Behavioral and psychological effects of alcohol consumption
Alcohol is an intoxicating and addictive substance that, when consumed, changes the emotional, physical and behavioral state of the consumer. It will have a range of effects depending on the individual and the type and amount of alcohol they consume.Intoxicating substance: An intoxicating substance is a substance that, when consumed, causes a loss of personal control.
Effects on behavior: Drinking alcohol affects a person’s emotional state and can make the drinker initially more relaxed and outgoing at the beginning.
Those who drink 1-3 units become more active, lively and cheerful. Ease of establishing social relations and speaking is observed.
People who drink 4-7 units maintain their vitality and comfort, but it becomes difficult to make a decision. Daily tasks begin to seem easier, and thus mistakes occur. (driving a car) Reflexes begin to weaken, vision begins to decrease.
People who drink 8-10 units start carelessness and nonsense. Movements that are not done while sober are done. Joy can turn into depression and anger becomes harder to control, and the tendency to argue and fight increases.
The movements of those who drink more than 10 units become strange, seeing, walking and speaking become difficult. Things that are not remembered later are done, resulting in drowsiness and fainting.
Alcohol is not something you digest. It passes quickly into your bloodstream, the effect on your body depends on your age, gender, weight and the type of alcohol.
Your bloodstream distributes alcohol quickly to your brain, kidney, lungs and liver. On average, your liver takes an hour to break down one unit of alcohol. This can depend on:
- your weight
- your gender
- your age
- how quickly your body turns food into energy
- how much food you’ve eaten
- the strength and type of alcohol
- any medicine you’re taking
Generally, a person becomes intoxicated when alcohol enters the body faster than it is excreted. It takes about an hour to remove one unit of alcohol from the body. As alcohol consumption increases, a number of physical changes can be observed, including:
- slower reactions
- difficulty with walking and body control
- slurred speech and difficulty speaking
- danger of acute alcohol poisoning, which can be fatal
