Drinking: A Self-Analysis Tool?
Who comes out of you when you drink? What face do you show -- is it real, or a fiction of alcohol fumes?
I have been taking a poll lately among my friends, since there isn't much in the way of popular opinion on this on the web: does drinking put you in touch with your true self? I see folks who drink and become sullen, or angry. The happy drinkers. The slutty drinkers. Sometimes the sad drinkers.
I should qualify this and say I'm not talking about drinking to obliteration or bar-brawling, or the abuse of any substance, including alcohol.
I'm talking about the 1-3 drink situation in the company of one or more others, not drinking alone. Where social barriers are lowered. Where conversation moves more freely but not to catastrophically blunt, where laughter is more readily accessible, where hidden truth often moves into the open.
I should add that I do know all the denigration that surrounds drinking, and rightly so: it's easily abused, it is addictive for many people, it is hard to gauge how much is too much, it's impossible to drink much and do certain things safely (namely, drive).
However. I would also argue that it can frequently be a tool of disclosure, both of others and of the self. I know that my own inner voice becomes my outer voice a lot more quickly when I've had a drink or two, and I'm all for anything that improves authentic communication.
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So that readers do not think I'm being irresponsible with this post, I include some links to reputable, medical-based information about alcohol and some of the dangers it can present when not used in moderation:
http://men.webmd.com/features/whats-your-drinking-personality