E267: Drinking Felt Like It Fixed Me—Until It Didn’t

E267: Drinking Felt Like It Fixed Me—Until It Didn’t

From Sober Friends by Matt J

March 17, 2026 · 34 min · Episode 237

About this episode

Matt discusses the deceptive comfort of alcohol as a solution to social anxiety and the costs associated with it.

Send us Fan Mail That's the part nobody wants to say out loud. Alcohol wasn't just a bad habit — for a lot of us, it was a solution. It fixed the social anxiety. It fixed the noise. It fixed the feeling of not fitting in. The problem wasn't that it didn't work. The problem was everything it cost. Matt shares a moment from a recent trip to Boston — walking past the warm lights of a hotel bar, depleted and exhausted, and feeling the whisper. He wasn't in danger. But he heard it. And that's exac...

People in this episode

Host: Matt

Topics covered

  • alcohol
  • social anxiety
  • mental health
  • addiction
  • personal experience

Keywords

  • alcohol
  • social anxiety
  • mental health
  • addiction
  • personal story
  • Boston
  • depression

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Boston

More episodes of Sober Friends

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sober Friends podcast page.