"According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, one-fifth of individuals who suffer from social anxiety also wrestle with problem drinking. At first glance, the two conditions may seem to be unrelated, but if you have ever reached for a drink to "take the edge off" at a social event, you've already experienced firsthand the hidden link between social anxiety and problem drinking."
"One theory that explains the connection between social anxiety and problem drinking is the tension reduction theory. To put it in simple words, people who suffer from social anxiety turn to alcohol to alleviate their fears in social situations as a form of self- medication. Beneath the problematic drinking behavior is the expectation that alcohol can help ease their anxiety."
"One session, after a networking event that ended in a blackout, he told me: "You know I've been trying very hard, but this urge just took over me, and before I knew it, I was on my third drink." He looked ashamed as he described the compulsion he felt in the moment. "Do you think I am an addict?" he asked. "Let's slow it down." I smiled, "Why don't you walk me through the evening first?""
One-fifth of individuals with social anxiety also struggle with problem drinking. The tension reduction theory explains that people with social anxiety use alcohol to alleviate fears in social situations as a form of self-medication, driven by the expectation that alcohol will ease anxiety. John, a man in his 30s, attempted sobriety but blacked out after a networking event and described feeling compelled to drink and ashamed. He entered the event alone without his team, felt unequipped for small talk, and believed a drink would make him less awkward. A clinician asked him to recount the evening, after which he detailed overwhelming anxiety.
Read at Psychology Today
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