Does being Drunk around Other People make you Anxious?

hamandcheese

Active member
Hi

Does anyone find that alcohol increases their anxiety rather than lower it?

I'm 21 now and I used to drink quite a bit on nights out cos it seemed to lower my anxiety in crowded pubs. For the past year I haven't drank much at all and any time I do I feel like it gets harder to control my anxiety when I'm around a big crowd, rather than easier.

If anything I feel like my anxiety goes through the roof when I'm drinking in a pub around loads of people, as opposed to staying sober for the night.

I also usually end up getting really depressed when I drink even a small amount, and not just when it's wearing off. I start to dislike myself a lot when this happens.

Can anyone relate to getting more anxious or depressed when they drink, even relatively small amounts? Could it be that I used alcohol to cover up my anxiety in the past too much and that's why I can't drink now?
 

rado31

Well-known member
If i m not only anxious and irritated (moderate depressed) but also paranoid (and highly depressed) than alcochol fucks me up completely.
I m more introspective than , and it would be better that not to consume it than. More weird and introspective.
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Yea I get what you mean, alcohol isn't a problem for me as such, like SA is the root of the problem but I just find that drinking makes it harder for me to cope with anxiety around crowds of people.

Cheers for the reply!!
 

prince1

Well-known member
If i only get tipsy then yeah my anxiety will go up, but if i get drunk the hell you wouldnt beleive i had SP.
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Prince1, any idea why your anxiety goes up when you get a bit tipsy at first?

I actually think that I don' t like being drunk aroud others for fear of looking foolish. I think that's why my anxiety goes up when I drink instead of down.

My anxiety goes down like anyone else when I'm having a bottle of wine in my house with my girlfriend, cause there's nobody else around, but I always like to be composed around other people especially in pubs.
 

steel_sparks

Active member
i find that when i'm drinking if i see people i know from school or similar my anxiety kicks in and i start depressing myself and have to go home but if i'm with friends then it doesnt bother me so much, but even with friends that i feel comfortable with i'm still scared/anxious to talk epescially in a load pub
 

Pitrus

Well-known member
When Im drunk i do everything like a normal people do. Im very social i dont blush and i talk to alot of ladies i dont kno, I crack jokes and even do Karaoke or whatever u call it.
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Thanks for the replies everyone!

steel_sparks, it sounds like you get kind of the same way as I do.

If I'm in a pub and I'm not drinking my anxiety can get bad, but I've a better chance of controlling it.

If I'm in a pub and drinking however, I just get totally anxious and I don't want to be around people at all. I just don't like being drunk, or even tipsy, around people. I always feel I look stupid or else that I'm trying to be someone I'm not.

If I'm drinking in a quiet situation with people who I know well then I'm usually ok and drink chills me out like any other person.

I think I'm just going to avoid drinking when I'm in crowded pubs or around people I don't know, so maybe I'll be more comfortable going out at the weekend. Unlike other symptoms of SA, like avoiding busy shops for example, I don't feel it's necessary to get used to drinking around others.
 

jamsambo

Member
Drinking makes my anxiety disappear, but when I'm hungover I'm in bits, my anxiety gets really bad. I think it's from withdrawal
 

rado31

Well-known member
jamsambo said:
Drinking makes my anxiety disappear, but when I'm hungover I'm in bits, my anxiety gets really bad. I think it's from withdrawal


My mask of cool guy is more stronger when i m drunk . Like this WE.
But, problem is that it is only the mask. And problem is that i dont like to
be drunk either. So....I m full of problems. Maybe i should change may nick to acronim FOP. or FUP. guess what it is
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Hi Rado31

I can definitely identify with just not wanting to drink and not liking being drunk.

I only realised the other day that the reason my anxiety goes up when I'm drinking is that I'm usually doing it around others, which aggravates my anxiety about being around crowds (drunken crowds in-particular).

It took me so long to figure this out 'cause most people usually say they their anxiety goes down when they drink but it's such a relief now that I know why my anxiety goes up.

Sometimes I just wish that drinking wasn't everywhere you turn in society. There's barely a social event that doesn't involve drinking and it can be so annoying sometimes.

Cheers
 

Moonie

Well-known member
If I'm drunk enough, I don't really care about anything. I have done some stupid things when drunk like tripiing down stairs and running into a glass door. I didn't care about it at all because I was so drunk.

The only way I am paranoid or anxious when drinking is when I have drank before something I really wasn't supposed to. For example, I have drank before some presenations. Even then, I am still not very comfortable. And I am actually harming myself more because I become more forgetful and probably smell like alcohol.

So in all, it depends on the situation and how much I have drank.
 

jamsambo

Member
I think drinking can have affects on people with SA other than just making their anxiety go down, anxiety disorders are complex after all!
 

Katjelique

Active member
I tend just to get sleepy, though I get very nervous around people who are drunk. Mainly it turns people that I may trust into people not to be trusted. Ergo, no frat parties.
 

loner45

Member
Sometimes drinking gives me the courage and nerve to say what I feel and I can approach anyone, especially women. Alcohol is like "Captian Courage" for me. There's only one drawback to that..
Getting too drunk or too tipsy makes you say very stupid things! You may not realize it, until you get sober and someone has told you all of the shit you've said and done the night before.

I've been on drunken sprees before. Being wasted, or blacked out, or in a room with a woman you don't even know, and you cant perform cause you are too drunk is no fun! One word of advice....don't drink while being depressed. It only makes things worse. I like a cold beer or a drink of rum or gin like the next person, but I have felt more confident with a few under my belt. The only problem is when I'm sober. :roll:
 

E

Active member
Sometimes drinking makes me depressed and sometimes it makes me talk alot and lets me have fun which without i wouldnt be able to.
I think this depends on the mood i am in that day or maybe the people i'm with.
 

Kinetik

Well-known member
I know what you mean. Just yesterday I had a social event which I pre-gamed by having a few mixed drinks before heading out. It was a bad idea, because I felt myself rambling as the night progressed, and I felt as if I'd stuck my neck out which made me feel self-conscious. Being drunk though, I couldn't really stop myself, and afterwards I definitely felt uncomfortable thinking back to all the things I said.
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Kinetik said:
I know what you mean. Just yesterday I had a social event which I pre-gamed by having a few mixed drinks before heading out. It was a bad idea, because I felt myself rambling as the night progressed, and I felt as if I'd stuck my neck out which made me feel self-conscious. Being drunk though, I couldn't really stop myself, and afterwards I definitely felt uncomfortable thinking back to all the things I said.

Yea I can definitely relate to that. Since most of the replies to this post have said that alcohol only lowers one's anxiety I'm starting to doubt the idea that it raises mine though.

I really don't like the idea that it should be part of my regular social life and I almost always feel anxious when I go out drinking and the following day.

I guess that maybe it's my SA that makes me anxious in pubs and alcohol just doesn't do much to relieve it and if anything raises my anxiety when it withdraws.

Thanks for the replies kinetik and everyone!
 

hamandcheese

Active member
Hi

This is a line taken from a research paper looking at SA and alcohol use.

"People with negative expectancies about alcohol's effects probably do not consume alcohol because it increases their fear of appearing even more foolish."

If anything this sums me up perfectly. I'm fine drinking a bottle of wine at home but when it comes to going to pubs, I'm already anxious to begin with and I'll just get more anxious when I drink.

I feel I could still be wrong about this though. Anyone else get the same way?
 
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