Other methods besides alcohol

[Jispy]

Ok, so I’m here to get advice on what to look for or what to do to help me out.

where to start? Ok so pretty much this post is to seek out anyone who could help me with my late struggles.

I have social anxiety and I might have slight depression based off of symptoms. These have been going on for years.

pretty much with my anxiety I can’t talk to people without having a small panic attack. I used to get them at random especially when travelling but it’s gotten better over the years and only happens in convo and I also can’t drive at all without a complete panic attack

Now the possible depressive side is the fact that I’m numb a lot of the time, have 0 motivation or when I do it’s short lasting. I struggle to get out of bed. I ALWAYS feel at the minimum a bit tired and always feel like I’m in a dream state. Every couple months or weeks I go through severe suicidal tendencies. Keep in mind I can feel happy and have emotion but it’s very watered down to the point of barely feeling anything.

now recently I’ve been getting relief through alcohol. When I drink all of that does a 180. It’s made me realise I crave being and extrovert without any anxiety. It makes me so enthusiastic, motivated, happy, extroverted, I feel like I could do anything a normal person can do and feel euphoric for the first time in my life. When I drink I want to go to go out and enjoy life. Whilst sober I barely have the energy to move.

now even though I feel so good, I have good control. I , at a maximum, drink once every 2 week. But I don’t want to rely on drinking to enjoy life and have worth. I’ve tried therapy and a couple different types of ssri’s, which yes does help a bit with anxiety, but makes me even more numb and ruins creativity which is a bad thing seeing how I’m a musician by trade< which is another thing anxiety ruins.

I just need help with a direction I can go?

[Sophie_M]

Hi Jispy
We’re so grateful to have you reach out to our community tonight and are so sorry to hear about what you’ve been going through. It sounds like you have been struggling with your mental health.  We hope that you find our forums to be a safe, supportive, and inclusive space to talk through your thoughts and feelings. Our community is here for you. We're sure that our community members will relate to these feelings and hopefully some of them will pop by to offer you words of wisdom and kindness.

Keep checking in to let us know how you’re going, whenever you feel up to it.
 

[Not_Batman]

Hi jispy.

i too am an introvert. I very much like time to myself to recharge, after a day of work talking to people. If i have a social interaction, i find it hard to strike up a conversation, or keep the conversation going. I find that alcohol doesnt really improve anything, except my bad jokes.

On the alcohol front, do be careful when trying to find relief through alcohol, for some people alcoholism can creep up slowly, or very fast. It is ok to let your hair down and relax, but do it safely without risk to yourself or others. Moderation is good, abstinence is best.

Cognitive behaviour therapy can help to change the way our mind thinks, and can open up new doors. A new way of looking at things, and possibly even creativity. It doesnt come easy, its a challenge and takes practice.

Necessity is the mother of invention so they say, and this creativity. set yourself a challenge. Find something that needs to change, create some ideas.

for example, in musical terms, how do you go from a jazz groove in 7/8 to rock in 4/4.

Not_Batman