Autism and alcohol

So I'm an alcoholic so is my mother. She drank when she was pregnant with me so I don't know if that messed up my brain making me more susceptible to drinking as an adult. It's probably the case. I find something about alcohol incredibly addictive and attractive. It's hard to say no to it. When I don't have it I am extremely miserable and upset. It's quite insidious the way that alcohol penetrates my brains defense system and makes me so vulnerable to it's appeal. My mother is the exact same (worse). To her she loved alcohol even more than her child (me). It is always present whenever I think of her I just think booze. I wonder what is going on here? Why are autistic people all alcoholics. I have met tons of autistic people over the years and they all have one thing in common they all love alcohol and seek it out like a mouse seeks out a block of cheese. I am aware that the common consensus among scientists is that there is some correlation between GABA dysfunction and autism this may explain in part the appeal for alcohol consumption on the part of autistic individuals. I woke up so early and all I can think about is alcohol. I feel like I need more. It's like when I am not on it I am holding my breath and when I take some I can finally breathe again. I don't think NTs are capable of understanding our syndrome we live with on a daily basis. I understand my brain chemistry has been irreversibly altered. However I have found that not consuming alcohol makes way for the brain to heal and repair to some extent. 

Parents
  • I’m sorry you feel so bad and hope that you can take advantage of some of the specialist help available to people who are alcoholics.

    Like others here, I am autistic and I am not an alcoholic, so please don’t mislabel me.

    I am not suggesting you should seek Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as your main struggle is with alcohol, and Rosie Mod has posted some links, but it would be worth using a CBT technique to challenge and reframe your thought of  “autistic people are all alcoholics”.

    Ask yourself what evidence there is that all autistic people are alcoholics, evaluate the conclusion and reframe the answer in your own words, eg. “Not every autistic person drinks alcohol” or “Many autistic people abstain from alcoholic drinks or are moderate drinkers”. You can use this technique for all kinds of assumptions and it can sometimes help to give people a more realistic view of the world and feel a bit better about things. 

    All is not lost for autistic alcoholics - it is not written in stone that autistic people can’t stop drinking and perhaps keeping that in mind might make your journey through life easier.

Reply
  • I’m sorry you feel so bad and hope that you can take advantage of some of the specialist help available to people who are alcoholics.

    Like others here, I am autistic and I am not an alcoholic, so please don’t mislabel me.

    I am not suggesting you should seek Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as your main struggle is with alcohol, and Rosie Mod has posted some links, but it would be worth using a CBT technique to challenge and reframe your thought of  “autistic people are all alcoholics”.

    Ask yourself what evidence there is that all autistic people are alcoholics, evaluate the conclusion and reframe the answer in your own words, eg. “Not every autistic person drinks alcohol” or “Many autistic people abstain from alcoholic drinks or are moderate drinkers”. You can use this technique for all kinds of assumptions and it can sometimes help to give people a more realistic view of the world and feel a bit better about things. 

    All is not lost for autistic alcoholics - it is not written in stone that autistic people can’t stop drinking and perhaps keeping that in mind might make your journey through life easier.

Children
  • Yeh I just say all the autistic people I met were alcoholics you may not be I don't know you. So I apologise if you took what I was saying the wrong way.