[mtlmtlmtlmtl]

I'm not suggesting becoming an alcoholic, which I am not. But I have become addicted to other drugs before for similar reasons. But to say that light-to-moderate drinking will seriously worsen your life is a bit hyperbolic. It can very much help if your anxiety is so bad you can't even bring yourself to say hello to someone and if someone does, you disappear up your own a-hole. That used to be me. Alcohol helped me take that initial step of talking to anyone at all, about anything, ever. Once I did, I got more practice and I managed to get more comfortable talking to people even when sober.

One unit of alcohol can be sufficient. No need to get drunk or even be around other people who are drinking.

Drinking is just like anything else. It can be a tool or a crutch. The really hard thing me was it was so bad I couldn't even have a meaningful conversation with a therapist. And meds were a total waste of time for me(though I very much recommend trying if you think they might help).

I don't want to trivialise your experiences, but you might be unintentionally trivialising my experiences too, though I'm not at all offended :)

Strangely enough, I never even began to approach any risk of addiction with alcohol. It's puzzling to me because I get easily addicted to just about anything else, even weed.