Posted by zero on December 21, 2005, at 0:52:02
In reply to Need help: Alcohol, benzos and anxiety, posted by RobertDavid on December 15, 2005, at 15:45:12
Hi Robert,
I used to binge drink too (weekends). Started in HS when I first discovered that alcohol made me feel "OK" around people (self-medicating - didn't know I had SP back then).
It actually helped more than hurt for a while, as it enabled me to have a social life. But after a while, I would drink more than I wanted to - started having problems as you mention.
In short, the alcohol that had first been a help became a problem.
Lots of ways to address this (as others have mentioned) - maybe Campral, maybe AA (I found AA very benzophobic and anti-psych. meds. in general), maybe counselling.
Now 17+yrs. without alchohol (AA of some help for stopping drinking, more important was ID'ing and treating my SP/BPII w. counselling, meds., DBSA).
Mainly to say your situation is not uncommon - comes with the territory where anxiety disorders are concerned (especially SP - stats. show very high correlation).
Good luck with whatever treatment modality you choose.
z.
poster:zero
thread:589393
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20051211/msgs/590910.html