Truth Serum

In vino veritas! As the Latin say – there is truth in wine. Ever notice how often people tend to “spill the beans” under the influence of alcohol? How about those words you’ve desperately wanted to say which suddenly find it easier to escape your mouth? There seems to be a common theme: Alcohol comes in, truth comes out.

Many times, the truth just needs to be heard. Many times, people will be glad that you’ve said what you felt. Sometimes, people are relieved when you finally say what you are truly feeling. Other times, they resent you for it. Remember that old saying? “Stick and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” That’s false. Don’t believe me? Try to think of a time when someone said something, anything, that pissed you off or made you feel uncomfortable. I’ll wait…..

Well, that didn’t take long. By the way, I’m sorry for bringing that up. You get the point. So why is it we get so moody when whiskey hits our lips? Why do we speak our mind when the wine starts flowing? Where does this bravado and liquid courage come from?

Simply put; alcohol consumption lowers our inhibitions. Inhibitions are what make us self-conscious and less likely to act how we feel. Alcohol doesn’t make us do bad things, but it does lower our inhibitions. This means that we don’t think much about how things will play out after we say or do something, we also don’t care as much for whatever the consequence may be (at the time).

Alcohol demands our brains to release more serotonin and endorphins. These chemicals dictate our emotions and how we feel. The more we drink, the more our brain is affected, ultimately swaying our moods based on our circumstances. It could be the tension within a fight between you and your partner or even the excitement you feel when entering a bar or club. Whatever the situation is, we feel so revved up about it because we have an excess of mood altering chemicals flooding our brain. 

Next time you enjoy a few adult beverages, keep Jean-Jaques Rousseau’s french philosophy in mind, “A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.” Or maybe don’t take what he says too personally. After all, he was known to be a bit of a drunk himself. At least he speaks the truth! Right?

(Truth be told, we might have been drinking when we wrote this).