Hey Etta
Your post reminds me so much of where I was before I quit drinking. First off, drinking is a really bad treatment for social anxiety. I used to think that but eventually I realised that really that was my number one excuse for drinking. There was nothing about alcohol which made me sociable. I also came to realise that part of my fear of social occasions was a fear that I'd drink too much. Getting rid of alcohol has actually made social occasions more fun for me because I don't that to worry about anymore. In order to feel better though I had to give up drinking completely and avoid social occasions for a bit until I learnt some better coping skills (I tried the whole going out and not drinking thing too, it didn't work). It was kind of time to regroup. I don't think the transition from drunk to sober life has to be seamlessly smooth. It's only fair to give yourself a break to work on yourself x