Vol. 36 🍷= “social anxiety reliever”? That’s what I thought
The first time I learned that alcohol could “ease my anxiety” was in high school.
The music was loud, and my palms were sweaty. A friend handed me a beer and told me it would help me loosen up.
As the cold beer ran down my throat, the sharpness of my self-conscious thoughts started to lose its edge. A couple of drinks later, I almost felt as if I had become the extrovert I’d always dreamed of being.
From then on, I learned to turn to alcohol for a little confidence boost every time the discomfort of social anxiety rose up.
I’m far from the first one to discover alcohol’s “anxiety-easing” effect.
The fermented juice has long been thought of as a social lubricant.
We see it on TV and in movies. We experience it ourselves:
Alcohol, acting as a central nervous system depressant, temporarily eases anxiety by slowing down brain activity, boosting GABA release (which prompts calming effects), and shutting off glutamate (which lowers inhibition).
To put it simply, the depressant effect of alcohol does calm the nerves and make socializing seem smoother in the moment.
However, if you’ve been with us a while, you probably already know that alcohol’s help almost always comes with hidden fine print in its cost. (We’ll get into that next week.)
More soon,
Jeanette
