You must be gay, right?
Saw a person on the street? They must be trying to kill or rob you right?
Work is a bit too much at the moment? You have to quit.
Girlfriend didn't reply to a message? Cheating, must be.
Feel like you're getting older quickly? You must be 37! (You're only 25)
"Drunk talk is sober thoughts" right?
No, not all cases are like this, alcohol induced psychosis tricks your brain into saying/thinking things that are so absurd that you cannot fathom why you said that in the morning. Usually playing on minor insecurities or worries, and blowing up to the most extreme they can go. You may be inclined to be more honest after a few drinks, that is true. But Alcohol induced psychosis is not a "few drinks". It's a complete collapse of ones mental state due to over consumption. Often at no fault of their own, but because they lose control.
The idea that what you said while drunk is true is difficult to cope with, but usually that's because sober you doesn't believe it to be true either. You may say something about someone while drunk, then realise you actually really like them in the morning. Drunk you is not you.
It's troubling but the only way around it is extreme alcohol control, even to the point of not drinking ever again. You may not be an alcoholic but once you start suffering from this, you pretty much manage your alcohol consumption perfectly or quit altogether.
Luckily this type of psychosis only comes into play when alcohol is consumed, so if you suffer from this just know it's fixable.
I once was able to go all night, drinking as much as I wanted. But one thing always happened. I was sick. Awful right? Not so much, being sick is your body telling you that you've over consumed, the same with falling asleep. After 7 years of drinking, I got to the point where I was no longer sick, no longer sleeping when drinking. Great tolerance!
But no, this leads to overconsumption and alcohol psychosis. Your body has natural checks in place before you reach that point and once they are gone... Well.
Calling my best friend and telling him I'm 37 (I was 24, but noticing my age in the mirror each morning, sub-consciously)
Calling my then girlfriend to explain I was probably bisexual (I am straight, but got picked on relentlessly when I was younger for not displaying interest in girls and Sketch (Yes the streamer) had just been caught out as an onlyfans model, so in my mind, I either told the "truth" or risked the world discovering. All of which was not true.
Hanging out of my bosses car window at a work event while she drove us to another bar, incredible how I didn't get fired for this.
Trying to drop out of my university course which I was steadily succeeding with, just because I felt it was all too much.
Ruining a double date because I had failed a university assessment, fearing the dread that came with this I did not eat and continued to consume alcohol for the whole day, with my best friend not attempting to put it in check. At no fault to his as the intoxication was very sudden.
Being mean to my now ex girlfriend, telling her to shut up in a tense situation where she did not deserve that in any sense.
All very embarrassing, but easily avoided and all in the past now, never to happen again.
Often times, you "dream" what you are thinking about. Remember that dream where you accidentally told your boss to "GFY"? or you dreamt that you were in Tokyo? Well when you suffer from Alcohol Psychosis you might call your boss and say that! or you might book those flights to Tokyo with absolutely no idea why.
Some of you may remember this ad about Marijuana use. It's sort of like that. YOU wouldn't do it, but sober you is not present at that time. You can say, do or think all sorts of crazy stuff.
Managing Alcohol Induced Psychosis
While you may want to drink, it's usually in your best interest to manage it the best way for both your heart and brain. Your brain may tell you it's need to relax and have a beer, your heart may hurt and tell you it wants a shot. But if you suffer from this issue, you must use your brain and protect your heart.
Personally, I found my triggers long after I had these nights. I found common trends, work was too much, I failed an assessment at university, old traumas had been on my mind or I the relationship I was in was damaging my self-worth. I can link all of these to a night where I drank too much and woke up like wtf.
If you suffer from these issues or have had nights where you wake up and go why the fuck did I say that? You should look into this, as it may save you from pain in the future.
If you know someone who suffers through this, they may not know it. They may call you and tell you stupid things, you just need to know how to handle it. Often times people let those around them continue this trend, but you can intervene. Talk to them, explain the condition and tell them that it can and will damage them in the future. Once they understand it, you may never have to meet the person that called you that night drunkenly telling you they are 37, suddenly gay, quit their job, think their girlfriend is cheating and being followed by a man who is for certain trying to kill them.
Academic Articles recommended to me
Alcohol Psychosis - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
Psychosis associated with alcohol can occur with acute intoxication, alcohol withdrawal, as well as in patients with chronic alcohol use dis
If you or someone you know seemingly goes insane after having a few too many, it’s not them, it’s a condition. Sit down and think about it, talk with them or talk to someone.
Methods for control if you don't want to stop drinking.
Try to lower your tolerance, skip a few weekends of drinking, don't have that beer or two after work. Try to control your alcohol intake. High tolerance seems great, but it doesn't mean you get less drunk. High Tolerance just means you don't throw up or sleep like most.
Know when to stop, as soon as you start to feel it. Stop. Just stop, grab a coke or a water, you'll be better off. It's not super easy for some, but try to have a check and balance system. Ask friends or family to watch over you, to stop you from drinking more try to keep your drinks 1 for 1 with a friend you know doesn't drink too much.
Drink something different, use to drink 10 whiskeys? Try drinking 5 whiskeys with more mixer, drink a lower strength beer or make the beers smaller. Notice that wine makes you go ballistic? Try something else, maybe a ginger beer or even a liquor! You are not going to get it right every time but knowing there are options does help.
Eat more, often times, not eating will cause your body to process alcohol a lot quicker. Having food in your system will allow you to better recognise the stages of intoxication.
Avoid caffeine, one of your bodies natural checks is sleep. If you avoid sleep by consuming caffeine you will in turn increase your time and tolerance to consume alcohol. But you will still get just as drunk. Recognise when you are tired and develop the ability to call it a night.
Tracker apps! These are not super easy to use, but they are definitely a start. Recognising your body weight and height vs your recommended alcohol consumption is a great thing to do, if you are 5'5 / 100lbs you probably shouldn't drink as much as your 6'5 250lb friend, as much as it sounds fun. It will be for them, not for you.
And be nice to yourself, remember you are human and humans make mistakes. No matter how low down you are, or how deep into the issue you are. You can always go up.
However you go about this, it's crucial you make a change. If you don't you may find yourself in a position where you are forced to realise, which isn't nice. You may get arrested, lose your job, drop out of school, estrange family members or lose an important relationship.
If you find yourself in a position where you are drinking and no one around you will tell you to stop and you are unsure whether you can do it yourself. Change your phone background to something that will remind you. Or ask someone you trust to take your card. Or don't go! Don't put yourself in a position for a potential relapse just for one night of fun, don't cause a lifetime of hurt.
Tl:dr - Alcohol induced psychosis is a condition related to high tolerance of alcohol that makes it so you can keep drinking to the point where you go crazy. If you suffer from this you probably remember the mornings where you said "why did I do/say that", controlling your relationship with alcohol is key.
Thanks for listening to my ted talk.
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