Too shy when sober, too open when drunk
Alcohol: Why we are too shy when sober
Who hasn’t experienced this: when you’re invited to a party with lots of unknown people, you like to drink up your courage. The same goes for first dates when nerves are on the verge of failing. It is a well-known fact that alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes you less shy. But how much alcohol is too much?
Why does alcohol make you more open?
After a long day, you finally come home and only want one thing: to relax! A glass of wine or a bottle of beer will help you get in the mood for the evening and leave the stress behind. But in most cases, it doesn’t stop at a single glass or bottle. If friends are also present, the whole thing degenerates – before you know it – into a binge. The reason for this is simple: alcohol makes you fun and talkative. You feel good and relaxed, think you have everything under control. Your inhibitions drop, you crack one joke after another and cause a lot of hilarity among your conversation partners. The next morning you wake up with a buzzing head and promise yourself never to get drunk again.
Easier said than done:
But this is easier said than done. Alcohol is a neurotoxin that affects the body and brain. As perception is distorted by alcohol consumption, behaviour also changes. Suddenly, a shy person becomes a real moody person. Judgement is also clouded, so that mistakes and unattractive faux pas can occur under the influence of high-proof alcohol. It is not uncommon to feel ashamed the next day.
When am I drunk?
Everyone is different
Everyone has a different tolerance when it comes to alcohol. There are people who can still stand on their feet after drinking half a bottle of vodka and those who are tipsy after a single beer. It is important to know your own limits so that alcohol consumption does not become a problem. A glass of wine with dinner can help digestion and make you feel cheerful. If it stays that way, you can take advantage of alcohol’s positive qualities. There is, however, a scale that indicates drunkenness. From an alcohol level of 0.8 per mille, you are considered completely drunk.
In ancient Rome
Even the ancient Romans enjoyed wine, and in the Middle Ages beer with a very low alcohol content was drunk instead of water. With the large selection of soft drinks and other types of beverages, alcohol is drunk nowadays primarily when people deliberately want to get intoxicated. Many people use alcohol because they do not know how to deal with their shyness. When you’re drunk, it’s often much easier to socialise and strike up conversations with complete strangers. This effect is generally positive, but it can also have its disadvantages. When you’re drunk, you often say things that you later regret. Or you are far too open and reveal secrets that you should have kept to yourself.
What are the dangers of alcohol?
It has long been known that alcohol is harmful to health. There are some studies that say that the resveratrol contained in red wine has health-promoting properties and has a positive effect on heart health. However, we are only talking about red wine here. Since resveratrol is found in grapes, the active ingredient can also be ingested via fruit. Spirits such as vodka or whiskey are definitely not good for your health, but wine and beer in excess are also harmful. Some people even black out during a night of drinking.
Blackout…
When you have a “blackout”, you can’t remember anything. So if you drink to make yourself look less shy and go overboard, you will quickly become the person no one wants to have anything to do with. As you can see, it is important to manage your drinking carefully and keep it in check. You should know how much you can take so that you can pull the emergency brake at any time.
Long-term alcohol consumption
Long-term and excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a whole range of more or less serious health problems. Especially the liver is mistreated when you drink a lot. After all, alcohol first enters the liver, where it is broken down. It is not uncommon for heavy drinkers to develop cirrhosis, in which the liver becomes scarred. In addition, excessive alcohol consumption can lead to heart and circulatory diseases. And physical damage is not the only consequence: if you drink non-stop on a weekend, you may not feel well enough to return to work on Monday. Whether it’s sports, work or study, alcohol abuse can reduce your performance in all areas.
How can you overcome your shyness without alcohol?
If you use alcohol as a crutch to be open-minded and amusing, you will lose the ability to entertain yourself without alcohol. Remember that the self-confidence you think you feel when you are drunk doesn’t actually exist. Once you sober up, your shyness will take over.
Learning process
Therefore, you should learn to overcome your shyness without alcohol. To many, this seems like a daunting task. But it is the ability to deal with challenging situations when you are sober that allows you to make important and, above all, correct decisions. Restraint is not necessarily a bad thing: it allows you to assess a situation and decide what further steps you want to take.
The end of the story… sometimes you’d rather not
It helps if you analyse a situation thoroughly and think about what you could have done better. How would you like to react next time? You should be aware that everyone is shy to some degree, and even go-getters don’t always find it easy to make new friends and business contacts. The more often you face a challenge soberly, the better you will learn to deal with it. It can also help if you regularly step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Whether it’s a dance class or skydiving: Every new situation that you approach soberly boosts your self-confidence. After a while, you’ll realise that you can manage quite well without alcohol.
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