Though alcohol is oftentimes dubbed “liquid courage,” a University of Manitoba study found that self-medicating with alcohol and other drugs to reduce anxiety can actually have the reverse effect .

The report, which was published in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, surveyed 34,653 Americans and found that patients who self-medicated their anxiety symptoms with alcohol or drugs increased their chances of developing  social phobias or substance abuse problems.

“Of participants who reported any substance use during the prior year, 12.5 percent reported self-medicating with alcohol and 24.4 percent with other drugs. Of participants with diagnosable substance use disorders at baseline, 23.3 percent self-medicated with alcohol and 32.7 percent with drugs. Additionally, 12.6 percent of individuals who met criteria for a baseline anxiety disorder and self-medicated with alcohol developed an alcohol use disorder, while 4.7 percent and 1.7 percent of those who did not self medicate developed an alcohol use or drug use disorder, respectively.

In participants with a baseline alcohol use disorder, the prevalence of incident anxiety disorders (including panic, social phobia, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder or any anxiety disorder) ranged from 5.7 percent (panic disorder) to 9.9 percent (specific phobia) for those who self-medicated with alcohol. For participants who self-medicated with other drugs, incidence rates ranged from 8 percent (panic disorder) to 13.5 percent (specific phobia). While 6.9 percent of new-onset social phobia was attributable to self-medication with alcohol, 20.4 percent was attributable to self-medication with drugs.”

Heather Rudow is a staff writer for CT Online and Counseling Today. Contact her at hrudow@counseling.org.