My sensory issue
My entire life I've hated the smell of alcohol. I'm not talking about useful alcohols like isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) or methanol (fuel alcohol), but just ethyl alcohol -- i.e. beverage alcohol.
When I smell beverage alcohol, I find it *extremely* annoying and uncomfortable. It's like what most people associate with the "chalk board sound," although that sound doesn't really bother me. Whenever I smell alcohol it annoys me so much I sometimes visibly shudder, and I feel like pinching my nose closed.
Since attaining the legal drinking age (10 years ago), my friends always ponder why I don't like hanging out in bars with them. The alcohol is bad enough, but the CROWDS! AGGGGGHHHHH!! !!
It's only been a couple of months or so since I found out I'm an Aspie, but it explains a lot, no?
Guess what I do for work? I'm a cop, and I specialize in DUI enforcement. Whenever I contact a drunk driver it sends chills up my spine from smelling the alcohol on their breath. On the other hand, other cops are letting drunk drivers go, whereas I know the person has alcohol on board much sooner than my colleagues. Early on in my career I established a reputation as a "walking breathalyzer" because I picked up on drunk drivers better than anyone else. Since then, I've led the city in DUI arrests
So, I guess we can say being an Aspie is an advantage from one perspective.
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MAC
"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live, taking the form of readiness to die." -G.K. Chesterton
Mikomi
Veteran
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Joined: 24 Jan 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Posts: 753
Location: On top of your TV, lookin' at you funny.
While I'm sure your ability to detect alcohol isn't pleasant for you, you're certainly saving lives. In your line of work it seems an excellent skill to have!
I understand the sensitivity to smells though, and how downright awful it can be. For me it is the smell of anything burning. In the fall, people are burning yard waste constantly. I have to close all the windows. Same thing in the spring, when people are cleaning up the leftovers of fall and various clutter from the winter. Worse, people around here seem to love to burn garbage. It's more than annoying, it's unbearable.
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Curiosity is not a mental illness.
Homeschooling Aspie mom of 2 kiddos on the Spectrum.
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