# what does being drunk feel like **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051 "2010-05-02T18:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/1 "2010-05-02T18:26:55Z")
my friend wants to know ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/2 "2010-05-02T18:33:18Z")
Ask a glass of water. šŸ˜ƒ Iā€™ve never really been drunk but light headed and a feeling of being not totally in control is as far as Iā€™ve been. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/3 "2010-05-02T18:36:07Z")
Dammit, **Runner Pat**! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/4 "2010-05-02T18:39:23Z")
Pretty good, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/5 "2010-05-02T18:42:19Z")
Since the OP really wants informed _opinions_, letā€™s move this from GQ to IMHO. **samclem** Moderator, General Questions ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/6 "2010-05-02T18:52:24Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Pretty good, thanks! Iā€™ll drink to that! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/7 "2010-05-02T18:55:44Z")
Well, thereā€™s 'drunk; and then thereā€™s ā€˜drunkā€™. A lot depends on circumstances. Are you drunk because you wanted to get drunk? Or are you drunk because youā€™ve been socialising and happened to drink enough to get drunk? Where are you? What are you doing? Whatā€™s going on in your life? How often do you drink? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen sparrow? I rarely drink alcohol, since I like to drink socially and I donā€™t get out much. When I do drink itā€™s usually one beer with lunch, or a couple/few with friends. I did drink an entire batch of glƶgi (mulled wine with vodka) last Christmas, but the feeling of intoxication passed surprisingly quickly. The last time I was really drunk was two years ago when I was in New Orleans and we had a party. So use that when evaluating my opinion. The first symptom is relaxation and a feeling of well-being. Things become amusing. Eventually you know your perception is askew, but youā€™re still functional. Finally you canā€™t function at all and pass out, or have someone pour you into bed. I havenā€™t passed out, but I have been poured into bed. Toward the end I find it unpleasant. The trick is to keep the buzz on without going over the edge. Thatā€™s just me. Some people become angry and aggressive when they drink. Some people push through the nice buzz and enjoy the feeling they get when they can no longer walk. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/8 "2010-05-02T18:58:52Z")
For me, it was a feeling of tremendous self confidence because I didnā€™t care anymore about how I looked or what people thought of me. Unfortunately, this resulted in me walking into a strangers house in the middle of the night (luckily, they were nice people although I really scared the wife), getting the shit kicked out of me for rowdy behavior at a party, driving the freeways of Los Angeles shitfaced endangering many innocent people, throwing up out the back door of my friendā€™s car as we drove on Hollywood Blvd. (you can see all the barf as you walk along Hollywood Boulllllllevard) and many many more FUN things. And the hangoversā€¦I think my body was trying to tell me something likeā€¦QUIT POISONING ME! Seriously, you are out of control for the most part and ANYTHING (usually bad) can and will happen. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/9 "2010-05-02T20:51:46Z")
I imagine itā€™s a different experience for different people, and you do go through stages of it. I donā€™t mind getting ā€œloose,ā€ but I donā€™t find being truly drunk to be a pleasant experience at all. The last time I was actually in this state was over 20 years ago. Much wine was consumed at a band practice, and I was OK until I got home. (Driving, in retrospect, was probably a foolish undertaking.) I sat down on the couch and was treated for the next hour to the classic ā€œroom spinningā€ phenomenon, and there was absolutely no stopping it. This was followed some indeterminate time later by an extended session of praying to the porcelain god. Iā€™m not quite sure how this can be defined as ā€œhaving a good time,ā€ but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/10 "2010-05-02T21:33:51Z")
Has your friend considered finding out experimentally? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/11 "2010-05-02T23:16:34Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Unfortunately, this resulted in me walking into a strangers house in the middle of the night (luckily, they were nice people although I really scared the wife), getting the shit kicked out of me for rowdy behavior at a party, driving the freeways of Los Angeles shitfaced endangering many innocent people, throwing up out the back door of my friendā€™s car as we drove on Hollywood Blvd. (you can see all the barf as you walk along Hollywood Boulllllllevard) and many many more FUN things. Sounds like a hell of a night. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/12 "2010-05-02T23:55:21Z")
no, for my friend is too young to drink (he is only 20) ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/13 "2010-05-02T23:56:35Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Sounds like a hell of a night. Those were just the parts I could remember. I still donā€™t know how I got to Vegas or what that chicken was doing in our suite. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/14 "2010-05-03T00:21:30Z")
Thereā€™s a level of drunk when you canā€™t even stand up, and while you are lying flat on your back, it feels like you and everything else is still moving. So long as youā€™re not nauseous, it feels pretty good. If you ARE nauseous, if feels real damn shitty. There is a lesser level of drunk when you can stand and walk and talk normally,and while it feels like you can drive a car in perfect safety, you might easily kill some poor schmuck out on the road, That level feels fuckinā€™ GREAT, which is why it can be so dangerous. You feel powerful and invulnerable, and you are neither. Iā€™m not sure whether the lesser levels of drunk are properly called ā€˜drunkā€™ ā€“ but I guess the police would use that term if they gave you a breathalyser. I prefer the term ā€˜buzzedā€™. Anyway, you feel basically less inhibited, and that still feels pretty damn good. I should note that these comments are about what you feel, and not at all about how you appear to others. From experience, I know that Iā€™m a happy drunk ā€“ everything and everyone is good. Other people are angry drunks, or agressive and even violent drunks. They know they are RIGHT, and fuck you if you disagree. So, for at least the first fedw times you get drunk, you are kind of opening a Pandoraā€™s box of your own potential behavior. And that varies wildly from one person to the next, and I donā€™t know any way to predict what kind of drunk any particular person will be. The other general rule is that the drunker you are, the stupider you are, which isnā€™t necessarily a bad thing. Now, POT is another storyā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/15 "2010-05-03T00:39:23Z")
Thereā€™s a very pleasant warm glow that starts in the belly, radiates outward throughout the body, and culminates in me believing I am a good singer. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/16 "2010-05-03T01:10:04Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Those were just the parts I could remember. I still donā€™t know how I got to Vegas or what that chicken was doing in our suite. Did you ever get around to a second beer? hh ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/17 "2010-05-03T01:20:59Z")
There have been plenty of studies documenting the various effects of drinking. [I believe this bit by comedian Larry Miller describes it best.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piPyfqAKf6o) ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/18 "2010-05-03T01:23:10Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > no, for my friend is too young to drink (he is only 20) So youā€¦errrrr I mean your friend has never even had one drink yet? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/19 "2010-05-03T01:34:31Z")
Thankfully Iā€™ve only had the full-on room spinning thing happen twice. Both times it followed basically the same pattern: ā€“ Down around 10 oz of liquor at one go (note I do not recommend this especially if you are new to alcohol and/or donā€™t weigh that much) ā€“ Feel REALLY good for about 1/2 hour ā€“ Donā€™t remember the next half hour at all. ā€“ Realize itā€™s half an hour later and youā€™ve been staring at the TV for that long. ā€“ In another minute or so the room begins to spin for what feels like another half hour. The third and only time Iā€™ve been close to this, I sort of hit the twilight stage between blacking out and just really drunk. I was watching Monty Python and I only vaguely remember a dreamlike series of abstract shapes and snippets of conversation and was constructing a story around it in my mind. (You know, nothing that out of the ordinary for Python ) Then I fully awoke again and the room almost began to spin again, but Iā€™d had it. Not going to down that much at one go unless I need emergency surgery. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051/20 "2010-05-03T01:36:31Z")
Buy me eight rounds, and Iā€™ll tell ya. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-being-drunk-feel-like/538051.md?page=2)