The holiday season rolled by very quickly and painlessly. Christmas was avoided as usual, and newyears was.. well newyears. I’ve read my previous posts and it shames me to say I haven’t improved at all in writing. I think that I may be mentally disabled when it comes to making coherent sentences. I will continue to try and improve so that I may have a fighting chance when it comes to dealing with essays this year.
Alcohol
The first thing I’d like to talk about is the effects of alcohol. Aside from the physical affects, it has some very interesting revealing qualities about the person who is drunk. Like the good psychologist I am, I have been consistently observing the behaviours of people around me. One large difference I’ve noticed about drunk people is the truth it brings out.
It’s simple really.
1. Your behaviour and personality will change from what other people normally see if you are not comfortable with yourself.
2. Your behaviour and personality will not change from what other normally people see if you are comfortable with yourself.
I’ve seen the most amazing transformations in people when they drink. I’ve seen some people get extremely violent and angry, while others seemed to… morph into their natural states. I don’t like to pick on anyone, but it’s really really interesting to see people who you thought were mentally stable go completely bananas when they get liquored up. The point I’m trying to bring across here is simple guys. If you drink and have noticed change in yourself, then perhaps you have a problem. Mentally sound and comfortable people will not change. I THINK when I drink I do not change much. I get a little less self conscious and do stupid things, but I do stupid things regardless so there isn’t much change there. I honestly care little of what people think about me, unless they actually mean something to me. So if you are one of the unfortuate people who seem to change (if not drastically) while drinking you may have to do some reflection. Seriously, no one likes it when you bring our your insecure ugly side for everyone to see when you’re drunk.
Friends Level
The next thing is a little more interesting. I call this the friend level theory. Basically, we have friends on different levels and we treat them differently. Sounds logical and like nothing new. However, as everyone does this, I find it to have dire consequences. I’m sure this has happened to you: You are hanging out with a friend (close or not) and it seems you two are just talking and generally paying attention to each other’s conversations. Then another person comes along and decides to join you. This new person is at a higher level friendship than you. The focus shifts away from you and is now concentrated on this newcomer. If you try to contribute to any of the conversation it is quickly ignored or disregarded. However, as soon as that person leaves the focus is directed completely back to you as if nothing has happened. At first you may brush this off as ‘oh, they just acted like that cause the other friend just happenend to walk by. I’m sure it was a one time thing and unintentional.’ You are WRONG.
The fact of the matter is, this person is a jackass. It makes the other person feel like shit, and you turn out to be an ass. I hate to admit it, but I used to do this. I usually try now to treat all my friends of equal level and to generally act the same. I can say I’m quite consistent and it has turned out well.
There is one thing however you must remember. If you are a sensitive person, it may seem like this happens to you alot. I can illustrate with a few numbers.
Situation 1 : Person A 100% interest in Person B
Situation 2 : Person A 90% interest in Person C, 10% interest in Person B (Putting friends on levels)
Situation 3 : Person A 50% interest in Person C, 50% interest in Person B (Equally dividing attention)
So if you are a sensitive person, it may seem like situation 3 is situation 2. I’ve known a few who react this way when I divide attention between friends, as if they expect all the attention to remain on them. If the attention remains on them, won’t the other person feel like shit?