There aren’t many upsides to hangovers, but I can think of a
couple:
The guilt they induce serves as a kick up the arse: a push
to do something productive as soon as you’re able, to make up for having had to
mope around doing very little while the hangover lasts.
(Entirely by serendipity, I’ve just discovered that a word
for this is metanoia, meaning a life change resulting
from spiritual conversion or penitence, from the Greek metanoein, to change one’s mind. I discovered this while looking up
the definition of metonymical, which I mistakenly thought was spelled with an “a”
(meta-), for the next paragraph but one: I had hoped it might be an adjectival way
of describing something as being meta, in the sense of having a recurrent
higher order.)
However, it’s a second upside I’m more interested in here. (Although
it’s related to the arse-kicking upside, in that it also has implications for
productivity.) It’s that I think differently when I’m hungover.
I’m convinced this is true. When I’m hungover I'm more observant; I'm more
inclined to think and to think at length; I tend to think about deeper and more
complex subjects; a broader range of ideas seems to be available to me; and I'm more productive in my thinking.
I don’t think this is narcissistic: I make no
claims to think well in any state, it's that I have thoughts and ideas when hungover that I
wouldn’t otherwise have – or at least not as readily. The ideas underlying many
of the posts on this blog came to me when I was hungover - including, predictably
but pleasingly metanymically (see above: I’m coining the term. I never use the
word metonym anyway: that’s why I had to look it up), the idea for this one.
I’ve recognised this for a while: I’ve long thought it helpful
to consider important decisions while sober, drunk and hungover, partly because
I spend not-insignificant portions of my life in the latter two of these three
states, so it’s only fair for my sober self to take my drunk and hungover
selves’ opinions into consideration, but also because I know that being drunk
or hungover might facilitate inspiration.
Is this property of hangovers particular to me, or is it
true for everyone? I don't know. There must have been reams written about the effects of alcohol, but I haven't read much of it. I know Hemingway said that whiskey put his thoughts on a different
plane, but I assume he meant on imbibing, not the day after.
I doubt there’s been much if any research into how
substances affect thought patterns beyond matters of addiction and impulse
control. There ought to be. If anyone knows of any or has any good references on the
subject, please do leave them below.
Meanwhile, I need to get up off my arse and do something with my day.
