Hey, everyone, I was wondering what the effects of alcohol would be in the processing of pain and inhibition. I was thinking that excessive amounts of alcohol would would impair the ability for an individual to inhibit themselves from dangerous actions. Would it be realistic for my character to drink a lot and then die via slitting his forearms? I read that it is difficult for one to successfully end their lives through wrist/arm slitting because one would have to cut deep enough--so I figured that if one was severely drunk, the inhibition and pain receptors would be impaired enough to allow a deep cut to happen. If not, what kind of end would make the most sense for a character in this situation?
Well, people certainly do manage to kill themselves by slitting their wrists, so... sure, it would work. And sure, alcohol would help.
Alcohol inhibits pain, and in a car accident for example, they often survive when others die. In the case that they are committing suicide, which is what you're talking about, then alcohol is a depressant and more likely to make an already suicidal person follow through with it. Yes, it would kill them, and possibly faster than a sober person because alcohol thins the blood a lot, making it less likely for the wound to stop bleeding. Also, they'd be less likely to care about the pain and just go through with it. Of course, there's also another factor...people who slit their wrists do so in order to send a message and have a shock effect. People just wanting to end it and don't care about sending a message usually go with a gun or something else...
I agree with the Feline Doctor. All of the things alcohol does in relatively high quantities would make it much easier for someone to slit their wrists. It does loosen inhibitions. It does thin the blood, making the bleeding out process a bit faster. It does hamper the ability to process pain. All of those things dumped onto someone who is genuinely interested in killing themselves would only make it easier for said person to follow through with it. Obviously this wouldn't be true for everyone, but the believability is certainly there for this to work in fiction.
Alcohol dulls pain a bit, but not enough that you don't notice it. Blackout drunk, and then you might not even be aware of it. So if they are suicidal and in a blackout drunk state, they would be able to slit their wrists and die. Never knowing it ever happened. People who slit their wrist across the veins are doing it wrong. There are things in the veins to minimize the blood flow. Cutting the length of the veins will make it harder for it to restrict the flow of blood. Alcohol keeps the blood from clotting. So yeah you just need to be normal drunk, slit your wrists form wrist up the forearm, and resist the self preservation part of your brain.
It's not so much the pain inhibition that helps intoxicated people survive accidents as the slowing of their reflexes. We naturally tense up in dangerous situations, but in fact, the safest state for your body to be in in an impact is one of complete muscular relaxation. People who are drunk often don't have time to react the fact that they're about to be in an accident, and cruise through it blissfully unaware until it's all over and done with. In a suicide, I'd say that the disinhibiting factor is far more important than the anesthetic effect of the booze. Someone who is depressed but functioning is more likely to decide to say "fuck it" and attempt to kill themselves when their inhibitions are chemically lowered. Depending on your story's locale, drowning, especially in cold water, might be a good choice. There's also throwing yourself under a train (somewhat popular here in Japan), and if they're available, firearms are one of the most common choices. This chart, from a site that is not against suicide, shows the breakdown in the USA (although I'm not sure what their source is): And I really hope I'm just helping you with research for a story... Edit to add: Just in case, the Suicide Prevention Hotline is here.
