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pandd
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16 Mar 2010, 12:54 am

I see no reason to believe we are less likely to be addicted. Many of us probably by early teens/adulthood have a number of risk factors for drug abuse/addiction. Combined with the tendencies to fixated behaviours/thinking and compulsivity, I think that it's probably not all that uncommon, and unlikely to be less common than among non-Austic people.

Check out Saul Hudson (Slash)'s description of his opiate fixation for a prototype of plausible Autistic addiction behavior (not saying he is Autistic as non-Autistic people can have traits and behaviours that overlap ours, just pointing to his self reported behaviour as a good model of the way a fixated perservation can combine with biological dependency to strengthen and reinforce addiction).



ToughDiamond
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25 Mar 2010, 4:58 am

I'm pretty sure I have an addictive personality....I always seem to be stuck on some bad habit or other. Luckily I'm scared of really hard drugs and the cops, so I haven't completely destroyed my body yet. And I got off tobacco eventually, using very individualistic methods that most people don't seem to know about.

It's an interesting point about the Aspie asocial thing having a possible protecting influence......but it didn't stop me. I just tended to take my drugs on my own or in very small groups. Definitely wouldn't have taken anything just because "everybody" else was taking it.



CockneyRebel
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25 Apr 2010, 7:16 pm

I think that we're less likely to become addicted to those worldly things.


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Tim_Tex
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25 Apr 2010, 7:17 pm

I am not sure if we are more or less likely to be addicts.


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jkrane
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03 Mar 2016, 6:31 am

zeldapsychology wrote:
I watch the show Celebrity Rehab and it's partying acting wild leading therefore into drugs/alcohol/sex addiction. I don't understand this behavior of partying etc. it's wild and immature behavior. I remember my speech teacher mentioning if you want to skip class and go to the beach fine but don't be upset if you fail my course UH IMO WHO WOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO SKIP CLASS!! ! ! ! FOR GOD SAKE GET A TUTOR TRY YOUR HARDEST AND GET A C AT THE LEAST!! ! Don't just skip class work and party etc. So IMO since this addiction behavior etc. IMO seems like NT type stuff (although maybe some people with ASDs have been addicts I'm curious to hear your stories on the issue.) I don't do drugs and casually drink while out with family at a restraunt otherwise I don't get hangover drunk or any wild behavior. :-) Although I love me some flavored stuff Strawberry wine coolers/Daquari for me. :-)


People with aspergers have a split outcome on addiction. You have the hardcore rule-followers who would never do anything taboo, or put anything bad in their bodies. Then you have the ones who have rubbed shoulders with the drug scene, and sought out drugs to numb the pain of the chronic frustration, emptiness, and boredom that accompanies aspergers.

Many people with aspergers are fortunate enough to have a specialist subject that they can make a career out of.

My specialist subject was drugs and escapism. I simply had no interest in sports, or anything required sustained attention, practice, and dedication.

As a result, I fell victim to years upon years of drug addiction.



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03 Mar 2016, 7:41 am

Toolite wrote:
If anything I would think Aspies would be at greater risk for addictive behavior than NTs. Obsession and compulsion are key elements of addiction. Whether or not one is social or not or skips school to party has little or nothing to do with it. Addicts are more likely to act out alone than in company and no one makes a choice to be an addict. Take it from one who has been there.


^^^^
This


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em_tsuj
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06 Mar 2016, 8:41 pm

I don't know. Someone would have to do research with aspies and compare our addiction rate to that of the normal population. I see addiction and ASD as two independent things.



sidetrack
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03 Dec 2018, 11:36 pm

Moog wrote:
No I don't think so. I think we just have a bias towards slightly different kinds of addiction.


Indeed. As someone who struggles with pornography addiction, I concur. Sobriety isn't the opposite of addiction,*connection* is but frankly all that stuff about 'experiencing' socializing deeply s---ks when it's difficult to come across ppl who find the same things important/care about the same things as you, you worry about them being judgemental, them finding you boring, you not knowing what friendship means to you or whether you would allow a person to be a friend etc.

Pornography or sex addiction is problematic in it's way. I refuse to contribute to the distribution of carelessly used substances for some d---n sensation but always being successful at not responding in ways to my quasi-Darwinian impulses which don't overlap with toxic socio-power structures ubiquitous b/c of inequity, mental health issues and indifference is an issue which can take you to different places. One reason I find feminism important; it's hateful to contribute to so much misery in a sexualized way b/c of pornography.



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05 Dec 2018, 6:37 am

I'm an Aspie and have developed an addiction to things like food and masturbation which really has done damage to me.

That's why I'm aftaid to do things like drugs or gambling.

I also have an addiction to spending money.



Alita
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09 Dec 2018, 7:00 pm

I don't know if it's more or less likely to be honest.

I do think it can often be harder to break an addiction because connection with other fellow addicts in like group meetings and stuff is a main reason most people conquer their addictions, and it's more challenging for an autistic person to do that.


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09 Dec 2018, 7:16 pm

If a drug, gambling, pornography or really any psychologically addictive activity becomes your special interest, you're hyper-prone to that addiction.



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14 Dec 2018, 2:59 pm

I don't know if we are more or less likely to become addicted, I do know we are not immune from it.
My late fiance discovered he could tolerate the world and pass as relatively "NT" with opiates.


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blazingstar
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14 Dec 2018, 7:47 pm

This is interesting because all my life, way before I knew anything about auties, I realized my body chemistry was somehow different from most other peoples. I tried just about every drug out there at one time or another (long ago) and none of them do much for me. Sometimes people think I am being self-righteous when I say that, but it is not self-righteous unless something is tempting and drugs, alcohol, etc. are just blah to me.

I am grateful for this, seeing as it becomes such a terribly destructive compulsion for so many. So, based on other posters here, addiction or lack thereof seems to have no obvious relation to autism. So I continue to be weird in other ways besides autism. :D


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shortfatbalduglyman
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14 Dec 2018, 9:38 pm

Autism symptoms overlap with the "addictive personality"

Obsessive compulsive disorder

Anxiety

Depression

A disproportionate number of autistics are unemployed. Sometimes people with out many job prospects, end up drug dealers

Drugs and alcohol could replace socializing, for autistics without enough friends



enz
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15 Dec 2018, 10:41 pm

Less likely to be introduced to drugs and alchohol. Once we try them I'd say there is a similar chance of addiction



ezbzbfcg2
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24 Dec 2018, 11:33 am

enz wrote:
Less likely to be introduced to drugs and alchohol. Once we try them I'd say there is a similar chance of addiction


I'm always amazed at all of the threads here where people discuss how much they love smoking marijuana. Despite some relaxed laws here and there, most people still buy marijuana through an underground social network. I often wonder how all of these Aspie's have these weed connections in the first place.