Phenylethylamine works somewhat like that: take 2-3g and don't drink. If you do, you'll heavily regret it as it will fuck up your blood pressure to the point of getting all red and passing out. Not safe at all, but it did work for me for a while. Quitting out of fear can work.
A better alternative to treating alcoholism and anxiety are gabapentinoids and gabaergics. There are a few of them, and indeed Gabapentin has been known to be used exactly for these purposes in the US (not Europe, God no, they'll think you're fucking insane).
At low-moderate dosages, they give the anxiety relief/relaxation effects of alcohol with none of the negative effects, except withdrawals - several days of insomnia/nightmares if stopping them abruptly. They work on the same receptors as alcohol, so it's kind of a replacement, and it's much easier to taper off them. However if you start taking them together, that can be a problem, as they complement each other. You can end up drinking less... or getting even more fucked every night. As always, gotta be really careful and follow some rules.
I have quit alcohol completely after more than a decade of use and abuse, I realized it's fucking me more than helping (actually always knew, but it was irresistible). Lately I was mainly using it to go to sleep, so I found this wonderful drug called Tizanidine, an alpha2 agonist prescribed as a muscle relaxant, but at slightly higher doses it quite literally knocks you tf out.
No major negative side effects besides indeed, relaxing muscles (so it's best to exercise when waking up or your joints may be in danger), no withdrawals. Tolerance builds up rather fast, after 2 weeks you need double the dosage. But 4 weeks was enough for alcohol cravings to subside a bit. I still miss the taste of beer hah.
Since I could fall asleep at any time, that was one major reason to not need alcohol. I even stopped myself from going to the store by taking Tizanidine as soon as I started thinking about beer (which was almost always in the evening). Then I found something for depression (SSRIs don't work).
You'll say, "you just traded one drug for another" - yes, I did, however the positive:negative effects ratio has massively shifted towards the former.
And I regularly quit my (self-made or self acquired... man, fuck mental healthcare) medication so I can test how addicted I am. It's nothing like alcohol was, that is absolutely life destroying shit that I hope I never taste ever again for the rest of my life.
Informative post, but I have one minor correction:
Gabapentin(and pregabalin), while a GABA analogue, doesn't actually interact with GABA receptors og GABA itself at all. It acts on voltage-gated calcium channels, which is in part similar to the downstream signalling effects of GABA, and hence gives the effects you describe.
Yes, I did read all I could about it. Some research does say it could act on GABA receptors indirectly, but most of it does not support that theory.
I can only say for sure the effects are very similar to alcohol's positive ones at low dose, somewhere between alcohol and cannabis at higher doses, and not everyone reacts to it.
Myself, after using it for about a year as an anxyliotic (it can also have some interesting effects on creativity), I stopped for half a year and upon trying it again, I get zero effects. Usual dose was 0.9-1.2g. Now, no effect. I tried up to 6 grams at once, still no effect.
It is very strange, like some sort of permanent tolerance. From what I can gather, others have had the same experience, and some can still get an effect at very high doses. Sad, it was pretty good while it worked.
Pregabalin still works on me, but the effects are less pronounced at low doses and too blunt and stupefying at higher doses... may work well for some people, though.
A better alternative to treating alcoholism and anxiety are gabapentinoids and gabaergics. There are a few of them, and indeed Gabapentin has been known to be used exactly for these purposes in the US (not Europe, God no, they'll think you're fucking insane).
At low-moderate dosages, they give the anxiety relief/relaxation effects of alcohol with none of the negative effects, except withdrawals - several days of insomnia/nightmares if stopping them abruptly. They work on the same receptors as alcohol, so it's kind of a replacement, and it's much easier to taper off them. However if you start taking them together, that can be a problem, as they complement each other. You can end up drinking less... or getting even more fucked every night. As always, gotta be really careful and follow some rules.
I have quit alcohol completely after more than a decade of use and abuse, I realized it's fucking me more than helping (actually always knew, but it was irresistible). Lately I was mainly using it to go to sleep, so I found this wonderful drug called Tizanidine, an alpha2 agonist prescribed as a muscle relaxant, but at slightly higher doses it quite literally knocks you tf out.
No major negative side effects besides indeed, relaxing muscles (so it's best to exercise when waking up or your joints may be in danger), no withdrawals. Tolerance builds up rather fast, after 2 weeks you need double the dosage. But 4 weeks was enough for alcohol cravings to subside a bit. I still miss the taste of beer hah.
Since I could fall asleep at any time, that was one major reason to not need alcohol. I even stopped myself from going to the store by taking Tizanidine as soon as I started thinking about beer (which was almost always in the evening). Then I found something for depression (SSRIs don't work).
You'll say, "you just traded one drug for another" - yes, I did, however the positive:negative effects ratio has massively shifted towards the former.
And I regularly quit my (self-made or self acquired... man, fuck mental healthcare) medication so I can test how addicted I am. It's nothing like alcohol was, that is absolutely life destroying shit that I hope I never taste ever again for the rest of my life.