I don't feel comfortable socializing unless I can drink.

>>18594334
It just sounds normal i am the same anon. I suggest this one thing my friend does, go to events where people get drunk or tipsy and try to socialise without drinking. Majority of the time even if you sound stupid they will still listen and you wont feel akward but just build confidence

>>18594334
I believe that intelligent people tend to be self-critical. The more brain power you have the more wound up you get, and if you have this problem it leads to anxiety and hypercriticism. A lot of us are tired and stressed out and preoccupied with important matters that relate directly to our quality of life. Stopping to try and get to know someone, especially with people's modern propensity toward offense, is mentally and emotionally taxing. Unless you're in a place where everyone is there to relax and let loose you won't be able to have any confidence that you won't have to jump through someone else's behavioral hoops to get into their "friend" club. This feeling of being bothered by mundane conversation is exceedingly normal. If someone addresses you openly with a smile and kindness this is them telling you that their desire in addressing you is to give you a fair chance to be likeable to them.

If you're not in a particularly cheery mood being likeable is difficult and draining when you would rather be focused on something else. This is how everyone is. Take no shame in feeling the way you feel, just try not to be mean to people.

>>18594334
As someone that has is issue and deals with a lot of anxiety in general the thing that Ive found to be the most useful is active listening.

jwhen you just look at someone and really listen to what the say and why they say it my own thoughts of "is my hair ok" "am I being awkward" go away

It's an ego thing.
Once you let go of your ego, then you can socialize fine.
I used to go out 5x a week to go talk to girls. I got humiliated and rejected a bunch, but after a while I no longer was affected by it and got better results. It translated over to other aspects of my life, and I got more confident in general.
Study some social skills beforehand if you want some confidence going into things.
Try and practice socializing without drinking.
Don't take yourself too seriously, and reward yourself for any kind of improvement no matter how small.