Do you think alcohol affects you differently from most?

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I don't drink excessively any more, not really since college. I found that the more I drank, the more anxious I became. It would feel like my chest was tensing up and my stomach was being tied in knots. I would also get short of breath. Eventually I would hit a threshold where I stopped caring and all of that was gone (though at that point I would be very drunk and just plain numb).

If alcohol does this to everybody, I can't imagine why people ever get drunk. Has anyone else ever had a similar reaction to drinking? Do you think it's a different reaction than the general population?

I know this isn't what you are looking for, but the topic
"Do you think alcohol affects you differently from most?" makes me chuckle a lot about myself... I have a very severe allergy to alcohol - kind of like what happens to some people when they eat peanuts. So yes, I do think alcohol affects me differently from most everybody else... if I drink, my throat closes up and I will most likely die...

Izzy,

Hey, that works.

Yeah, in the, doesn't really affect me kinda way. Same with most sedatives.

Said to be common amongst those with AS.

If I just drink a small amount I actually get less social. I hate the feeling of just having one or two drinks. Maybe it's because I'm anxious and all those things you said, but I never analyzed it that closely. The only time i become social is when I get to that numb point. Then I actually enjoy it and talk to everyone. I stopped doing that though. So now I never even go to parties because to me theres no point, unless I'm going to get wasted. I have absolutley no interest in being around that many people socializing, when I'm sober.

I used to find that alcohol made me irritable, and wired as well. As I grew older, I found that I seem to have an allergic reaction to it-accelerated heart rate, flushing, sweats, and nausea. And general malaise. I read someplace that an enzyme deficiency (ALDH,) causes this. So, I don't drink. Even something like Nyquil will make me uncomfortably warm, with the flushing and perspiring.

Only that I get drunk quicker than most people. I get drunk the usual way; talking, losing balance, getting way too emotional, etc.

Basically I need more than one to have the "positive" buzz feeling. A single beer will make me feel depressed and very un-social, I'll just want to stare at the wall.

However, after a certain amount I start to feel mentally hyperactive while my body has a slightly disconnected feel. Sometimes I'll find myself acting emotional without the normal accompanying physical sensations. It's almost like I'm starting to perceive myself in the third person. The ordinary sense of discreet distinction between thoughts and actions becomes a bit hazy, like I'm merely observing my actions instead of controlling them. I avoid getting super drunk because the self-perceptive weirdness I feel is a bit unnerving.

It makes me calm and relaxed.

Its takes less for me to get drunk. Also, my friends don't drink with me anymore. Because I generally leave the party and go take long walks for hours. Even if it's a few close friends drinking at my place, I still have an urge to leave and just go walk. It's annoying I've been told. But, yes I would say for myself it makes me more anti-social. Not mean or anything like that just more shut out.

Anyone else similar in the sense that they will leave the party and or friends to go for long walks?

Alcohol definitely does affect me differently to other people. When I encounter alcohol, I am filled with a strong motivation to use it as a solvent for chemical reactions, or, depending on my mood, to set something on fire - whereas when other people encounter ethanol, they are usually motivated to drink it. Furthermore, I find that alcohol only interests me if it is sufficiently pure, whereas others seem to prefer that their alcohol retains the contaminants originating from the initial fermentation of various vegetable products, which renders it quite useless when it comes to preparing the ethyl esters of inorganic acids.

I get drunk notoriously quickly. It looks ridiculous.
I believe it is not related in my case to Aspergers, but because I am of Eurasian descent.. Ive met people from India and Asia who find their bodies dont process alcohol as fast as Europeans.

I couldn't accept myself for over 40 years, so I drank more and more.

I felt hopeful, withdrawn, pensive, especially after five, six, seven beers. Drinking at home every night. Never in bars, after about age 35. Just at home.

Two years ago, I gave it up. I don't think it's a coincidence that I gave it up when I decided I could accept being "different," even find ways to appreciate it.

Apparently, drinking didn't do me much harm. It permitted me to waste away 20 years of working, in denial that it was a waste of my life. The job has provided income, though.

It permitted me to not care that I didn't have any social life, too, until I found substitutes for a social life.

No liver disease. Didn't kill anyone on the road. No DUI's.

I don't recommend drinking, if you do it because you feel inferior. The hangovers wreck life.

For aspies, alcohol is an excellent way to self medicate. Except when it isn't.

when i used to socialise, after 2 or 3 beers, all my anxiety would dissapear, leaving me at my bizare random and open best! (a bit like how i was as a kid)
although i felt just a little tipsy, everyone else though i was off my head!

Alcohol affects me very differently. I can't drink much at all.

Drinking makes me feel like a lead sinker, especially if I'm sitting around doing nothing while consuming drinks.
My chest usually starts hurting after about 5 or 6 drinks as well.