Hi everyone ,
I went for an assessment for cbt today and we found that my main issue was social anxiety. I'm on the waiting list now (so will probably have to wait a few months)
She asked me whether I drink and, being an 18 year old I said I binge drink every weekend. I don't drink excessively for someone my age and to an extent I don't drink to ease my anxiety. However, thinking about it iv never had a night out without getting drunk...
I knew that drinking made anxiety worse and I have often found that the next day I Feel incredibly anxious and depressed. But still its part of a teenagers life to go out and get drunk, I know it sounds harsh but I have the general opinion on people who dont drink that they are often quite boring. To all my friends I'm someone who knows how to let my hair down (my social anxieties lie in more formal situations where my skills are being judged, rather than socialising with people my age) so I Feel like if I stopped drinking I might be seen as boring! Plus I'm going to uni in September so I was looking forward to a few crazy nights out!
My question is, has anyone found that cutting down on the binge drinking will have an affect on your recovery? I was told that if I'm ever serious about recovering from social anxiety I would not be able to do it if I still go out and binge drink on the weekend. Would be nice to hear some peoples own experiences to see if this is true. I am willing to try going out and enjoying myself without drinking if I think its worth doing.
Hope to hear from you

---------- Post added at 21:20 ---------- Previous post was at 21:18 ----------

Woops iv just seen a big thread on this topic a few pages down! Il have a read!