The Role Introversion Played In My Drinking Problems
I can be easily overwhelmed and drained by social interactions when sober
Social incentives
It’s not surprising that when I started to drink in socially acceptable ways, I found it harder to stop than the average person. The problem of having to socialize with large groups was not as much to worry about, as long as I was under the influence of enough alcohol.
The average person is not introverted, according to estimates (introverts being about 25–40 percent of the population).
I’ve seen drunkenness overall broken down into levels of intoxication. The intermediate stages (2 and 3) are labeled “Euphoria” and “Excitement”.
That seems to be the range that most people aim for, when drinking in a social setting. However, since the majority of people are extroverts, it’s likely that they won’t feel as tempted to go beyond that range, in order to feel relaxed.
The average person’s baseline level of tolerance and receptiveness to interaction with others, when sober, is higher than mine. So alcohol probably offers less of a social incentive for other people in general.
I found that these more moderate levels of intoxication weren’t enough for me. They’d…
