Are we less likely to be addicts?
Drugs and alcohol could replace socializing, for autistics without enough friends
Hit the nail on the head.
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"There once was a little molecule who dreamed of being part of the crest of a high wave..."
(From the story 'The Little Molecule' - Amazon Kindle, 2013)
weez
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: 22 Feb 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 28
Location: Los angeles calif and washington state.
I believe so. It is not impossible of course.
My husband is an Aspie, and I know when I smoked many years ago he also would smoke , he never got addicted . He liked to do drugs a long time ago , he never became addicted . In our partying days he did not even seem to get drunk.
I quit drinking long ago and he now has a drink or two after dinner but not all the time and he definitely is not addicted.
I don't know of any Aspie's that are addicted. I feel they are into their projects and interests and that these other things can get in the way , maybe it kind of gives them/us an immunity. I have adhd that I know of, and a few other things.
I have an addictive personality, but I am, or was when i did those things in my youth, able to quit but it was not like my husband who was totally unaffected. It was tough for me. But I was not like an NT either where it is almost impossible for them to ever really get clean and sober again.
They seem to ,if they can quit just got to the next addiction.
Maybe it is another affliction of NT's we get to skip !
I talked to a PhD Psychologist who has specialized in chem dep for over a decade and also specializes in assessing, diagnosing and working with adult autistics. She didn't say autistics are less like to become addicts, but she did say that sometimes characteristically black and white thinking can help with kicking a habit: "I'm done, and that's that." She also said sometimes autistics can't relate to 12 step programs.
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"There is no love of living without despair of life." - Albert Camus
"Ain't nothing but a stranger in this world
I'm nothing but a stranger in this world" -Van Morrison
"Are you Bluish? You don't look Bluish."
AQ-43 (32-50 indicates a strong likelihood of Asperger syndrome or autism).
EQ-14 out of 80
Rdos: Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 173 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 39 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)
I can relate to that. When I had a drinking problem, that was essentially how it ended. I also drank a lot because of a sudden increase in sensory stimulation, and issues like that could certainly lead one to addictive practices, especially if you don't really understand what's happening to you.
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Unofficially human.
I was a huge sugar fiend as a child, I was in my 20s by the time I really cut down on it. When I was 25 it was weed, then spice, then weed again. I've been a smoker since I was 18. My mom was always deathly afraid of me becoming an alcoholic because her maternal grandfather was one, but that habit always broke itself (hangovers are the worst).
AspE's brief summary makes the most sense. Outside of sugar, I picked up those habits as a coping mechanism, and for a time, it was easier to put on an upbeat social face knowing I could wipe the inner turmoil clean with weed and nicotine.
I took one of those ancestry tests recently, part of the additional information was that I had an affinity towards sweet foods, and very little towards umami (I never had much enthusiasm for meaty dishes).
Having aspergers is a different machine from addiction, I want consistency and reliability in my life, I feel right when I follow a routine (pretty sure we all do). That routine can be drugs, or something that replaces them, the change doesn't come easy, but as long as I'm in a routine I can adapt to the new normal and be a happy camper.
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I'm a math evangelist, I believe in theorems and ignore the proofs.
I think it all depends on the person. I don't think it can be generalized.
I have struggled with eating disorders (addicted to purging), smoking, vaping, skin picking, and binge watching/reading/researching/accomplishing things. All of which are/were to the extreme of course. Thankfully I don't like getting drunk and I don't drink that much. I've also struggled with OCD and tons of anxiety. The only thing that's hereditary is the skin picking which my sister has. All the rest is me, and I'm the only person with AS in my family. I feel like there's an undercurrent of addiction, for whatever reason. If it's not smoking, it's binge watching, if it's not that, it's over the top skin picking, etc. I don't think all AS people are that way though.
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-Diagnosed Asperger's
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