Why My Alcohol Anxiety Is Relevant

I have a lot of anxieties, just like almost everyone else I know. Anxiety is extremely common in our world today and becoming a topic that is discussed and researched more every day. I have plenty; anxiety over phone calls, casual conversations, what people are thinking about me, etc. For the most part, people understand (and often can relate) to these anxieties and are willing to help me out. Over the years I have found one of my anxieties appears to not be very common and gives way for people to attack me over it.

I get anxious around alcohol.

This is not an anxiety that has started overnight, it is just one I have recently become more open with. Some instances, like being around my family while they are sitting around chatting with a drink in hand, doesn't bother me. While the situation may make me uneasy, it is in my comfort zone.

Why do I tell people that I am anxious around alcohol if I can be comfortable in some situations? Even when I am comfortable, I still have limits. I do not tell people these to control them, or make them stop drinking, but just to let them know that there is a certain point where I cannot be around alcohol.

A few people are like "cool, just let me know if you're getting uncomfortable and we can stop, or go do something else." Whereas others....

Not so cool with it and often jump to being degrading. Lately I have heard (most with much more colorful language, but I decided not to include that):

"You're a buzzkill"

"Why don't you just loosen up?"

"Wow, you're boring."

"How can you be anxious around alcohol? That's just stupid!"

"Stop faking it."

Because of these and being thrown over my limits, I cannot evenly comfortably look up a cover image for this article. I now need time to build back up to my limits, I need to bee 100% away from alcohol for a while.

Just because having anxieties around alcohol is not common, does not mean it should be treated as less than any other anxiety. Everyone has an anxiety or two that they feel or have been judged for that they should not be. Every anxiety is relevant and should not be up for anyone else to judge if it is "stupid" or not.