Aspies Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous

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Ok I am an alcoholic as well as being an aspie. I have attempted many times to try fit in feel comfortable in the rooms of AA(alcoholics anonymous) with very little understanding from the people there and had to interpret there sayings and slogans a little different than they did. I had horrible time holding on sponsors for long periods of time just like it seems with any relationship in my life and just some people want to stop dealing with me just because they did not understand me nor did they really want to or care. Also it seem that I do something like cuss someone out cause I am mad or upset and then I would call others who where not part of the issue with the other guy and I knowing they told that they had done something similar to that and they act like me cussing this out person out is something totally different and then tell me that cannot help. I become confused and frustrated because I know that they told me that they did that kind of stuff in the past and then the ones who I have told about being an aspie seem to want to start putting everything I do on that. I get sober for awhile and find some peace and happiness but still find my self getting in trouble and get kicked out places even when I try so not to do those things that get me kicked out. Then the people I meet there a lot of them get fed up with me and stop talking to me all together. Even the ones that do stick around never feel like real relationships they feel more helper and helpee relationships than actual friendships. Then I began to get fed up with the whole the whole thing like I did when I had 2 years and 6 moths sober and begin to loose it on people frustrated by the fact that they all seem to be friends and are all getting invited places (like camping for the weekend) or talk to each other and I always seem to be left on the sidelines wondering why I cannot bridge that gap between them and me. So I wonder what is the point of it all if I still going to be alone. At some point they all seem to get fed up with me or I them I am alone again so I just want to say F and give up. I start drinking again and this time I do want to be sober if I have to live alone or keep having walk in and out of my life shortly after they meet me. So I have become hopeless feeling like what is the point.
That is kind of my experience not just in aa but in life and I was wondering what yours was like or how treat alcoholism and what life is like for you as alcoholic since this does not seem to be a topic that seems to be talk about in connection to people with aspergers.

Hey buddy, I had a drinking problem for a good 5 years and do have AS. What helped me was to fully realize within me that each time I drank (or did any particular action) I was actively going to gather the alcohol, I was actively choosing to hold the bottle in my hands, I was the one with the decision taking every sip and that I was no child anymore living stuck so now I could make decisions & make better choices. sure drinking can become a regular habit, but one doesnt get drunk w/out choosing each step.

no one flame me, Im on mobile & can only post shorter messages :/

actually, bro, I went to al-anon instead of AA and I learned a lot there. both meetings usually have their share of dysfunctional people but I would think visiting al-anon meetin those people is better lol, pick up some of their pamphlets on DETACHMENT it has a blue border. learn about how its not all about other people, like the steps in al anon teach. also I would reccommend their literature! in particular Courage to Change and ODAT. GL

I drank way too much for about 6 or 7 years, trying to cover up my social anxiety. I went on anti-depressants about 5 years ago and after a short time didn't feel the need to drink so much. Now I drink maybe one alcoholic drink a week, if that. Are you on any medication at all? If so, do you find it affects you when you drink? I find the anti-depressant/alcohol combination can make me extremely tired.

In my own experience, the answers are all found within the *book* called "Alcoholics Anonymous" and *not* within today's AA. The solution we need is a spiritual one freely shared among people who hold it in common:

"The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism." (page 17)

You will not find that anywhere within today's AA.

not sure what to say... i';m drinking right now. not proud of it, but it helps me feel more like a normal person than anything else does. I HAVE cut down considerably, but it still sucks that I feel so different from everyone else. I sometimes wish i could feel like everyone else. Just feel happy and accepted.

I am a recovering alcoholic (11 years). I tried AA but with as someone with difficulties in social situations it wasn't the right fit for me. In AA it's all about the group, it seems. Anyway, I ended up in rehab and I was very lucky to have available a non profit place that was no cost to me, because I am very poor. That helped me because it taught me to view my drinking impartially. Basically, it's not something I have control over and it's going to kill me if it continues. It's important to make a distinction here. Saying you have no control means you have no control over how much you drink. It does not mean you do not have control over picking up that first drink.That I had to learn. With that in mind rehab taught me how to understand my triggers and the cycle of relapse. The forced sobriety helped but I had a history of going for months without drinking and then relapsing. One thing that helped me was to realize that my feelings weren't going to kill me. I used to run for a drink every time I had an uncomfortable feeling. Anyway, hope that helps.

Theres no way i'm sitting in a circle telling complete strangers why i'm an alcoholic. I'll just bust up laughing. the slightest thing will make me laugh histarically. So instead of some circumstance that sociaty says is unacceptable make me feel bad, I've chosen to embrace alcoholism with open arms.

Not if you were a recovered alcoholic trying to be helpful to others. Nevertheless:

"... we [do] think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we burst into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others."
("Alcoholics Anonymous", the book, page 132)


Nothing like that is any part of the A.A. experience. Rather:

"If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help." (page 25)


I seriously doubt that. Unless interrupted by permanent recovery, alcoholism can only end in one of two ways: permanent insanity (Organic Brain Syndrome) or death.

However, I do believe anyone who wants to drink safely should definitely embrace trying to do so ...

"We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself. Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking. Try to drink and stop abruptly. Try it more than once. It will not take long for you to decide, if you are honest with yourself about it. It may be worth a bad case of jitters if you get a full knowledge of your condition." (pages 31-32)

I spent a little time there - my homegroup was a bunch of mostly older white guys. They were all cool! One of them even took my number and called me out-of-the-blue one day (LOL)! My sponsor was an old white man who walked with two canes! The meeting was on the second floor of a house with a grand staircase, but no elevator. He was the first person I met when I got there after a friend from another Fellowship showed me where to go before he went to his own meeting. It turns out my first sponsor was a member of the NA group I had been going to (I was just a visitor).

I eventually went back to the group I had been visiting and became a member along with going to every other meeting I had been dragged around to in that Fellowship.

When I showed signs of isolation or drifting away from the pack, they would call me on it!

"Why do you isolate so much?!" "How come you don't hang out with us?!" "If you're alone, you're in BAD COMPANY!!"

Sometimes I would go off by myself - other times I would hang with people who don't go to meetings.

Pretty soon, members of my homegroup started going out to eat at all kinds of cool restaurants, and I started feeling left out. So I started tagging along. And even though I had problems with conversation and feeling a part of, I still stuck it out.

Long-story-short, I have lots of friends and associates as a result of sticking and staying for 15 years. At the same time, I still have social and communication issues. But people still love me just the same. I make mistakes playing cards because sometimes the noise and people standing up over me and the loud music causes me to retreat to my cell phone to play spades alone until I can clear my head.

Even when I feel like I don't count for anything in it or don't have anything useful to offer, somebody reminds me of what my presence means for the Fellowship and the people who belong to it - I jumped in the water and created a ripple in the pond.

I'm glad I did. I'm not promoting any kind of recovery or trying to convince anyone that they should give it a chance because I am mindful of the Traditions. This is just my story.