Sober Drunk

A friend recently told me that alcohol brings out a person's true nature. I raised my eyebrow and then the statement was changed to "alcohol amplifies a person's true self." My eyebrow remained raised. Statement now stands as "alcohol removes the usual social constraints."

Now usually this should all be common sense and what not, but I have a slight problem with it. Why do social constraints exist? Some of them keep us from hurting each other. Some of them keep us from killing ourselves. And some of them make sure we don't tell our secrets to others. The first two are fine and I can totally understand the use in social constraints at those levels. Now as for the secrets... this is where things start to bug me.

When a close friend drinks and ends up intoxicated and spills their life stories and insecurities, I'm not sure how to feel about it. A part of me thinks maybe they just need some help in expressing themselves and now that they've done it once it won't be a problem in the future. But then a part of me wonders if I'm worth hearing these secrets when clearly this friend did not tell me them when (s)he was sober.

Same with personality changes when intoxicated. Is that who they really are? If it is why aren't they always like that? Am I really that cold/harsh/intimidating that they have to put up a front for me? Flattering and all, but again; unsure how to feel about all that.

So now I ponder if there's such a thing as being sober drunk. A state of being when a person can fully decide to renounce all social constraints and have the freedom of being "drunk" without drinking. While in said state person must somehow not let their finer judgement (fear) get in the way of doing what they want. Also it would completely ruin the effect if the person could decide to escape the state of sober drunkness at anytime while in said state. So said person must make a mental effort to stay sober drunk for, per say, exactly the next hour. And just like that the sober drunk can be sober drunk for exactly an hour of their own willing being without the consumption of alcohol!

Ok, that might be going a bit far. But generally I don't think anything that an intoxicated person says really means much in the end. If they're madly in love with you and tell you; well great, now you know how they feel! But are you really going to be happy that said person wasn't going to tell you when (s)he was sober? Are they really in love with you if they can't admit to it before drinking a little something? Not to say they don't feel what they feel, but I suppose there's more to a secret than just the secret. I find what's more important sometimes is how the secret is shared, if it is. And if it isn't then, to me, it doesn't exist! And if the secret is 'shared' by ways of gossip, that's also quite a shame.

So I guess what I feel is that if there's a big important secret that cannot be shared; don't drink. If drinking is necessary then the secret must be shared maturely beforehand.

Lesson learned from writing this: reality should either be well hidden or plain in sight.