Alcohol!

[proudmummy]

I'm not an alcoholic but I drink hellofalot! it helps me so much. I invited friends over mine last weekend and at the beginning I was all nervy, not knowing what to say, as soon as the drink started hitting me we were laughing, dancing, having a great laugh and I got a text the next morning saying how wicked and funny the night was, and that we got to do it more often etc etc, i'm even going away on holiday with them next month now and it means i'm going to have to pack alot of booze....

...This is the story of me though, i'm a totally different person when i'm absolutely drunk and a more fun person! say i'm half-sober and people want me to dance I quickly gulp drinks back so I get drunker and then have the nerves to dance! its terrible. bad for my health and the wrong way to get over my SP but its my only cure, although only temporary. If I had the confidence from what I get out of booze my life would be amazing.

Anyone else?

 

[asubscriber99]

alcohol would help you because it works as an "anxiolytic", so your fears goes away.

if you want to avoid bad health outcomes due to alcohol, you can see a doctor to prescribe you some medications that work similarly to alcohol.

 

[Lexmark]

well xanax works the same as alcohol but sif its better for ya health
Im the same drinking takes all my inhibitions away and I am the complete opposite. Im pretty sure its the way i would be without SP

 

[toothpastekisses]

..................

 

[proudmummy]

My sister said to me the other day, "your so much better and funner when your drunk!"
:roll:

 

[IceLad]

When I was still working, work colleagues used to comment how I was more talkative after I'd had a pint.

 

[schnookie]

I'm the exact same way. If I get a few drinks in me I loosen up. On a couple of occasions, I feel like my personality has almost become the opposite of what it normally is, becoming very sociable. There have also been other times where it has driven me into a deeper depression. I think it has to do with the people around you at the time. If I'm surrounded by mostly strangers when I'm drunk, I tend to get very clammed up and stuck in my own thoughts, with not much to say to anyone else.

 

[striker]

I can totally relate to this. I have been drinking on the weekends to socialize, but not a lot. It usually takes me a drink to relax & even start approaching strangers.
But once I realized that my body is getting sick (cause I have candida)
I quit taking it. There are times when I cant resist it. But I am trying my best to find alternatives to alcohol like.. running hard in the hot sun relaxes me & almost feels like i've had a drink.

 

[Bob-is-my-name]

I find that when I have a couple of drink I start to loosen up a bit. Without it, you could lay me horizontal and do your ironing on me I'd be so rigid.

 

[blue]

I did a 30th birthday party for my partner and i know for a fact i couldnt have done it without alcohol
I am a totally different person when ive been drinking im friendly and chatty and have a great laugh my nerves dissapere and i just enjoy myself.
The problem is when i have to face those same people again and my nerves and my mouth twitches are back.........

 

[chrislookscute]

It sounds terrible to admit but I love alcohol! Dunno how I'd have coped in most social situations without it. Worringly, it seems the "real" me emerges after a drink (or two...or three...) and I behave in the relaxed way around strangers the same way I do at home with my family. At parties I usually need more drink than everyone else to appear to be "drunk" like them. I mean, if everyone else is sober and I've had a drink I'd behave the same as everyone else, if that makes sense :?

OMG I am exactly like you! I always say that....I drink just to get to a NORMAL state.... lol!!!!

 

[lynchcas]

I use to be like you guys. It starts out that way but guess what? Now I drink every single day. Not only am I dealing with sp I'm pretty much a drunk. This shit is not ok. If you can find the strength I would encourage you to find other ways to relax. I never thought I would end up this way but I have and my life is fucking hell now.

 

[Shaun]

Hi I am new to the board, I needed to say a few things here. I have to agree with Lynchas, I have lived with SA since I was 15. I am 43 now. Early on I discovered booze helped me to "get normal" but we don't drink for the same reasons that other people do. The resulting hangover will magnify your anxiety greatly. That can lead to picking up another drink as soon as you wake up. Trust me it is horrible. I spent years trapped in this cycle. Just wanting to be normal and go out and party. For awhile alchohol will allow you to do that but there is a heavy price to pay. God I hate myself for sounding like such a boring old doomsayer. I have been taking propanolol for some years, it helps a lot to keep the panic away, but doesnt help with the negative feelings. I got to the stage twice in my life where I went to AA for help with my drinking. It didnt help me as it just reinforced the idea that I wasnt normal. I only drink occasionally now and I have to be very aware that If I over do it I will be so anxious the following day I will need a coupla drinks to take the edge off. That can easily lead to getting trapped again. I do not want to live like that. So now I am looking at other ways to deal with the SA.

Shaun

 

[longhairedgirl]

hi

i've just joined and i can completely relate to what everyone is saying

I used to love to drink because everyone saw me as this party girl and used to tell me how much fun i am and i would talk to anyone with no thoughts of what they're thinking about me after the night out i would not leave the house for up to 3 days because i couldnt remember the whole night and i used to worry people with laughing at me but that was never the case apparently

anyway i went travelling with my sister i know sounds like something i would never have done but i guess i felt safe because i was with her but she isnt particulary understanding about my social anxiety and kind of abandoned me 2 weeks into our travelling she met a man and fell head over heels for him cue me spending a lot of time alone missing meals because i didnt want to go to a restaurant to eat most meals alone
she also decided it would be good for me to take the ferry to the next island to go to immigration and she would go the next day luckily that didnt happen because i worked out a lot cheaper for us to go together but the thought terrified she thought i was being stupid and told me i was pathetic

anyway she got a job in a bar and i used to go everynight and drink a lot so i could talk to people and then it became a habit and i just drank so much everynight for months id wake up scared to leave my room because i couldnt remember what i had happened the night before i had false memories where i was convinced that local girls had started a fight with me and wanted to kill me (it never happened) i made a few real friends but i still couldnt stop the drinking. i did stupid things like falling asleep on the bar outside a bar outside a restaurant by my room id forget that id even met people the night before and then ignore them in the street because i didnt know them i thought i got such bad alcohol paranoia one night that i fell asleep on a bar and 2 tourists took me to hospital in a taxi i woke up in the morning still drunk and had to get 2 taxis back to my room i didnt drink for 2 weeks well only a couple the last few weeks we were there i tried to overcome it and drank little and i realised that people liked me the same when i was sober because i was still happy and friendly unfortunately the last night before we left for the flight home i fell off the wagon and got drunk to the point of not remembering leaving the bar.

sorry for the long post thanks if you read it all

anyway my point is alcohol is just a quick fix solution and not a long term one i've realised that the people who only like me when i'm drunk dont feel the same about me when im sober as im quiet and worry a lot about stuff also my other point is i was very very lucky i was never hurt, attacked or injured in anyway during the drink binges but i was very very lucky

i believe it is ok to have a few drinks and i mean 3 total to take the edge off but i never want to go back to drinking like that again

thanks for reading

 

[sabbath92003]

Laugh and say I'm green
I've seen things you'll never see.
Talk behind my back
But I'm off the beaten track.
I'll take on anyone
Ain't scared of a bloody nose,
Drink till I drop down
With one eye on my clothes.

What is it? I'll take it.
Who is she? I'll rape it.
Got a bet there? I'll meet it.
Getting High? You can't beat it.

Doctor Jimmy and mister Jim
When I'm pilled you don't notice him,
He only comes out when I drink my gin.

You say she's a virgin.
I'm gonna be the first in.
Her fellah's gonna kill me?
Oh fucking will he.
I'm seeing double
But don't miss me if you can.
There's gonna be trouble
When she choses her man.

What is it? I'll take it.
Who is she? I'll rape it.
Got a bet there? I'll meet it.
Getting High? You can't beat it.

Doctor Jimmy and mister Jim
When I'm pilled you don't notice him,
He only comes out when I drink my gin.

 

[Elulla]

wow!! i only just found these posts and i relate to them sooo well, everyone likes me when i've had a few drinks hell i like myself half the time to. i have drank to much for to long in my younger years but i have kids now so i can't do that anymore, but i find myself drinking more and more when stuff seems to be going bad for me, what i tend to do is mix it with music it depends on my mood as to the music i listen to (when i'm on my own), but it seems to help me, makes me cry if that's what i need at the time. but i do get scared that it will get worse some times when i feel like i'm going through a really bad patch (which i am at the moment) but then when you see the same people on a sober day that you 'partied with' the night before they seem to react to me in a different way, so they only wanna be my ''friend'' when i've had a drink or three!! and i know that if that's really the way they are not friends and unfortunately it has led me to put myself in some bad situations. sorry, not sure what else to add now i had it all in my head what i was gonna say but it's all gone lol. but thanks for reading that bit so far !!

 

[FOR REAL]

"drink to feel normal" yes definatley

if i didnt drink, i would be denying myself the only pleasure i get in life.

CHEERS!

 

[wabristol]

I used to use alcohol and drugs to help me feel better but it actually made things a whole lot worse it started out just getting abit wrecked on weekend but it ended up dominating my life and getting me in a world af shit, had a psychotic episode age 17 and thought everyone was out to kill me, after that i used alcohol more and not much drugs but that got me into trouble with the police then came self harm and extreme self hatred than came prison which was difficult to deal with becuase of social anxiety, then came hating other people and branding myself and becoming increasingly violent aggressive and unpredictable blackouts were thier from the start but now becoming very frequent and scary as i would wake up sometimes with injuries and not know what had happened the night before, it really screwed me up, i found myself age 22 never really had a girlfriend wanting to stop living my life the way i did but couldn't so i got help from alcoholics anonymous, now my life is better, i still struggle in talking to people alot especially women but it isn't as bad as it used to be, i would reccomend to anyone on here who feels like thier life is a mes cause of alcohol to go to AA. With me i thought alcohol and drugs were helping me but they were just meking everything worse.

 

[Felgen]

I've stopped drinking (been without alcohol for almost a year). Used to drink quite a lot to "cure" my anxiety, but alcohol, sensory issues, lack of social skills and terrible impulse control isn't really a good combination. Sometimes if I drank too much, I started behaving aggresively (and even violent).

I've also come to realise that "friends" who don't accept me when I'm sober, aren't really worth spending time with.

 

[smff73]

Alcohol has a terrible effect on me. Both at the time, and afterwards, when I suffer from the most intense "booze blues" imaginable. The day after, I feel guilt, depression, hopelessness and dread that I've offended somebody. Hence I rarely do it.

It may make me more likely to talk to people, but it doesn't mean my social skills are any better. In fact, during a recent session, it seemed everyone I spoke to looked at me as if i was an alien, or buggered off from the conversation quickly.

For example, after a recent party, my friend confided in me that the people at the party thought I was wierd, really not what I needed to hear in my mentally fragile hangover state.

Alcohol and social phobia are not a good combination in my view, however, everyone is different!