Asperger's & alcholism

Post Reply New Topic

***Disclaimer 1st*** Cannabis can have different effect on different people, just like ANY other medication.

What it does for ME: Anti-anxiety, anti-depression, can help normalize eating, helps with sleep, reduces sensory over stimulation, and the #1 for me... greatly reduced fixation.

Side effects: Can make you hungry and/or sleepy.

My quality of life has greatly improved in the last 4-5 years because of it.

Just curious ... Aspies supposedly tend to look younger than their actual years. And long-term alcohol abuse tends to age people prematurely. For those of you with a (former) drinking problem, do you still look young or do you look your age, if not older?

People generally think younger, but that depends a lot on how I dress and present myself. When I was in my mid teens I looked like I was in my 20's. When I was 15 I could walk into a liquor store and not get carded 1/2 the time ( I know things were a little different back then). Now, people generally think I'm 5-10 years younger. Is it the alcohol? I have no idea.

For me it's hard to say, because while I've looked several years younger than my age since I was about 9, I have very very fair skin and I've lived in Southern California most of my life so my skin is probably going to age more rapidly than someone living from somewhere higher up the equator like Central California.

I also have a bad cheek-chewing stim that I haven't been able to stop. I've had a lot of anxieties building up in the past few years which make me chew my cheeks even more/harder, which I think is going to age the skin around my face faster.

I've had a drinking problem from around age 17-23, about 6 years or so. When I was 20 I had someone at a Costco ask me where my mom was when I took a sample (they're not supposed to allow children under I think age 16 take samples without a parent). So I took that along with other comments to mean I looked young for my age at the time.

I'll be 24 within a few months. Recently I've had a couple of people at work tell me they think I'm around 27, but I think part of that is because I'm more "mature" than some of the others and am higher up in "rank" as an employee. I don't know if this would have much of an affect but the people that said that are also from a different ethnicity than me.

I'm an older male recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum as well as a former long-time alcohol abuser. I've always had this trait without knowing until recently (like yesterday, in fact) that it supposedly is common among Asperger's folk. Until the past few years I always thought I looked younger than my peers. I certainly always felt more childish in comparison to the way other men my age acted. At present I think that I look about my age. I also gave little thought to the way I dressed when I was younger.

No one in AA would suggest such a thing (publicly at least). AA is not for everyone. "Live and let live," as Dr. Bob (a founder of the program) was fond of saying. Two themes of AA are acceptance and tolerance, which someone in AA speaks of eloquently:

"It’s a humbling thought to realize that no matter what anyone may think of me or of the issues I have an opinion on, I must still accept them. That means giving them the right to dislike me or disagree with me. For if I want to feel acceptance of and peace with my own human limitations, I must give that acceptance to others. How can I humbly do anything if I’m jumping from judgment to judgment about the people around me and their opinions? I know we can never make this effort perfectly, but at least at AA we make the effort." -- Pat D.

I'm 40 with Asperger's. I wasn't diagnosed until a few years ago, although when I was a child the school psychologists said I might be HFA. But they said since I was so "high functioning," I didn't need treatment and should just go to regular classes. That was a huge mistake, which played a role in my eventually turning to alcohol.

So today I am an Aspie alcoholic 2 years sober, who tries to practice the AA program but has a really hard time going to AA meetings. Instead, every morning, my parents let me visit and we have our own three person AA meeting, usually discussing excerpts from the AA literature--even though they are not alcoholics. It's a pretty strange kind of AA meeting, but it's the only one I'm comfortable with.

AA "Fellowship" and meetings aside, I can share an unexpected benefit I've eventually received just from the AA program and principles. Besides the obvious release from wanting alcohol, my Asperger's symptoms aren't as severe, my meltdowns are much less common, and some people like my parents say they now sense a genuine love coming from me that is more obvious and much stronger than it has ever been my entire life. And I think the AA program and principles would have done that for me even if I hadn't been an alcoholic. So I am grateful to fate, that I became an alcoholic, because it led me to this point in my life.

That is so wonderful! I believe in the 12 step programs and I personally found there life-long friends and God. I have an eating disorder ( in recovery one day at a time) and my life changed even from my first meeting. So happy that you are in recovery. I have an aspie friend with drug/ alcohol dependency and he is beginning to realise that it's not so much fun anymore and is taking an interest in Bill W. Admitting we are powerless is the first step to recovery and the most difficult thing. I am happy that you have your familys' support. Well done!

I drank a lot when I was younger and kind of consider myself an alcoholic even though I haven't drank in twenty-some years. I enjoyed being able to be social, having friends, dating. I quit for my kids and once I made the decision (like every decision I make) it was extremely easy to stick to it. Afraid is the wrong word but if I ever picked up a drink again I'm pretty sure I'd start abusing it rather quickly. The risk, the lure of letting down my guard and having people actively seeking out my company is too great. Black rum straight up with a little swish of coke as a chaser.

I did go to AA a lot in my first attempt at soberity it was the place that showed me my social differences where real and not just a stupid label. See I was diagnosed at 18 with aspergers but thought it was all lies till I actually started putting myself around groups of people in AA. I just didn't make the friends like other people and was not getting invited places like other people who had the same amount of time sober I did. I mean this happen to me a lot a guy could be standing outside the meeting after the meeting was over and inviting people to coffee or food and I could be standing right next to him and still invite myself. It was not until after I relaspe after almost 3 years sober at the time sober did the dignoses of aspergers finally make sense and start allowing me to open my mind to the possibilities of have other issues like OCD as well happen. I caught autism the same way the rooms of AA say you catch alcoholism is by hearing other people tell your story. My autism story where told on the pages of gay aspie forum I visited at the time after my fall from AA. People even in AA would always tell me I think there is more going with than just alcoholism but I was not ready to be more of than an alcoholic at the time because I thought that I had found a home and a solution to even my social difficulties in AA because you here people share that AA thought me how to be a friend when I couldn't be a friend and while that maybe true for them because of boozes my issues where not caused by alcohol alone. I realize and started asking myself what if the 12 steps where not enough before I sobered up again. Because in AA a lot of people would speak of the 12 steps as if they would answer every problem and that is not true especially if you had other issues than alcoholism. So when I got sober again I went to a lot of AA in the beginning of my soberity but not a lot after the first couple of months. I have been sober for years now I don't keep track of my days or years because they are not important to I am just glad and grateful to be sober today and that is the only day of soberity that matters to me is today.I don't have a sober date and don't want one because that stuff always messed with my head because if I knew I got sober on March 3 then every year when the 3rd came around it would start getting me to think about what if I mess this up or start thinking about drinking where as when I do the real day at a time I don't worry about insanity like that. So I have never taken a cake this time around and never a chip for 30 60 and 90 days. Even writing about this here is a little worrisome because I just don't like discussing my alcoholism or thinking about it I just stay sober and I do what has work this far to keep sober. That is don't drink it is that simple. I love my soberity but soberity is not the most important thing in my life living is the most important thing in my life. Also I don't like the fear that AA preaches always being afraid of that next drink and always worried if they are not doing all these things that they are going to drink. F that stuff I just glad I am sober and don't worry about the rest.

My country has very strict rules about alcohol.

I have a bit of vulnerability towards alcoholism. I usually try to avoid alcohol altogether because whenever I drink, I often drink multiple days in a row until I get very intoxicated which makes me stop again.
I usually drink whenever I feel very desperate to talk to someone or at certain social events.
It's not if, but when I'll become prone to alcoholism again. I can have a bit of a problem with alcohol sometimes.