edgezz wrote:
I would like to know if and how much other aspies drink. I am not referring to a drink or two to be social once in a while. I want to know how prevalent alcohol abuse is in our world.
I'll be 29 in a month. I cannot drink. I have only recently been alcohol-free (6 months now). I had problems previously - for 4 years (age 21-24), I would drink almost every other night. I built up quite a tolerance, where I got into 8-10 beers before I was "drunk." I stopped drinking cold turkey in summer of 2007. I maintained this total sobriety (never drank at all) until Summer 2010 when the stress of losing my job due to Aspergers, pushing through a mortgage modification, trying to start my own company (due to lack of employment locally) all caught up with me. I had a single drink one night, thinking it would be OK and take the edge off, and before I knew it I was falling down drunk 3x a week on a dozen beers. So, alcohol and I, DO NOT mix - I don't know if it's Asperger's or maybe just me personally, but my circuitry cannot and should not tolerate it. It took a considerable about of effort and herb supplements to wean myself off again. I have no intention of ever starting again. Lesson learned.
Alcohol is a low disguised as a high. If you stop drinking for a long time, take good care of your body, then begin again, it's effects are not pleasant. It feels constricting, inhibiting. Alcohol is basically a blunting and muting of the mind. It has so many side-effects. It will throw you into depression, anxiety, overstimulation and hostility very fast. So, if you are 'on the spectrum" I strongly recommend you find other vices, other ways to subtract the stress in your life.