Yeah, you're compounding the anxiety issue with the alcohol and soon you'll have 2 issues too deal with. Take care of that alcohol thing, the two won't mix and you'll never give your anxiety meds a chance to work while drinking that much. I understand what you are saying...but alcohol is a band-aid approach.
Quit the drinking before it becomes an issue. Concentrate on the meds. You also may want to ask your doc about different meds if the Ativan is not working. That being said, I don't know how long you have been on it either.
There is no harm in checking out what is available. Klonopin, paxil, xanax are all common meds....but the bottles will tell you alcohol and the meds don't mix.
Fix that other issue asap, then take one step at a time. There is no overnite cure but there is a beginning.
Good luck.