From the Sexy Drunk to The Black Out Drunk, we've all got our own drinking style. Here's how to to spot yours and deal with it.
Do you spend Saturday mornings cringing under the duvet as a painful montage of memories from the night before stream into your throbbing head?
In that case it probably doesn't surprise you that experts have discovered alcohol shuts down the critical part of the mind that monitors behaviour. They also found that many women use alcohol to express parts of themselves they feel unable to in the cold light of day (read emotional or angry outbursts you’ve been stifling all week!)
But the good news is that knowing which type of emotional drinker you are can minimise the damage. We quizzed Georgia Foster, leading addictions hypnotist and best-selling author of the ‘7 days to drink less' programme on the 5 main drinking personalities, and the tips she gives clients on managing them. Read on to learn how to avoid one of THOSE hangovers this weekend.
The Black Out Drunk
You drink faster than all your friends, too quickly for the brain and body to metabolise the alcohol. You literally pass out or have no recollection of how you got home. If you're honest your a bit socially anxious and use alcohol to feel more confident.
TIP: Pace your drinking and minimise alcohol with a glass of water between drinks. Also, start drinking with the non-dominant hand (your left if you're right handed) this will feel unfamiliar which will slow the drinking down.
The Sexy Drunk
In your sober life, you are sexually insecure, unconfident or a little repressed. When you drink you become more seductive and suggestive. You find yourself able to flirt outrageously but also expose yourself in embarrassing ways that leave you cringing the following day. You often end up in sexually compromising positions (literally) and wake up afterwards feeling awful.
TIP: The best way to avoid this drunken behavior is by being sexual in the mind first while sober. Start to imagine being with someone intimately while feeling safe and confident. Practice this everyday for 7 days. The mind will start to feel familiar with these feelings and enact upon them while sober.
The Generous Drunk
You can be a bit aloof and appear cold and uncaring or tight with money but behave in an opposite way when you drink. In the sober world you're insecure because you feel people don’t like you and that deep down you don’t socially belong. When you drink, you become affectionate, open and warm. You're desperate for everyone to like you and will go out of their way to people please.
TIP: Create a few safe environments where you can be ‘just yourself sober’ with people you feel safe with. Build activities around this. A weekly exercise class where alcohol isn't involved or a book club. Then start to expand this social circle where alcohol isn’t involved.
The Creative Drunk
After you drink you find inspiration and ideas about writing that new book or starting that new career. You tell the world your plans about how amazingly successful you are going to be. You then squash the idea in the morning when you wake up, thinking it was silly and yet most of the time it is not. That is your dream.
TIP: We can all be creative in the sober world but it needs practice and commitment. You must stop relying on alcohol to help you 'think outside the box'. The key is to learn how to shut out the critical and judgmental voice so that your inner creativity is able to flourish without a glass of wine in hand.
The Obnoxious Drunk
You lack assertiveness or have anger issues and feel life has been unfair to you. You can be a very aggressive drunk. You use alcohol as a way to communicate and give the point of view you dont have the guts to when sober. You find yourself having heated discussions that lead to rows with friends. You've noticed that some of them now avoid seeing you.
TIP: See a counsellor. You need to build your confidence and social skills sober so you dont need to use drink to communicate. You may also have anger issues that need addressing.
