Drinking and Autism

I feel the same more extrovert than my day to day self.

After my second drink I just feel merry and my symptoms are gone of shyness, I love dancing. But I just don’t need it anymore, I think before it was also a coping mechanism too with being overwhelmed after a week at work and masking all week.

I need to do this, I will slowly cut it out. For me I like that it allows me to forget that I have ASD, I can be the fun extrovert for a few hours. But I want to overhaul my life and slowly cut it out completely. Thank you, it’s very useful to hear about experiences.

Im 68. A similar story to others through teens, then uni being sick in the London parks, then work where drinking was part of the culture. Fortunately I gradually developed horrendous hangovers on smaller and smaller quantities. I also overhauled my diet in 2020 to add years to my life expectancy and out went the alcohol. Im not T total but if I never tasted it again Id not miss it, its very occasionally with a special meal or family. 

Good points Martin, I take a few supplements for various conditions and see alternative practitioners too and will often suggest that others might benefit too, in no way does that mean I'm giving medical advice or suggesting that one stops taking prescribed medications and would always suggest that someone see's thier GP. But when, as it often does, the NHS can't offer anything, you either sit and suffer or look for alternatives and you only really know what alternatives are available by talking to others.

Alcohol is often seen as a socially acceptable thing, not a poison or addictive, but it is both, I wonder if alcohol would be legal if it had to go through the same hoops as other substances?

Martin said:

No known health downsides.

https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/food-standards-agency-and-food-standards-scotland-update-consumer-advice-for-cbd

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/medical-cannabis/

About 80+% of autistic people suffer from appreciable levels of anxiety. Alcohol has definite health risks. I was stating what helps me, I was not saying to anyone that they should do the same. A semantic qualification, but cogent. The gummies I described as helping me in stressful situations are classed and sold as a dietary supplement, not a medication.

I think that the lived experience of autistic people is highly relevant to other autistic people and health advice/coping with life advice is not the same as medical advice. If it were, then the many people on this site who have advocated for someone else getting an assessment for ASD would have given 'medical advice'.

Interesting, yeah that is different from my experience. I tend to feel more connected with others after a few glasses.

Reminder rule 6 do not offer medical advice

Reminder rule 6 please do not offer medial advice

My experience with alcohol seems to have been a bit different from that described in several of these posts. Yes, I get the initial loss of anxiety and increase in confidence. But this rapidly gives way (usually by a second glass of wine) to an increasing sense of alienation and a tendency to slip into a shutdown.

I’ve heard good things about [removed by mod] products, I will have to try, I’m all about healthy products for your wellbeing.

When I was a teenager I used to drink quite a bit and then went off it. In my thirties I was in a relationship and the whole social scene was very pub based and I found I was feeling pressured into drinking more than I wanted too. Whilst at times it made me feel more "normal" I started to find it brought my autism out more strongly, this was way before diagnosis or even any real awareness of autism in adults or women, I think I was holding it all in and when I drank and my inhibitions got lowered, all my autistic traits came out. I'd also torture myself about what I might and said or done that might be wrong in some way and hangovers started lasting longer and longer and I decided it was a waste of time, money and energy.

Then I started drinking alone, some wine or a glass of single malt whisky, I liked drinking alone, I was in control and had no social pressure to drink more than I wanted. Then menopause happened and alcohol stated giving me monsterous hot flushes and made me sick, I remember sitting in my parents backgarden one xmas afternoon stripped right down to my vest because I was so hot after 1 glass of champagne, that was when I knew I couldn't drink anymore.

I don't really drink at all now, I had a couple of sips of wine or whisky this xmas and it was OK, before this year I'd be drunk on a liquer chocolate and feeling to hot. But I don't feel any need or pull to drink. Although it's killed any social life I had, people my age are really bad about wanting people to drink alcohol and really insulting when you say no thanks, not only that drunk people are boring and there's not much choice of non alcoholic drinks.

I suppose my story is the cautionary tale, I started drinking at about 16 years old, I also found it made me more normal, anxiety was much less and I could be more like everyone else. I soon found that I couldn’t have one drink, I would normally drink until I passed out. This continued for about 40 years, I was easily drinking 100 units per week, normally much more.

For 54 years I never knew I am autistic and knew nothing about autism, It wasn’t until I realised I’m autistic that I stopped, I had a health scare and knew it had to stop.

The alcohol had stopped helping anxiety and social awareness, it was fuelling it. I’m more content finally knowing why I’m different, I use small alterations in life to make situations easier. I’m now just over 2 years alcoholic free and starting to enjoy life a bit more. I’ve stopped trying to cure my autism. 

I really like the taste of th3 [removed by mod] gummies I’ve tried - but they’re too expensive to buy regularly.

Yes. I have also found alcohol to be very freeing and helpful - but of course it has plenty of downsides. I started drinking as a teenager and found that it helped reduce my anxiety and social awkwardness. And I suppose I’ve been leaning on it ever since really. Thankfully my body can’t really cope with vast amounts of alcohol - so after about 2 glasses of wine I sort of have to stop or I feel ill. Having said that I’ve spent many years of my life having a drink pretty much every evening and that probably not been great for my health. I find that it not only relaxes me - it also cheers me up - which is odd as apparently alcohol is a depressive. One of my favourite things about it is that it hugely eases my current worries - albeit just for a few hours at most. I ‘care less’ about things when I’ve had a drink, but also become more sociable and loving. It’s helped me, but I can only guess that physical health wise it may well have harmed me. Over the last year I’ve reduced it a bit so I don’t have a drink every evening - now it’s probably three evenings a week. I just have one of those mini bottles of Prosecco. 

I just have a glass of wine at Christmas and sometimes when I celebrate my birthday so I can't really give advice. It does seem like you're not over doing the intake though. 

Have you maybe tried meditation or journaling? 

I think you don't need to worry at this level.

Being able to socialise and relax is important too. Enjoy yourself.

If it is harder than it used to be just have 1 drink less, or maybe have a mixer or something to make each last longer, or alternate between alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks. 

I always aim for below 5 units and try and stay hydrated and eat before and after.

Thank you for for your suggestions, I think slowly I will reduce it for special occasions.

I will trial them, I hate the scent of [removed by mod], if I ever smell someone smoking, but I am sure the gummies are different and flavoured. Thanks for the recommendation.