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Mark123

Just diagnosed. many questions about aspergers and alcoholism

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Hi,i have questions regarding aspergers and alcohol use. I am sober 16 months with AA. Would like to hear from other people who have similar experience.

Also i have an internal pressure in my head all the time and wondered if this is common for aspergers sufferers.i am 48 at diagnosis. I appreciate any replies ,trolls need not apply. Thank you.

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Hello Mark

 

Welcome to the site.

 

I haven't had any experience about the pressure it your head but that could be linked with anxiety or if you are having trouble sleeping that could give you this feeling if you are over tired or quite possibly the two combined.

Congratulations of being sober for that time it's a continuous challenge but getting that far is a great achievement.

Alcohol and this condition are going to be linked but equally there are many people who are not on the spectrum that are alcoholics so I would suggest it's more to do with associated conditions rather than the autism itself.

I was alcohol dependant where I would need a drink to cope with anxiety and depression that everyday life can cause but I haven't been drinking in that manner for about three years.

Not being in your exact position it's difficult to advise but I would say the autism has nothing to do with drinking concentrate on creating a peaceful life reduce stress and anxiety.

I can drink in moderation now but I know that is not going to be for everybody so I am reluctant to say I was an alcoholic and can understand exactly how your feeling but I did depend on it for awhile.

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Thanks for yr reply. I drank to ease social anxiety and it got out of hand. Iam sober but the anxiety is still there. I have other stuff in my childhood, adoption and boarding school and i never bonded with my parents, estranged now. All i want to do is isolate and drink again but i know where that will take me but its the only way i know to feel normal.its v frustrating all the time.

Thanks again

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For me there is only minor differences for when I first drank when I was over 16 and now, at first it was a fun realease but I had a limit where eventually I just wanted bed and never wanted to party even though I would be invited to them, just for that moment of relaxation I wanted to make it last longer.

 

Now recently into my 30s and after years of depression due to family death and fallout from that etc I find I struggle to even have a single drink but not sure if that is also in part due to the fact I only drink about once a year my tolerance is gone(not that I ever had a big one) but as I am now fat I can physically handle drink more i.e before after about 6 alcopops I would level out and not want more and want to go to bed, now even half a pint of beer and I feel asleep but can be standing 10 pints of beer later but I do not drink because it just stimulates anxiety at same time as relaxing the brain and the come down is worse than my everyday stress.

 

But I never was an alcoholic as even when I was younger I drank 1-4 times a month and under 4 times a year to excess(such as drinking half a bottle of vodka before a night out as I was short of cash or when I got a job I bought 24 cans for £10 and drank 10 in one go) normally I had a friend stay about 6 times a year who bought 24 cans and I stopped after 4 or 5.

 

Basically even if the drink relaxed me there was no point to it because I would be knocked out so not able to enjoy it.

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Thank you for reply. Any information is helpful.

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Is there anybody local to you that you could get support from, have you spoken to your doctor about this.

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Hi Mark....

 

I'm 48 too and was only diagnosed a couple of weeks ago.... The ability to mix with people confidently made drinking very addictive to me too.....the confidence I got made me do it every day for many years (20ish)... I knew it wasn't good for me but without it I was very reclusive..... Fortunately I've managed (I hope) to return my drinking to a level that I'm in control of before I hit the slippery slope to dependency......This move has meant that I have nothing of a social life now and speak to nobody apart from family.... but at least I'm alive.... As for the pressure in the head, I have this too.... I saw my doctor last year and he said that it was caused by stress.... that may be the case as I've had a lot to deal with in the last couple of years but I have always thought the alcohol was to blame rather than anything else.... only time will tell????

Congratulations on hitting 16 months.. and good luck as an aspie.

 

Dave

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Welcome

 

There is a book "aspergers and alcohol" which you may find supportive. I've friends who struggle with alcohol it's possibly due to an addiction to the gluten and dairy in the alcohol.

 

Pressure in your head could mean you need glasses or your ears are blocked up. Best to check with your gp to be on the safe side.

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Hi, i would just like to thank everyone that replied to my post. I use AA to stay sober and the search for peace of mind and a relationship continues. Not too much to ask i think. I have always self medicated with booze for anxiety especially socialy and this enabled me to appear normal but inside i am miserable due to this feeling in my head. If i cant address this j will drink again and back to the despair that comes with it.frustrating to say the least

Does anyone know of aspergers therapist.

tks again

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Hi Mark, I just read a book called Aspergers & Alcohol - Drinking To Cope which is written by a UK guy & I recommend it; there are a lot of Aspergers Syndrome & Autistic Spectrum Disorder people who try to self medicate through drinking. I used alcohol on & off to cope with confidence & anxiety issues for years, to the point of dependency at times. I was diagnosed ASD in 1998 but didn't understand & so ignored my diagnosis for seventeen years. I literally forgot about it; I think in counselling sometimes I would disclose my dyslexia but the autism kind of faded out my mind.

 

The turning point for me was when I started reading about autistic spectrum disorder stuff, watching films about the subject & coming onto a couple of the dedicated online forum sites like this one. It was only then, that I started to understood how this condition exists for me in my daily living & how I am affected by this & also, to know that we are not alone in what we experience!

 

I went to AA too, for about 10 months & it helped me a lot; not just with my abstinence but also with learning about ways to be kinder to myself & slow myself down. I did abstain but I then shifted all my attention onto playing an online-team computer game; it was as much as an addiction problem as anything else & I used an Online Gamers Anonymous site to help with this, when I seemed unable to stop & stay away from it; it took two or three attempts until I finally managed it.

 

AA was the start of allowing myself thinking space I would say; in the time since I first contacted them, I made a lot of life changing decisions & acted on them, so that I am in a much better & happier place than I was before. Also, my ASD is chaotic enough already; if I drink these days I do so cautiously & with awareness :)

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Hi Mark, I just read a book called Aspergers & Alcohol - Drinking To Cope which is written by a UK guy & I recommend it; there are a lot of Aspergers Syndrome & Autistic Spectrum Disorder people who try to self medicate through drinking. I used alcohol on & off to cope with confidence & anxiety issues for years, to the point of dependency at times. I was diagnosed ASD in 1998 but didn't understand & so ignored my diagnosis for seventeen years. I literally forgot about it; I think in counselling sometimes I would disclose my dyslexia but the autism kind of faded out my mind.

 

The turning point for me was when I started reading about autistic spectrum disorder stuff, watching films about the subject & coming onto a couple of the dedicated online forum sites like this one. It was only then, that I started to understood how this condition exists for me in my daily living & how I am affected by this & also, to know that we are not alone in what we experience!

 

I went to AA too, for about 10 months & it helped me a lot; not just with my abstinence but also with learning about ways to be kinder to myself & slow myself down. I did abstain but I then shifted all my attention onto playing an online-team computer game; it was as much as an addiction problem as anything else & I used an Online Gamers Anonymous site to help with this, when I seemed unable to stop & stay away from it; it took two or three attempts until I finally managed it.

 

AA was the start of allowing myself thinking space I would say; in the time since I first contacted them, I made a lot of life changing decisions & acted on them, so that I am in a much better & happier place than I was before. Also, my ASD is chaotic enough already; if I drink these days I do so cautiously & with awareness :)

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Thanks for yr reply. I will look for the book u mentioned.

I wonder what effect the alcohol had on u when u drank again, could u control it ? Also how do u function socially without booze and feeling comfortable.

I would love any insight into ways of freeing my mind from non stop thinking. I do meditate and have some small benefit from this but usually my head is too busy to really listen. I sometimes use the following to sleep. Its called a higher state theta meditation by george lewis about 30 mins. You can find it on you tube.

Thanks again.

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Hi again,

When I first lapsed after 6 months abstinence I felt a lot of guilt & fear maybe, in starting drinking again. I found a new local AA & somewhere to rent & stopped drinking again for 18 months but like I say, I was totally obsessed with playing that MMO game & I couldn't do that intoxicated as it was maths based & I'm numbers dyslexic..

 

Any new friends which I have made, generally aren't massive drinkers & also any visiting is mainly in the day anyways. I rarely go to a pub although I will for food like Sunday Lunch & then maybe I'll have one drink.

 

Any drinking that I do now, is generally alone & at home because I isolate quite a lot although I'm not unhappy in this state. I keep basic rules: no daytime drinking & weekday evenings preferably not either. What has become obvious to me since I accepted & learned about my ASD diagnosis is that intoxication is a potentially vulnerable state & It is an undeniable fact that any trouble I might get into would occur if at all, under intoxication.

 

I had accidents when drinking sometimes; my poor co-ordination & lack of balance would be further impaired if I drunk to excess; I have collateral damage to my neck from diving into the shallow end of a pool (whilst sober) to deal with anyways & I'm as cagey about taking prescribed painkillers as I am about any drinking tbh

 

As I can get anxieties when going out, a lot of the time I don't :) I get a lot of my social "fix" from visiting sites like this & I also used to do part time voluntary work in a local shop; if I'm occupied I can't fret so much. I'm hoping to start that again because I can go days without leaving my home, currently. Jobs that I previsouly had were generally ones where I worked alone & often after hours, to minimize social interaction.

 

I think I would like to abstain from alcohol again & I miss the people in my AA group since I stopped going;

 

I'm admiring / envious of your meditation work; I bought & read Meditation For Aspies & would like to try practicing this more.

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