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Anger Management
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Anger Management and Alcohol
I saw that the catcher for the Detroit Tigers, Gerald Laird, recently completed anger management classes. This is not so much another athlete needs anger management story as much as it is on the impact of alcohol on anger management.
It seems that Laird and his family went to a pro basketball game drunk and his grandfather apparently tried to hit on the wife of one of the basketball players and somehow or another the whole thing ended with Laird sucker punching a security guard. Interesting story, but big picture why is it that alcohol and anger management problems often seem to go hand in hand?
Believe it or not, alcohol has the same effect on the impulse control part of your brain that anger does. As you get progressively more angry the part of your brain that controls emotions releases neurochemicals that in essence prevent the thinking part of your brain that thinks things through and controls impulses from functioning. The more angry you get the less able that part of your brain is to function. This is why things ofentimes look so different after you've slept on it - your brain has literally had a chance to reset and the reasoning part of your brain is back on line.
Alcohol does the same thing. It literally shuts down the thinking part of your brain preventing you from seeing all the options in front of you. Add a misunderstanding to alcohol and you've exponentially increased the chances of you lashing out in anger.
It seems that Laird and his family went to a pro basketball game drunk and his grandfather apparently tried to hit on the wife of one of the basketball players and somehow or another the whole thing ended with Laird sucker punching a security guard. Interesting story, but big picture why is it that alcohol and anger management problems often seem to go hand in hand?
Believe it or not, alcohol has the same effect on the impulse control part of your brain that anger does. As you get progressively more angry the part of your brain that controls emotions releases neurochemicals that in essence prevent the thinking part of your brain that thinks things through and controls impulses from functioning. The more angry you get the less able that part of your brain is to function. This is why things ofentimes look so different after you've slept on it - your brain has literally had a chance to reset and the reasoning part of your brain is back on line.
Alcohol does the same thing. It literally shuts down the thinking part of your brain preventing you from seeing all the options in front of you. Add a misunderstanding to alcohol and you've exponentially increased the chances of you lashing out in anger.
Anger management advice by Dr. Joe James at 4:34 PM
