Drinking Alcohol May Be Hurting Your Friendships

Whether it be drunk texts or political discussions gone terribly wrong, many of us have has the nights where a few too many drinks turn into an overly aggressive fight with a friend. If it has happened to you once, many of us can relate and you can learn from that embarrassing night. However, if it starts to be a reoccurring pattern, you may need to look at whether drinking alcohol is ruining your friendships.

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology sheds new light on why a few too many drinks makes us rage; other studies have shown that women particularly use alcohol as a release when angry — which can lead to some trouble. Mike Fisher, founder of British Association of Anger Management, talked to HuffPost UK Lifestyle about the answer to this. Fisher explained that alcohol significantly impairs the functions of the brain; in simple terms "Alcohol slows down thoughts and reactions. The natural human 'fight or flight' reaction system... is significantly reduced. People are more likely to misread social cues and have an inability to consider the consequences of actions that they may well regret when in a sober state of mind." This may explain why you didn't get you friends cue to cut it off at three drinks.

Another reason why alcohol can cause more aggression is a seriously denial of a person's relationship to alcohol, Fisher says. Fortunately, he says, there's plenty of online support for those struggling with alcohol and aggresion.