Drinking influences our personalities in a variety of ways. Some people get happy. Others turn combative or impulsive. At one time or another, though, we've all been the emotional drunk, a condition typically marked by ill-timed espousals of affection (or reprisal), acute introspection, and an uncontrollable urge to cry in the middle of a crowded bar.
Alcohol impacts every organ system in the body, but its effect on the brain is what determines our behavior while under its sway. And our emotions, the crux of what makes us human, rarely escape unscathed.
Once that sip of wine reaches your stomach, a small portion of the alcohol is absorbed into the blood through the stomach lining, while the majority passes to the small intestine where it's absorbed. Alcohol dissolves into the blood's water, is carried through the bloodstream, and is processed by the liver before being excreted. Before that happens, though, it's able to cross the blood-brain barrier, which means it can directly enter the brain through circulation. At this point, you'll notice changes in behavior and thought processes.
Alcohol is a depressant, but not in the way that an occasional drink will make us psychologically 'depressed' (although research supports a correlation between heavy drinking and depression). Rather, a depressant incites a chemical reaction that slows down activity in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) responsible for interpreting sensory cues, controlling motor function, thinking and reasoning, and regulating emotion.
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