The majority of those who drink to get drunk expect to feel happy (56 per cent), and relaxed (54 per cent), with 31 per cent of drinkers expecting to feel a sense of social belonging.

Summary
There’s a big difference between how Australians expect to feel when drinking alcohol and the reality of how they actually feel after their last drinking episode, with the nation’s most comprehensive annual alcohol poll finding there’s less upside and more downside than drinkers imagine.

Now in its seventh year, the Annual alcohol poll 2016: Attitudes and behaviours found the majority of those who drink to get drunk expect to feel happy (56 per cent), and relaxed (54 per cent), with 31 per cent of drinkers expecting to feel a sense of social belonging.

Yet in reality drinkers’ expectations fell well short; with only 28 per cent of drinkers feeling happy after downing alcohol, 31 per cent feeling relaxed and just 15 per cent achieving that sense of belonging.

And when it comes to negative impacts, the difference between expectation and reality is just as pronounced; with 29 per cent of drinkers reporting feeling tired after the last time they were drunk, despite only 13 per cent expecting to feel drowsy. Similarly, 17 per cent were sick (although only five per cent anticipated this), seven per cent felt unattractive (in contrast to four per cent) and 13 per cent felt regret (where only six per cent had predicted that outcome).