SA and alcohol

[unsweat]

Hi,

I seem to have serious case of anxiety when around people, esp when I am alone in public. I will develop some sort of severe self-conscieness. After which I will start to sweat alot! And I really mean alot, esp on my face.

I am so sick and tired of this. I feel so depressed. Today finally I tried drinking some vodka before going to attend a talk to counter the problem. I was a little drunk before I left the house. My mind felt very light but I could still find my way to the destination that I have never been before.

It felt so good! I didnt care about the people around me, I felt so free and I didnt really sweat! But at the talk, I could barely focus on what the speaker was saying.

After the talk there was a Q & A session, my light headedness made me felt so bold. I ask so many questions that I wouldnt have if I were sober. One of the staff even got intimidated by the way I was asking questions! I was surprised that I even remember and know what questions to ask. But the thing is I could barely remember the answers!

I have read some posts that people used alcohol to counter their anxiety. But I dont think this is a good long term solution. To anyone that has used alcohol to counter anxiety, have you found a better solution/medication that has helped you? Please, I ought to seek some advise here before deciding on whether to visit a doctor.

Thank you.

 

[4seasons]

Why does everyone else lose their anxiety when they drink? mine gets worse. I wish i could get drunk and make it go away. That way i could actually go to partys and meet people.

 

[thequietone]

My advice, don't self medicate. That tends to get you hooked on it. I've never tried drinking because I've always been on anti-anxiety meds and I know (because I have a compulsive nature) that I would become an alcoholic. There's always that danger. If you felt so good the one time, what's to stop you from doing it again, and more vodka, etc? I would suggest seeing a doctor. They know what they're doing (usually ). They can prescribe you stuff that works better than alcohol because it's targeted to the specific chemicals in your brain that are causing the problem.

 

[unsweat]

I completely agree alcohol is not a good answer at all. That will probabl be the first and last time I will use it. I was just wondering what kind of medication are members using to help with sa/nervousness.

 

[prince1]

I personally beleive alchole is a god send for all us SA sufferes, i dont think i would be alive today if it wasent for alchole.

 

[renegade]

I have tried tons of meds for over 2 years now. I have even tried benzodiazephines, witch acts on the same receptors on the brain like alcohol.

And so far I came to this conclusion: alcohol works best, at least for me. Of course the meds mentioned above workes, but had half the results alcohol had. All I can say is, until the doctors came up with a med that really works and isn't selling us bullsh*t, alcohol remains the best med.

 

[4seasons]

So am i the only on that finds it doesn't work?

 

[Jacky1980]

Hello, unsweat,
If your symptom is severe enough, I suggest your seeing a psychological doctor, after that, you can share the advice for your therapist with me and I can give you more help.

Different people will have different result when they drink alcohol to counter their SP. some people will find it works, some won't. Just like you take sleeping pills when you suffer insomnia, some people will go to sleep normally and some people will still be awake until dawn. therefore, just like sleeping-pill is not a real cure for insomnia, alcohol is far from a cure for SP, and what's worse, the side effects are more severe than sleeping pill. Alcohol will cause and aggravate depression, in Chinese there is a old saying "drinking wine to forget sadness will make you gain more sadness", so I don't suggest you dirinking alcohol to to counter SP any more.

About how to cure SP, please read my thread "the critical factor in the recovery of SP" and other related ones. Any question, I will explain to you.

 

[unsweat]

Thanks for all your replies. But I dont think alcohol is a long term solution. The biggest setback is I cant remember everything people say to me when partially intoxicated. Should meds like diazepam/valium work or something? I was looking at visiting a general practitioner. A shrink would probably be to expensive for me.

 

[fallenfeather]

Benzos like xanax ans clonazepam are very effective at reducing anxiety. When I take a half I get become so chilled and at peace with everything and it makes any dificult social situation so much easier for 3 or 4 hours.

xanax has the stronger effect for me but also causes quite heavy drowsiness after it wears off, which is good sometimes if it's evening time as i sleep like a log that night, bu it sucks for things like work meetings as I'm too tired to do anything all day after.

Clonazepam is king for me! it's a milder effect but works well and has very little or no drowsiness after.

I would pop one every couple of weeks when I have a meeting or social event around people I don't know but they have to be treated wisely and not used every day or things will start to become troublesome.

 

[Jacky1980]

Hi,unsweat,
Any medication is not a real cure just like alcohol. SP can only be cured by psychotherapy. Just like Roxy said,those meds can be an added problem. I suggest you take meds to reduce your symptom temporarily and seek pshchotherapist at the same time, meds can only be taken as auxiliary approach.

 

[scatmantom]

Yep I agree. Get some therapy for a long term solution.

 

[unsweat]

Thanks for all your valuable replies. I cannot afford therapy. I am really considering on visiting my GP one of these days to see what he says. Not sure what med will he prescribe me, if he will at all. I will ask him about clonazepam and propranolol, after having read members getting great results from it.

 

[sabbath92001]

Thanks for all your valuable replies. I cannot afford therapy. I am really considering on visiting my GP one of these days to see what he says. Not sure what med will he prescribe me, if he will at all. I will ask him about clonazepam and propranolol, after having read members getting great results from it.

Meds are just as bad as alcohol. Try Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). There are ACT self-help workbooks available for like $20 each. I've been doing ACT by myself for the last two years and it has helped me a lot.

 

[Ray007]

I too have found Alcohol relieves the SA. Afterall it its called a "social lubricant'

The problem with me is I keep drinking and get too drunk and act even worse. Plus how long can we use to treat SA? And now I wake uo rather sick,,,and tired the next day after drinking. Basically half the day is then gone

 

[unsweat]

So is therapy the only cure? I agree Ray, after I drink, I feel real tired at night but cant sleep. The next day feels shitty. But even on a normal morning I feel so depressed after waking up..Its like having monday blues every other day. I am done in this life...

 

[Emma]

I won't ever touch alcohol, because I think if I did, I would probably be tempted enough to end my own miserable life.....its too much of a risk

 

[unsweat]

Damn, I did it again this morning. Got all intoxicated before leaving the house. I cant help it, it kept my anxiety away. The effect wore off only in mid-noon, I felt like crap.

I finally decided to visit my doc. I went in the evening and he prescribed me with 5mg diazepam pills. Anyone on these here, is your dosage similar?

 

[Fidgey]

I tend to find that alcohol in small doses is ok. Personally if I drink too much I can get angry so I make sure that does not happen.
I rarely drink these days though I smoke like a chimney to make up for it