Autism & Alcohol (Or How I Had A Social Life As An Autistic Adult)

00:00 🍺 Alcohol and Autism: Autistic individuals have a higher risk of substance abuse, including alcohol, often using it as a coping mechanism. 03:37 🎶 Social Challenges: Difficulty finding friends with similar interests led to using alcohol to fit in socially, despite not enjoying its effects. 06:32 🚭 Lifestyle Impact: Due to health conditions like MCAS and gallbladder issues, the speaker had to stop drinking alcohol entirely. 09:04 🌟 Community Engagement: Encourages viewers to share their experiences with alcohol and autism in the comments for future discussion. 12:54 🛡 Online Safety: Reminds viewers to maintain privacy and safety when sharing personal experiences on public platforms like You

Such an important topic, thank you for sharing your story. ❤I can see myself in so many memories you’ve shared. We were out and about at similar times (nineties, early 2000s) and I was a heavy drinker, too. And I know „the fear“ all too well. I stopped drinking regularly two years ago and since I take ADHD meds, my cravings for alcohol are gone. 😮I do drink a glass of wine like three times a year. But that’s about it.

Wow. Thank you so much for your thoughts and experience on this sensitive topic.

Your videos look so cool! This is pro level production. Thank you!

Hi Lizzie, Sharing much of my family story is not appealing to me right now, but both alcoholism and chain smoking ran in my family. As the youngest I was fortunate enough to avoid either. I think this was partly due to being better educated on the issues and partly due to luck. I started out with social drinking, as many do, and found that alcohol just put me to sleep, hardly helpful for socializing. I never considered smoking because I was so well aware of the financial cost to our family. It was later that I found out about the health costs. I just want to thank you for bringing up these issues because, so far, you are the only autism channel I have found that has talked about them. Nancy

🔥It was well hot in the studio when I filmed this so I've probably not included as much as I could have, so I'll maybe do a follow up at some point

Great video! "The fear"... Yes!

I just turned 60, was diagnosed last year with ADHD, and i identity as Autistic. Ive had all the experiences you speak of and im finally off alcohol and cigarettes for good. But im EXTREMELY introverted now, and my generalized anxiety disorder is back, but its way better than being drunk. 😊

I really like your idea of "Autism and XYZ" videos. Although I love free format too, I have trouble following through with thoughts about the subjects. Having one poignant item to deep dive into is great - and this one is a doozy. Most memories from my teens through 30s were beer colored. I did accomplish so much, yet regretted so much, and spent a lot of time on the toilet with fire-rrhea. I too could never have an empty glass. At the end of the day, this behavior didn't change me for the better, didn't make life any easier. Especially for autistic people who may be genetically predisposed to addiction, this is something to watch out for. Thank you for bringing it up again 🙏

This was a really interesting watch. 😊 Very few of my autistic friends drink. I've never had a drop of alcohol in my life. I wonder if it's a generational thing?

My dad used to go on booze runs to france and fill a van up with it and store it in the garage, so i would take some in the morning on the way to school, thats how i started. Then i used alcohol for confidence as you know the 90's and early 2000's britain was a hedonistic time for a lot of people, so to cope with the nightlife and sensory issues i would drink to excess and pop pills smoke weed, take speed. And also drink a lot of whiskey at home to try and blank out work pressures. I got to the point where i would hardly get hangovers anymore and when i woke up i would be thinking about when i could get my first drink. I had an alcohol support worker for a while, and then i just wanted to live a healthier life no drugs no smoking stinking weed or ciggarettes and cutting the booze right down, and eating healthy foods everyday. I enjoy an ale/ beer or glass of wine with food or if im watching or listening to music but these days it is strictly in moderation, ive done the wild days and moved on to spinach and yoga😂🙋‍♂️

I am not autistic at all, i can talk with any people if i want too with any topic, asking them questions etc. I don’t avoid eye contact, i don’t smoke, no drinking, i don’t put my things in alphabetical order or whatever or talk on 1 topics. I am pretty much introverted person. Talking is taking my energy away. I do lack social skills in real life because of my introvert nature isolating myself from people but i am definitely not autistic at all. The reason why i isolate myself is that people work on my nerves these days 🤷‍♂️Thank you for insightful explanation ma’am. You sound high-functioning one. Good luck with the channel.

I didn't drink because I had no friends to get me into it. Then I was in the teen treatment center and a 15 year old girl said that she got drunk, blacked out and woke up in bed with an old man. That scared me away from drinking. I also hate throwing up. Unfortunately I did get involved with SH. I started in 1989. It was much worse as a teenager but I last harmed myself in 2021.

TY for sharing. Have struggled with much the same, especially the alexithymia/alcohol connection. But still on shorts not beer (and smoking cigs and weed). Smoking to regulate whilst working too, a great excuse to get some moments to oneself and reset. Not healthy ofc, but the only way us later discovered have got to this point in our lives. The common undiagnosed autistic expectation that we will not survive to mid (let alone later) age lets us not care so much about the deleterious effects until they become obvious/pressing and is one I still struggle with.

Well done on sharing your experiences. 'The Fear' is very real!

Years ago, I tried to drink alcohol a few times (just to try), but it didn't have any effect on me. Besides some physical distress, I was one hundred percent lucid and vigilant. Anyway, I will never drink alcohol anymore.

I couldn't stop smoking till I finally lived alone. It was much easier to quit when I didn't have to use a cigarette as a way to get away from the other household members as needed. Because now the only other living being here is my cat!

As a student in my late teens/early twenties I drank often and a lot. It definitely made social situations more tolerable but also made it absolutely impossible to contain my honesty - which burned a few relationships. Although a fairly small person, I seemed to have quite a capacity for booze. I think it is quite common for autistic people to have either unusual tolerance, or extreme sensitivity, to drugs in general. Hangovers really started to catch up with me in my later twenties and, combined with ongoing tight finances, put an end to regular drinking. Now, because of medication, I really shouldn't drink at all, and I don't miss it. (Maybe just as well.) I smoked between about 18 and 20. I really appreciated what that did for anxiety but stopped cold turkey after quite a bad chest infection. I don't plan to start again but very much miss the effect on my mental state. Totally agree with what you said about the stimmy aspects of both smoking and drinking - a very acute observation. Nowadays, hot drinks are a constant, throughout the day, and always in a giant mug. 🍵 Edited to add this thought. I also think I used alcohol and cigarettes to help construct and support my masking persona. Brands and types of booze have strong cultural associations with different stereotypical characters - think G and T drinker versus real ale enthusiast versus the person who chooses the alcopop. At the time I'm referencing, many more people smoked and we had been conditioned to make similar associations with cigarette brands. By letting me develop from 'the girl with the really long hair' into 'the girl with really long hair who drinks pints and smokes Regal King Size', drink and ciggies allowed me a more developed mask. They also provided more for neurotypicals to latch onto with their small talk - so they smoothed socialisation, even aside from their drug-related effects.

Thanks for another fab video Lizzie 😊🙏

Early diagnosed with AS and now ASD, 30 years ago now. Alcohol was definitely a form of self-medicating my anxiety/ocd, but couldn't maintain it being on medication (started to actually have balance issues even when sober, because of the alcohol combined with medication. So weird). Definitely susceptible to alcoholism and need to be careful because it does "take the edge" off a little too well. lol