(Not) Drinking & Anxiety

A short post from me today but a personal experience that I wanted to share  …

I went to an event alone recently. I don’t do this much, it makes me even more anxious than I usually am.

I was nervous when I arrived but it turned out ok. It almost always turns out ok.

I started talking to S, lovely S, and stuck to her like glue at the beginning of the night (thank you).

As the night began, and time passed, I felt my anxiety soften.

It was during this time, at the beginning of the event alone, that I would have previously grabbed a drink to ease myself into the night.

I would drink to minimise my nerves/fear/general anxiety. At an event for the sober curious, a glass of wine wasn’t an option nor would I have been drinking one if it was.

I used to reach for the booze to ease my anxiety, to shift my nervous state to a relaxed one.

It always worked, or at least I thought it did. I’d have a glass of wine when I arrived at an event or a party and twenty minutes later I’d feel at ease, relaxed and ready to enjoy myself.

The same thing happened at this event, except I had no glass of wine. I just had twenty minutes, and then I felt myself soften, relax and began to enjoy myself.

No wine involved, just time.

I felt it again more recently. That urge to drink when I felt isolated and afraid at a social event. But I stopped and noticed, comforted in knowing that the feeling should pass in time. And it did, sure enough, twenty minutes later I had become comfortable in the situation.

Not rocket science, but a revelation to me.

What are your experiences with alcohol and anxiety? How do you manage your anxiety whether you are drinking or not drinking?