self medicating

hi this is my first post other than on the welcome board,i finally got up the nerve to go to my gp who has put me onto new medication,and finally diagnosed me with sa .he is going to keep me on these pills for a month and then refer me to the mental health services.
the reason for my post is i actually wanted to discuss the issue of self medicating ,i have had problems with alcohol in the past,but overcame these for the sake of my children ,
however my partner is also suffering with sa ,and i mean suffering ,im ok i can hide away behind closed doors ,but he has to face the outside world and as a consequence of this he drinks heavily ,i have read that alcoholism is common amongst people with sa ,but it seems like a vicous circle which do you address first the drinking or the sa .
i understand that self medicating is a little talked about subject but would really like some feedback on this

[jimmi]

Hi,
using alcohol to help you cope with social situations is not unusual - a lot of so-called 'normal' people do this (dutch courage etc.) But if you think that the drinking itself is becoming a problem then you should probably do something about it. Personally I don't like the idea of relying completely upon something like drink/drugs etc. - however, probably the best period for my SA was about five or six years ago when I was drinking (possibly a form of subconscious self-medication). That came with other problems though, so now I rarely drink and certainly not to excess. I have some experience with prescribed medication too (SSRIs, beta-blockers...), and these can help, but don't expect them to 'cure' the SA. Has your partner been to see the doctor also? If not it sounds like he ought to, if only to discuss his problems.