Alcohol....effects? - Writers Forum

Coldwriter · 07-02-2005, 05:57 PM

This might sound bizzare but i need help with a drunk person. How he says things, tone and speech, physical oddities or changes, how long so much can keep a person drunk...if startling or horrifying news can sober them up..such as...something in their eye disappears..
i have a story where a drunk guy gets killed but not sure how he responds or acts.
Since I am 18, i cannot experiment and asking those who are wise in this area. just kidding!!!!! i dont drink or condone getting drunk but i request assistance please

Rico · 07-02-2005, 07:09 PM

well...there's lots of types of drunks. me, i'm a quiet, clumsy drunk.

and each person reacts to alcohol differently, so each reaction could be different.

me, it takes a lot of alcohol to slur my speech, but not all that much to keep me from being able to walk in a straight line. i stay drunk for quite a while, and i have never known anything to 'snap me out of being drunk'

mememe · 07-02-2005, 07:17 PM

Drunken behaviour varies from person to person. There are happy drunks, miserable drunks, aggressive drunks, sleepy drunks and messy drunks (those who shed bodily fluids) ...to name but a few.

I guess it would also depend on your character's basic personality, what and how much they have had to drink, the circumstances under which they got drunk, their mood prior to getting drunk, the situation and company they find themselves in, as well as on body size vs amount and type of alcohol consumed, what and when they last ate, their general health and metabolism, if they are on any medication...etc etc

So it isn't as simple as get an guy drunk and he will do/say this and this and this...

As a general rule, alcohol disinhibits...it makes some people fearless, it slows reactions whilst heightening certain sensations (for example drunk drivers are often caught for driving too slowly). Speech may be slow, slurred and muddled...mix ups in speech like saying mucking fuddle for example are common. Co-ordination is out to some degree or other. There is often a preoccupation with one particular subject or topic. The drunk may find everything humorous, may giggle or become over familiar.

But so much depends on who your character is...

I don't suppose I've been much help really. It is a very long time since I was last drunk.

Coldwriter · 07-02-2005, 07:34 PM

haha...no this helps. I think if I am just creative with knowing my character, it'll be fine. The big things are the phyiscal, if at all.
thanks

Ilan Bouchard · 07-02-2005, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldwriter

i have a story where a drunk guy gets killed but not sure how he responds or acts.

If he gets killed, I can't imagine he'd have much of a reaction at all.

Just kidding. When I'm drunk, I find I don't get too tipsy unless I drink a lot. In fact, the greatest change is that I go from being introverted to spilling my guts and saying the things I wish I'd say if I weren't so introverted. I find it rather alarming that I'm more charming around women when I'm drunk than when I'm sober. (Or maybe that's just how I perceive it when I'm drunk.

)

journyman161 · 07-03-2005, 01:00 AM

Alcohol acts like any drug. In small amounts it's a stimulant, in larger doses it becomes a suppressant & even larger doses kill.

So many will feel invulnerable & very social when getting drunk & will feel they are still that way even when they can no longer be undestood or even walk properly.

It takes time to have an effect. It's very rare that a person has a drink & is immediately showing signs of drunkeness.

Alos, some people reach a stage of drunkeness where they function very well & can appear very lucid & focused. (or win any game of pool) This stage doesn't usually last very long.

I don't show much sign of being drunk until just before the point where something inside says 'enough' & then I'm out of there. For a while I was known as the fastest guy over 5 metres (the distance to the pub door) because I would disappear practically in mid-sentence.

07-03-2005, 01:06 AM

ilan said:

Quote:

In fact, the greatest change is that I go from being introverted to spilling my guts and saying the things I wish I'd say if I weren't so introverted. I find it rather alarming that I'm more charming around women when I'm drunk than when I'm sober.

ilan, may i buy you a drink?

vodka

Hodge · 07-03-2005, 02:02 AM

When I'm drunk, I don't know it. It makes me really sociable and extraverted, but after a while I get tired and depressed.

Basically, it feels like all eyes are diverted away from me. Although last Christmas they were apparently all over me... Ugh. My grandpa made me a hot buttered rum after I downed a bottle of champagne. A $50 bottle of champagne.

Sareth · 07-03-2005, 10:35 AM

Okay, just my personal experience, to give you a bit of experience.

First, let me say that, with a body size best described as tall and scrawny, and a motabolism humingbirds envy, I count as a "cheap drunk." This means I get drunk fast, and sober fast. Good for the wallet, but no real staying power unless I discipline myself...

Anyway, the first stage of drunk (for me) is pleasantly buzzed.

At this stage I begin to feel, oh, call it cotton balls in my head. It's an actual physical sensation in my temples, like some warm fuzzy object is pressing on my head from the inside.

My perspective at this stage also gets a little fuzzy. My vision fuzzes out slightly (disconcerting for a man with 20/10 vision, but the alchohol numbs that worry.) My skin becomes slightly more sensitive to texture and the like.

Mentally, things become more amusing.

Next stage: drunk.

Physically I become awkward. Bumping things I thought I'd clear, slightly numb I might not even notice the thump. My vision blurs further, becoming tunneled. I have to closely watch my speech, often making spooneristic goofs. When not slurred or mixed, my speech is overly precise as I over-control my voice.

Mentally, things diverge here. There are three drunk Sareths. If you're lucky I become jovial, talk too much, laugh at everything, and basically become over-enthusiastic. If you're unlucky i become spiteful and bitter. There are things in this head I keep carefully under check, and memories I try not to let out of their dark dungeon cell, but they sometimes creep on out at this stage, and so I lash out at those around me. Fortunately, i'm not a violent drunk, so it's all verbal/mental abuse. The third me is also dealing with these demons, but in a manner more like that of a wounded animal, finding a hole to crawl into and hide.

Finally, there's blasted. At this stage I am pretty much numb. The demons (if they'd been out) are in full flight, as they no longer want to be near me. At this point I have pretty much no limits and inhibitions. I can dance nude on stage with a stipper, jump off a second stage balcony, whatever. I no longer care. My vision is shot, my body has no real sense of being there... in fact, it sometimes almost feels like I am having an out of body experience. I'm gonna pay for it, but I don't care.

After that, it all goes black...

Hope that helps.

Ilan Bouchard · 07-03-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms. vodka

ilan, may i buy you a drink?

vodka

I'd love it babe.

Coldwriter · 07-03-2005, 06:21 PM

hahaha. brilliant! your responses are creative and helpful. I think what i need to do next is write this scene (edit) and then show you and see if sounds like a drunk guy.

Anarkos · 07-04-2005, 08:08 AM

There are people in this world who've made it to 18 without getting drunk at least once?

Lucky them!

Me, back when I drank, I was a morose, depressed and aggressive drunk. I can't really accurately decribe my actions then, and I doubt most drunks could...it's easier to describe the behaviour of other drunk people than what you're actually doing or saying...I remember times when I thought I was dead sober, but others knew I was not.

Verago · 07-04-2005, 11:29 AM

Well, when I'm drunk...Just kidding.
I'm never going to drink alcohol...I don't even drink Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Sprite, and all of that. Water, Milk, Juice for me. I'm planning on living for a good while.

Some people actually are nicer when they're drunk...like, they'll tell jokes and stuff, and be all happy and bubbly and stuff.

Ethan-the-drinkless.

Coldwriter · 07-04-2005, 04:18 PM

Anarkos> yea, there are some select few never been drunk before 18.
Few reasons why, a mjaor one is the situations havent called for it, at least the ones ive been in.

hahaha. The drink-less eh? that's good. I should stop drinking pop...especially for soccer

barnsturm · 07-06-2005, 06:46 PM

I learned this quick formula in Alcohol Re-Education Class:

From the time one stops drinking, subtract .02% blood alcohol level per hour. So, if I reached a .20% BAC at 2:00 a.m. and stopped drinking, my BAC would decrease to .18% at 3:00 a.m., .16% at 4:00 a.m., etc. Point during class being that it is very possible to get arrested for driving under the influence the next day after drinking copious amounts; if I was driving to work at 7:30 a.m., I would still be running a .09% BAC, and Colorado's limit is .08%.

I was arrested for DUI (but plead down to a DWAI) for driving at .188% BAC. In truth, when I left for the liquor store half an hour earlier, I didn't FEEL all that intoxicated. I was drinking iced vodhka in a tumbler glass, so I probably put away 4 drinks in a half-hour period. So by the time I was arrested, my BAC had risen from the time I left the house, since it takes some time for the liquor to enter the blood stream.

I was very conscious of what was going on, even at .188%, because I was a very heavy drinker, passing .20% almost every night, and frequently reaching .22% or more. I failed the various roadside sobriety tests, which test pupil reaction, balance, coordination, sense of time passing, etc.

Your character would have certain characteristics based on personality, how long he'd been drinking ever, how long drinking that day, whether he'd eaten a big protein meal, etc. (Protein meals don't prevent drunkeness, but they slow the onset.)

How drunk is the character? At some percentage over .20%, the body stops working correctly. Without medical assistance, breathing stops, kidneys fail, etc. My old boss was an ER nurse and physician's assistant. He said that with prompt treatment, nobody needs to die of alcohol poisoning. They pump they stomach and assist breathing as needed, and put charcoal in you.

Despite how well people "feel" they handle alcohol, certain physical characterists are impossible to avoid: loss of concentration, balance, timing, judgement, and at a high enough level, loss of consciousness.