Therapeutic Benefits of Alcohol?

> In parts of Eastern and Southern Europe it is customary to have a shot of spirits in the morning.

Meh, the local word for Eastern European people having to have shots of spirits in the morning is "an alcoholic". It is just there is a lot of them.

Dawg please don’t do this. I used to suffer panic attacks most anytime I left my house. I self medicated with benzos I bought off Silk Road during the day and at night whiskey. I do not recommend this path for the following reasons:

1. Tolerance. This is the most pragmatic reason. The dose that works today will not have the same effect tomorrow as your body builds a tolerance. This leads to:

2. Physical dependence. If you become physically dependent on alcohol (or benzodiazepines) you will have serious withdrawal effects if you don’t taper. You won’t be able to stop anytime.

3. Mental dependence. Life was worse for me when I had to worry about maintaining my supply of benzos and whiskey. It’s like a chain tying you down.

4. Mental clarity. I find I’m able to think better with no substances.

I found a therapist specializing in panic disorder and it was immensely helpful. I have since had a bit of a regression but went back to therapy and now I’m essentially anxiety free. Or more accurately I know how to manage it and not stop me from doing what I want to do.

Please look into therapy it can really help. You will be investing in a long term skill instead of a short term fix.

I cannot speak to agoraphobia or hyper anxiety. Otherwise alcohol is toxic. Recent medical studies have reached the consensus that no amount of medicinal benefit sufficiently makes up for the toxic damage inflicted by alcohol consumption. Thus the only remaining medicinally qualified use of alcohol remains that of a topical antiseptic. Thus from a purely medical perspective alcohol consumption is recreational drug use and in no way therapeutic.

As an unrelated curiosity there is tremendous research into hyper neuroticism because it is directly correlated to high anxiety and high anxiety is bad. However there appears to be next to no research into hypo neuroticism as though it is inherently an unlimited good. I can tell you from experience it isn’t.

I think you should work with your doctor on resolving this. Using alcohol as a crutch sounds like it could lead to more problems.

Are you on any meds? Is this not perhaps a side-effect of something?

Have you tried Ashwagandha? Perhaps ask your doctor about it (although it's just a supplement), it reduces cortisol. Even if it's not a cure it could help with the stress.

Have you tried exposure therapy? E.g. going to a place outside, wait there for at least 40 mins, and see slowly go further and further. Has a doctor said anything about this?

They do talk about its therapeutic effects, literally all the time.