I quit drinking at the end of April because well, I was going to snuff it if I didn't. Anyway, I find it's kinda weird in social situations now, because alcohol was one of the few things that allowed me to become a little more extroverted.

I'm INFP, and would have to say that drinking definitely took the edge off my introversion in social situations...sometimes. It didn't ALWAYS work! But, yeah...I can certainly see how having that experience is something I'm able to use to advantage when NOT drinking...I hadn't thought of that before, so thanks for bringing it up. I quit drinking four years ago, and since then have discovered that introverts are "energized" by spending time alone...our energy is rapidly depleted when we socialize a lot. Conversely, the opposite is true for extroverts. Of course, we all fall somewhere between the extremes of "total" introversion on one end, & "complete" extroversion on the other, and our position on the continuum varies to one degree or another, by the minute, or by the hour, whatever. Plus, as we evolve as individuals, introverts can become more extroverted, & vice-versa. So, no...I don't think you're a "false" introvert, necessarily...maybe you're just evolving...anyway, now that I've learned more about what it means to be introverted, I no longer beat myself up about being a relative loner, & can better pace myself to ENJOY occasional social situations...

I started drinking a lot socially because it does help me become more social. I very rarely drink at home alone. When I am out with people and no alcohol is served, I just want to get out of the situation. I want to go, the energy of the people around makes me feel ill and I start to glaze over to escape.

When I drink, I am more social, I talk, have conversations, etc. I am going out much less because I don’t want to drink a lot, but I don’t want to be uncomfortable. Its such a hard conflict.

So its not just me then?? haha.... Yes I do notice that for the *most* part I am much more "extroverted" when drinking, and have a better time at parties and the like. However, I realize that this is only a good idea in moderate amounts, 'cause otherwise to be extroverted all the time would mean fullblown alcoholic (and theres a problem i dont need) ... Lately I have just tried *really* hard to just get out there and be my own unique brand of extroverted, minus the alcohol. Other than that people are just going to have to accept that I am an introverted grrl at heart and deal with it!! :-D

I can definitely relate. Several years ago, I had a very extroverted and probably alcoholic boyfriend. We spent a lot of time in bars and clubs, and I found the whole experience pretty miserable unless I'd had a couple of drinks. One club had a good dance floor, and after a few drinks, I'd just wander off and go dance. We started referring to whiskey as "dancing shoes."

I'm out of that situation and drinking much less now. Now I go out dancing and just hit the floor, not self-conscious at all like I used to be. Chatting up strangers is still hard, but I can do it. I don't think it's quite so much a matter of pulling up the drunk sense-memory as that the alcohol was a crutch to let me do something that was (for me) difficult. Eventually I'd done it enough that it got easier, and I don't need the crutch anymore.

alcohol has long been my fallback when entering "dangerous" social situations. That said i totally relate to what you said about being able to tap into my drunk experience in social situations even when im not drinking. I think partly also its just that the older ive gotten the more im able to accept that socializing isnt that scary and that past experience fortifies those feelings.

In Okinawa, for a while there, my only friends came in six pack bottles with little harps on the caps. When I ventured off base I found a friend in absinthe. In California I mountain biked to be alone, for the nature, and for the exercise... but I drank to meet people and as a social lubricant. But, people can tell when you have utter contempt for yourself and what you do for a living so it didn't get me very far. Being home for the holidays with my peers either gone or pretty much all married and working on their careers hasn't helped either. Here at Kent State, going back to school, it has an equally mixed record. Women don't seem to like drunks too much. So, here's to cutting back.

This sounds exactly like me. I'm pretty damn introverted, but alcohol turns me into a totally different person. I have to watch it though, because I've developed a bit of a problem over the years.

liquid courage ...
yeah it's risky
like playing with explosives sometimes ...

I completely relate to most of what everybody has posted so far.......I used to in social situations drink if it was available just so that I could be social........and I would become completely extroverted.......and these days I try not to use alcohol as my social "crutch", and try to tap into the "feeling" that it used to bring me or rather the lack of inhibitions........

I hear ALL of you. I like the character I become when I drink. She's uninhibited, fun, chatty, the life of the party. I just don't like the negative effects of alcohol on my body...what to do???? Fake it. It's not nearly as fun, but it's much more adult. There times in life where you just have to be social, dammit.

I'm probably a little more sociable after a couple drinks, but too much and the fear of doing/saying something stupid quiets me back down.

I'm very introverted, but lately I've found a strong desire to connect with other people. Being such an introvert is making that hard though. being social never comes natural. It's always takes work and often wears me down.

i spent a lot of my teens and early 20s drinking excessively...kind of pushing a self-destruct button...but felt that i really needed alcohol (or other substances) to allow me to function in social situations without being terrified but then it stopped working and i felt more terrified than ever :-) so 7 years sober now and have slowly and at times (especially in early sobriety) painfully learned how to relate to others in social situations. i no longer feel the need to drink to be social and like you have changed the venue :-) funnily enough i'm not sure that i ever really enjoyed bars and nightclubs that much any way!