[scarlati]

If you post in the anxiety forum you'll find that many of us feel the exact same way. You're definitely not alone in the symptoms you described. A lot of us turned to substance abuse as a way to self medicate our anxiety disorders, myself included. And feeling like everyone is watching you doesn't make you an egomaniac; it's really common for people with anxiety disorders to feel this way.

You should talk to a therapist, if you're not already. A combination of meds and therapy works really well for a lot of us. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help with the thought processes that make you think everyone is watching you and can help you build your self confidence and learn to function like a "normal" person, and the meds can help with the physical symptoms.

Also, it's perfectly normal for the anxiety to increase when you stop drinking. For me, I was doing OK when I was drunk all the time, but when I stopped that's when the anxiety became unbearable and I started seeing a therapist. Since I started therapy and learned to think like a "normal" person the anxiety has decreased and as that's gotten better my urge to drink has subsided.