Sometimes I wonder how many people with an alcohol problem are really just trying to mask a social anxiety problem? I have no data or percentages to give you, but I suspect the numbers are pretty high.

Probably all of us have known an alcoholic (or at least a  “problem” drinker) who  seemed very shy and awkward when they were sober. And it’s no big secret that many alcoholics drink in order to self-medicate some personal issue. I recently spoke to two recovering alcoholics who both told me they felt unable to cope with many social situations without a drink. And sadly,  it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that remark.

Of course, the trouble is that people who drink to self-medicate an anxiety problem just trade one bad situation for another that is even worse.  Alcohol is sometimes called a “social lubricant,” and as such, it probably helps some people to evade the symptoms of social anxiety — in the very short term.

But in the long run, alcohol is no cure for social anxiety. You have to deal with the root causes to get some relief. The control issues that are behind most types of anxiety are also present in social anxiety. In my experience, the solution is the same.

The EasyCalm Series is the only anxiety method I am aware of to directly deal with these control issues, making anxiety much less likely to occur in the first place. If you haven’t watched the free introduction video for the series yet, check it out on the EasyCalm homepage.

And it’s 1000x better than risking becoming an alcoholic just to deal with normal social situations! =)

~Jon

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!