Alcohol and Aspergers syndrome

i am male, 20 years of age and have never drunk a drop of Alcohol in my life, mostly because i am to much of a coward, i feel i am no fun at all and that i have no personality, so does anyone think alcohol helps them interact with people? like makes them more open, improves confidents, makes you more relaxed sort of thing

I don't drink mainly because i have little reason to and because i am underage though that doesn't stop most people,anyway my sister is quite shy but when she goes out with her friends and has acouple of beers apparently she's the life of the party.Maybe you should try it yourself,being that you've never drank before it wouldn't take much to get you drunk,and then you could see for yourself whether you feel more confident and open with people.

Alcohol takes away inhibition, the little voice inside the head that says "i shouldnt say this because..."
Keeping in mind that alcohol can destroy lives...not to mention make the liver shrivle up into a small black mess...Its important to regulate usage. By all means feel free to have a few drinks at a party, but dont go overboard or you'll just spew, and trust me, its hard to spew in the right place if your too wasted.

I'm glad that the two replies so far have encouraged you to try it. I believe that you should try it also. Currently, I have not drank any alcohol for over a year but I used to during my days at college in Dublin (Ireland). I rarely drank even then though - Perhaps only 10 pints per year.


Anyway, I first tried alcohol when I was 13 with my father at home... ...I duly spewed all over myself. When in college, I definately saw alcohol as a necessity for a night-out. It relaxed me and 'allowed' me to talk.


So, by all means try it but don't drink fast. That'll overwhelm the body.

I enjoy drinking on occassion, but I would caution the use of alcohol as a social lubricant.

See, as someone said previously it loosens inhibitions. This cuts both ways. While it's likely to make an Aspie feel more comfortable speaking to strangers, it also further impairs an already problematic ability to self-censor.

A common trait among Aspies is the tendency to speak what's on their mind without giving much thought to how it will impact those around. I've lost more than a few jobs that way. Some new, stupid policy comes down the pipes and upon hearing it the first thing to pop into my head is, "Who's the retard that thought up this pile of crud?" Yeah... not a great career move when the retard in question is standing within earshot. Even worse when a few days later the new policy turns out to be completely worthless.


Now take that kind of situation, minus the work environment, and add in a moderate amount of alcohol. Those few times when your brain catches what's about to come out of your mouth and points out how that might not be the most appropriate thing to say aloud suddenly get even fewer.

Sure, you'll socialize more. The question is whether you'll socialize better.


My advice: try alcohol, in moderation, and responsibly (ie don't drive, get in trouble, or anything dumb like that). Don't have your first drink around people who don't know you well and know about your Asperger's. If you decide you like alcohol, and have learned how to manage your intake so that you keep your wits about you, then expanding the social circle you drink around wouldn't be a bad idea.

Just don't pick up drinking at some party where you know 2 or 3 people.


Honestly though, alcohol is not worth getting worked up about. Whether or not you've had alcohol is pretty unimportant, really. And it won't help. It's a trade-off, as all things are.

Wow. I don't think I could sum it up any better than Spektyr did.

In the beginning I loved alchohol due to its affect to over-come my anti-socialness but gradually discovered how it made things much worse. Though, I have found a very small amount will help loosen me up a bit and doesn't really affect me adversely much at all.

I'm careful with alcohol, and make sure that I don't drink too much due to a family history of alcoholism (which I suspect I'm also prone towards due to AS). So my rule - which I have never broken - is that I drink only with friends.

It's the great equaliser I think... definitely helps make social occasions more enjoyable. I find conversation much easier and I'm much more relaxed, rather than constantly second-guessing myself. Just because I'm less inhibited doesn't make me inherently more likely to say the wrong thing, though. Or at least, that hasn't happened so far.

My friend, make-sure that you don't completely rely on alcohol to be sociable. I did that and ended up in a mess. I haven't had a drop of alcohol for a few years now though.

Take care,
Kevin.

whyme wrote:i am male, 20 years of age and have never drunk a drop of Alcohol in my life, mostly because i am to much of a coward, i feel i am no fun at all and that i have no personality, so does anyone think alcohol helps them interact with people? like makes them more open, improves confidents, makes you more relaxed sort of thing

Things to know about alcohol :
1) although you feel more relaxed and more "capable" of conversation and social interaction, that isn't necessarily the point of view of other people. Even when only slightly drunk, it's very easy to annoy people without noticing. Own experience...

2) risk of addiction is increasing when you use alcohol as a medication. Which is exactly what you would do. Alcohol is addictive, and if alcohol gets linked to feeling good in social interaction, it might just get linked to "feeling good". Coming into a depression at that point is a definite road to big trouble

3) alcoholic drinks can taste very good. I personally like Port wine and brown abbey beers (see Belgian beers like Westmalle, Westvleteren,...). That's a good reason to drink it : because you like the taste.

4) if you keep the above in mind, and keep on looking on alcohol as a tasteful drink that has a pleasant side effect but with certain dangers as well, feel free to try it. It doesn't hurt.

BUT : 5) be aware that the first thing alcohol does, is make you less aware of your own state and capabilities. Clear example : drunk people believe they can drive as good or even better, while the facts clearly show different. The apparantly smoother social interaction might thus be a complete wrong idea. Unless the other parties in the interaction are drunk as well : that would make both sides of the interaction "more equal". Which explains why social interaction seems to go easier when drunk : the others are most probabely too.

greetzz