Anyone self-medicate with alcohol...

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Yes, I have the same problem - although I've got it relatively under control compared to how it used to be five or six years ago. I'm trying not to drink more than three beers a night, or more than three times a week (on nights when I stay in, I'm trying to stick strictly to hashish instead). Although I don't always succeed, it's worth it for the fact that I don't wake up hungover and ultra-grumpy every morning anymore, but yes - I do often find that I need some form of chemical oblivion in order to unwind my over-stimulated brain at the end of a day.

I see a lot of people here use cannabis...I really wish I reacted to cannabis positively because it's treated so many ills in others.
When I smoke it, I can either very shakily keep my head or go into a frightening panic attack where my mind disintegrates and I can't hold onto any one thought at a time.
That's probably why I depend on alcohol (though I haven't developed an actual dependency on it in the addiction sense); because I don't have the other none prescriptive medication to utilate other than caffeine.
Maybe if there was a way to try a lower dosage of cannabis I would

Or it could be you just don't react well to the THC...perhaps a strain much heavier on the CBD, or rather indica would be of more help. Or there is a strain for epilepsy, Good Charlotte I think they named it that is mostly CBD and doesn't really cause a 'high' but would certainly cause relaxation.....just not sure how widely available it is at this point in time.

But yeah from what I've gathered it would seem THC causes an anxious reaction for some people, whereas the CBD is more of a sedative/relaxant...so it would make sense marijuana with little THC and heavy CBD would be less likely to have that effect. Basically THC=the high causer(or for some anxiety causer), CBD=relax, and are the two main chemicals in cannabis.

Its curious though...you mention caffeine, does that make you anxious at all?

That's what I was thinking...maybe the strain just wasn't compatible with me. I've talked to people about it who knew a lot about the different strains and the named some species and suggested I try them, but I forgot the names and it isn't legal where I live which makes obtaining it problematic :/
I'll look up the strains you mentioned

Caffeine seems to calm me down. Weird, I know...I've heard of it calming down children with ADHD or autism, but not adults.

I drank like a fish for 35 years and only just stopped nearly 10 months ago. The alcohol did dull my senses and make me a little more sociable. It's kind of interesting to be without it now because it's like I'm entering adulthood for the first time even though I've been in it for 35 years.

I feel like caffeine helps wake me up....though interestingly enough it also seems to keep me more calm, I am much more calm throughout the day if I have some coffee or tea in the morning. So doesn't quite have the opposite of energizing effect on me but it also doesn't really hamper my ability to relax...though does help me focus some. But yeah I've heard of it calming people with ADHD, not specifically autism though.

Even weirder I tried cocaine once and it had much more apparent 'calming' effects than caffeine for me...I figured it would be a lot more stimulating or something but was just weirdly calming, intensified focus and caused somewhat of an energy boost as I did not end up sleeping that night. It was certainly not what I expected based on depictions I've seen of people high on it.