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Alcohol Benzos and alcohol similarities

L

lauren12k

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 6, 2013
Messages
118
I have bad anxiety and have started using alcohol (a shot or two of vodka/whiskey) to help in situations like interviews or some social situations and it helps to relax me and I feel a lot more calm and I hardly notice any anxiety.

I wanted to try benzos like xanax or valium but due to them being highly addictive I don't think I will.

I'm just curious do benzos and alcohol work in the same way to calm down and relax? If so, how do they both work? Would it be safe for me to continue drinking lightly instead of using benzos?

I have only started drinking to help with my anxiety in the last month, usually I only drink socially a few times a year.

I've had on going anxiety for the last two years but I've recently started experimenting with drugs which is why I've only just now started to drink to help. I'm 17 years old also.
 
You are right about benzos being addictive and very smart for steering clear of them! kudos! Yeah alcohol and benzos work similarly in the way the calm anxiety. They dont work exactly the same, alcohol hits a lot more receptors but they both work on the GABA system in your brain which is the part of the brain that relaxes you. I think you are fine with what you are doing just dont drink too much or do it everyday.
 
They do. Benzos and alcohol are both central nervous system depressants. It can be a pretty lethal combination by suppressing your breathing and lowering your heart rate if you take too much of so I would urge to use with caution. Be careful with this. Self medicating anxiety can lead to dependency leading to addiction. When I was your age I was a nervous wreck, alcohol temporarily fixed it and it was wonderful to get away from anxiousness for a bit.. but It got to the point where I couldn't handle any social situation unless I had some alcohol and benzos in my system. Because they both work to potentiate sedation, binge drinking on them will lead to a mental black out and a lot of shitty things can happen when blacking in and out. Sorry, I hate this combination. I know you are nowhere near an addiction but it is a gradual process and a possibility.
 
You need to talk to your doctor. Self medicating with alcohol is a bad idea. There are a lot of options for anxiety, not all of them pharmaceutical.
 
I know I shouldn't be self medicating. I went to my doctor a few times before and all I can get is counseling. I've had counseling twice before, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy and neither worked. I can't go to my doctor anymore about it because my anxiety gets so bad there. I have had panic attacks in the waiting room and when I go to the doctor's office I usually can't speak to explain my problem. Self medicating is my only option at the minute and right now I'm nowhere near addiction. I will most likely never go near benzos because of how addictive they are.
 
lauren12k said:
I know I shouldn't be self medicating. I went to my doctor a few times before and all I can get is counseling. I've had counseling twice before, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy and neither worked. I can't go to my doctor anymore about it because my anxiety gets so bad there. I have had panic attacks in the waiting room and when I go to the doctor's office I usually can't speak to explain my problem. Self medicating is my only option at the minute and right now I'm nowhere near addiction. I will most likely never go near benzos because of how addictive they are.
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Imo therapy and that bull shit barely ever works for people with bad anxiety and such.. We already know what to do.... we just don't do it. Because of excessive thoughts and things that happened to us in the past. I have a similar issue OP, and i self medicate with klonopin daily... it is a bad addiction. But benzos definitely work better than alcohol for curbing anxiety, especially when you are new to them.
 
F1n1shed said:
Imo therapy and that bull shit barely ever works for people with bad anxiety and such.. We already know what to do.... we just don't do it. Because of excessive thoughts and things that happened to us in the past. I have a similar issue OP, and i self medicate with klonopin daily... it is a bad addiction. But benzos definitely work better than alcohol for curbing anxiety, especially when you are new to them.
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Would you recommend taking benzos despite how addictive they are? is there any way to take them that would decrease how fast I would get addicted to them? I wouldn't be able to tell my parents if I started taking them so if I got addicted I'd be on my own.
 
lauren12k said:
Would you recommend taking benzos despite how addictive they are? is there any way to take them that would decrease how fast I would get addicted to them? I wouldn't be able to tell my parents if I started taking them so if I got addicted I'd be on my own.
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Eh it depends how bad your anxiety is. It's a slippery slope, after taking them for a while you may experience rebound anxiety which i did. Then that caused me to take a little bit every day. If you can find or get prescribed valium that is a good choice, it is fairly weak and has a long half life. If you stay on like 5mg of that daily... i really don't see the problem. Tapering off wouldn't be hard either.
 
If you need them once or twice a week they are fantastic. If you need em every day, its a terrible plan, unless you anxiety is completely debilitating.
 
Try Beta-blockers, try weed, try natural things, I am on benzos for the rest of my life, I started out just like u and I nearly died at age 20 through a MASSIVE seizure, try absoloutely EVERYTHING before u even consider a benzo !!!!!!!
 
I'm considering trying xanax because that's the only benzo being sold around here but at the minute I can't seem to get any.

I have tried natural things and weed but they don't seem to work. I could stay drinking but that may also lead to addiction.
 
If you do end up on them I don't suggest valium at all, that's for people like me who are on benzos for good and need to have it in my system at all times, try lorazepam 1mg as and when required and try to take them only when u absoloutely can not handle what's going on anymore, that's if u ever get to that stage, do not self-medicate, one day ur supply will run out and youl take a W/D seizure and u could possibly go into cardiac arrest and die the most painfull death imaginable, don't mean to sound like a dick mate but because of what I've been through when I hear people wanting to try benzos u really need to know how life threatening these drugs are, stay safe .)
 
How bad is ur anxiety, are we talking full on panic attacks here, sweats, muscle cramps, paranoia, what sort of symptoms u getting? and do u use any other substances that u think could be helping u get these symptoms?
 
It used to be constant mild anxiety but now if I'm forced into a situation like an interview, walking down the street alone, going into stores alone (I feel like people are always looking at me) or if someone starts talking to me unexpectedly (even friends) when I'm out, I get really anxious. It would start out as my heart racing and a nauseous feeling and then it will eventually lead into not being able to breathe, sweating and going into a full panic attack. I sometimes get panic attacks if I over think things too.
 
Why not take a couple shots to chill you out before you see your doctor? Lyrica is an excellent option for anxiety, in my experience. You could also take an SSRI, SNRI or Remeron with benzos as needed, instead of regularly.
 
lauren12k said:
I've had on going anxiety for the last two years but I've recently started experimenting with drugs which is why I've only just now started to drink to help. I'm 17 years old also.
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Drugs like what ? Ur thinking about using drugs to stop the feelings that drugs are giving you , slippery road pal, knock it on the head while u still got the chance, cos some of us aint.
 
DexyDevil said:
Why not take a couple shots to chill you out before you see your doctor? Lyrica is an excellent option for anxiety, in my experience. You could also take an SSRI, SNRI or Remeron with benzos as needed, instead of regularly.
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I was thinking of that but if I seemed chilled out in front of the doctor he might think I'm faking it or making my anxiety up and I can't tell him I drank alcohol first to calm down.
 
I always usety go to my Drs appointments all shook up because it is hard to get a doctor to believe you have real anxiety these days because there are so many drug seekers claiming it .
 
benzoman12345 said:
Drugs like what ? Ur thinking about using drugs to stop the feelings that drugs are giving you , slippery road pal, knock it on the head while u still got the chance, cos some of us aint.
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MDMA and weed but they don't cause my anxiety. I've had anxiety for about two years, I've only started using drugs in the last 4 or 5 months.
 
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