If you were honest with yourselves, how many of you hate having this condition?

[thejuice]

I see it as an addiction to dopamine,.not any one particular substance. That's why I say I'm not sober even though I haven't touched alcohol in well over a decade

 

[Chimorin]

Many autistics get into drugs and alcohol too, usually to win approval of their peers and fit in. I never went down that road but many do.

I saw way too many people I knew die way too young on that stuff growing up, I hung round those circles but I detested (and still do) those substances, and I will for as long as I live. Seeing how many people got destroyed on that stuff as morbid as it is only further confirmed I made the right choice to stay away from it and not touch it.

 

[Boogs]

Reading some of the comments here I have to wonder how many here have genuine experience with addiction and understand it's nature better than the normal usually wildly incorrect public perceptions?

It's a hugely complex condition, and in many ways it's drugs are just ingested processible substances that effect your metabolism in some fashion - i.e. food! Compounds in normal food stuff's effect us in the same ways. The fact some of those substances also provide the compounds needed to grow, repair and maintain physical structure makes little difference beyond the fact it makes them essential.

Even chemicals we think of as flavourings actually effect mind and body in very real ways - we just categorise drugs as separate because human brains need to categorise.

Self-medicating is a form of hunger, the body demanding something it feels the need for through it's regulatory systems. To start applying personal morals to someone who ends up finding no better way to try and reduce discomfort and pain be it emotional or physical, especially when many autistics have conditions that bring additional issues to those most common to the majority of us.

Attaching morals to addiction (and any other mental condition frankly) is a bad thing, and we should not do anything to exacerbate that IMHO. It's a medical condition whose sufferer's have already been heavily punished for having it. Unless someone can find me some addicts who intended to become what they have.

Edit:
As an aside, I've found some druggies (pejorative term but since it's in use...) to be faaaar more accepting of me without any BS surrounding it than many so-called normal folk. Maybe because they too are social outliers?

 

[Chimorin]

I see it as an addiction to dopamine,.not any one particular substance. That's why I say I'm not sober even though I haven't touched alcohol in well over a decade

Yes, that is the psychology behind addiction. Do x, gives dopamine. Repeat. Sadly such a simple mechanism results in grave consequences, and I’m happy to hear you’ve beaten that demon in regards to alcohol. Can’t imagine the willpower it took to shake it off. Sadly I knew some people where sadly it got too much for them to handle (I’ll let you put 2 and 2 together), but I’m really glad you were able to make it through. Seriously, major respect goes to you.

 

[Chimorin]

Edit:
As an aside, I've found some druggies (pejorative term but since it's in use...) to be faaaar more accepting of me without any BS surrounding it than many so-called normal folk. Maybe because they too are social outliers?

A large majority of people which fall into substance abuse is because of suffering, so they probably have more empathy for you considering they’re struggling too I suppose.

 

[Boogs]

A large majority of people which fall into substance abuse is because of suffering, so they probably have more empathy for you considering they’re struggling too I suppose.

I think that very much, although on a subconscious level. We are both groups that are vilified and/or misunderstood, and I think people in a similar situation who are not bound to a group already tend to attract each other naturally.

 

[Boogs]

I see it as an addiction to dopamine,.not any one particular substance. That's why I say I'm not sober even though I haven't touched alcohol in well over a decade

There's suggestion now that dopamine is not just a feel-good neurotransmitter, but it also triggers cravings by it's own actions (i.e. the dopamine creates craving, not the lack of dopamine).

This is thought to be a feedback mechanism for the body to be attracted to substances it requires to continue regulated function. There's thought that the fact most drugs are nowadays in very concentrated form compared to their natural counterparts, and our bodies metabolism and regulatory systems are not evolved to handle those correctly for obvious reasons (we haven't been taking purified drugs for the many thousands of years it would take to adapt to them).

 

[thejuice]

I've had a mixture of depression and anxiety (and possibly have Bipolar Disorder) for longer than 25 years. For most of that time, I haven't been in treatment. Still, I haven't had one cigarette, I never did drugs and the only drinking I do is not-very-strong wine for religious purposes.

I'm impressed! You're right people with depression won't all have addiction. I was trying to say those with depression and less impulse control than you, those who also choose to do drugs, will have a tendency to think "what the hell, things can't get worse." (Oh how naive!)

 

[Boogs]

It seems to be a cry for help like an uncommitted suicide attempt - it's just a very slow form of suicide.
Along with a desperate need to take the pain away?

 

[thejuice]

It seems to be a cry for help like an uncommitted suicide attempt - it's just a very slow form of suicide.
Along with a desperate need to take the pain away?

Hmm for me it wasn't a cry for help but for others it is. In fact people showing concern felt like an attack, it made me very angry. I did most of my drinking in isolation. I was quite arrogant in thinking that it didn't matter and I was different. I see a lot of the same arrogance in the rooms.

The isolation in some ways was a good thing in that I didn't embarrass myself too often, although when I did, I hit a home run. In other ways it left me completely unchecked to a dig a big ol' hole, the way I liked it. Nothing was going to stop me self destructing, not even doctors.

Yes it was a way to alleviate general discomfort, irritation and discontent. It's probably a low dopamine issue, or a dopamine overdosing. It was a pseudo friend and gave me a nebulous feeling of connection, to what I'm not sure. Getting drunk was a reason to live for me at the time. It helped me get through what I needed to back then.

Slow suicide, exactly, but not on purpose for me. I've only swapped seats on the Titanic, but at least ive plugged a couple of leaks.

 

[Boogs]

Hmm for me it wasn't a cry for help but for others it is.

Likewise, or at least as best I can determine (addicts are SO good at lying to themselves! ), but it does seem a common behaviour, or gives that appearance.
While alcohol was never my poison, what was, was taken to relieve pain and discomfort, and it was surprisingly good at doing that without the debilitating effects of some drugs like alcohol (or solvent abuse as I like to call it! ), but the long term effects of lifestyle mostly due to the law, it couldn't be a permanent solution (geddit? solution?? Oh, never mind! )

 

[NB79]

Reading some of the comments here I have to wonder how many here have genuine experience with addiction and understand it's nature better than the normal usually wildly incorrect public perceptions?

It's a hugely complex condition, and in many ways it's drugs are just ingested processible substances that effect your metabolism in some fashion - i.e. food! Compounds in normal food stuff's effect us in the same ways. The fact some of those substances also provide the compounds needed to grow, repair and maintain physical structure makes little difference beyond the fact it makes them essential.

Even chemicals we think of as flavourings actually effect mind and body in very real ways - we just categorise drugs as separate because human brains need to categorise.

Self-medicating is a form of hunger, the body demanding something it feels the need for through it's regulatory systems. To start applying personal morals to someone who ends up finding no better way to try and reduce discomfort and pain be it emotional or physical, especially when many autistics have conditions that bring additional issues to those most common to the majority of us.

Attaching morals to addiction (and any other mental condition frankly) is a bad thing, and we should not do anything to exacerbate that IMHO. It's a medical condition whose sufferer's have already been heavily punished for having it. Unless someone can find me some addicts who intended to become what they have.

Edit:
As an aside, I've found some druggies (pejorative term but since it's in use...) to be faaaar more accepting of me without any BS surrounding it than many so-called normal folk. Maybe because they too are social outliers?

I was a slave to watching inappropriate content, i was christian already, i got angry at myself but couldn't stop, i started praying a lot, then God broke the 'addiction', it has been like 3 or 4 years since i watched any of that.

 

[Magna]

I see it as an addiction to dopamine,.not any one particular substance. That's why I say I'm not sober even though I haven't touched alcohol in well over a decade

It's a fact that people with autism and/or ADHD have low dopamine or more dopamine receptors than most people so they're forever feeling the effects of a dopamine deficit. Rather than an addiction to dopamine, I see it as a dopamine deficit/deficiency. It's far more debilitating than people without such deficits realize. There are natural non-drug ways to boost dopamine, some more effective than others, but I understand the key reason why so many autistics and people with ADHD seek out medication or self-medication.

 

[Cutesie]

This Healthline article quotes a study showing autistics can have double the risk of developing a substance abuse disorder. Those with AuDHD (like me probably) have an even greater risk than regular auties.

 

[Jonn]

Reading some of the comments here I have to wonder how many here have genuine experience with addiction and understand it's nature better than the normal usually wildly incorrect public perceptions?

It's a hugely complex condition, and in many ways it's drugs are just ingested processible substances that effect your metabolism in some fashion - i.e. food! Compounds in normal food stuff's effect us in the same ways. The fact some of those substances also provide the compounds needed to grow, repair and maintain physical structure makes little difference beyond the fact it makes them essential.

Spoiler: joke

Meth makes me strong like bull in a mental asylum.

 

[Jonn]

This Healthline article quotes a study showing autistics can have double the risk of developing a substance abuse disorder. Those with AuDHD (like me probably) have an even greater risk than regular auties.

I read where ADHD can encourage over-eating.

 

[Outdated]

It seems to be a cry for help like an uncommitted suicide attempt - it's just a very slow form of suicide.
Along with a desperate need to take the pain away?

I was blessed in a way. I was a big drinker for much of my life, but when I was in my 20s I went through a very hurtful breakup with my fiance and during that I realised that alcohol made everything 10 times worse.

Save the recreational drugs for when you're in a mood to be recreational.

From then on I only ever drank if I was happy. I never did form an addiction to alcohol, I don't know why and I do know how rare that is. I used it as a social lubricant but when I wasn't socialising I just didn't need it. Sometimes I'll feel like having a few drinks at home but that's getting more and more rare these days. It's usually only in hot weather that I feel like a drink.

 

[Jonn]

It's a fact that people with autism and/or ADHD have low dopamine or more dopamine receptors than most people so they're forever feeling the effects of a dopamine deficit. Rather than an addiction to dopamine, I see it as a dopamine deficit/deficiency. It's far more debilitating than people without such deficits realize. There are natural non-drug ways to boost dopamine, some more effective than others, but I understand the key reason why so many autistics and people with ADHD seek out medication or self-medication.

I don't seem to have a problem with my dopamine levels.
I attribute this in part to embracing humour.
Laughing can produce a dopamine (and endorphin) hit.
So does your pets.
"Laughter is the best medicine".

Yes, laughing can produce a dopamine hit:

• Dopamine: A chemical messenger in the brain that's known as the "feel-good" hormone. The brain releases dopamine when it expects a reward, and anything that's enjoyable can increase dopamine levels.
• 
  
  
• Laughing: A genuine laugh can trigger the release of endorphins.

Other activities that can increase dopamine levels include:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Massage
• Playing with a pet
• Walking in nature
• Reading a book

Laughing produces a dopamine hit - Google Suche.

 

[Jonn]

There's suggestion now that dopamine is not just a feel-good neurotransmitter, but it also triggers cravings by it's own actions (i.e. the dopamine creates craving, not the lack of dopamine).

This is thought to be a feedback mechanism for the body to be attracted to substances it requires to continue regulated function. There's thought that the fact most drugs are nowadays in very concentrated form compared to their natural counterparts, and our bodies metabolism and regulatory systems are not evolved to handle those correctly for obvious reasons (we haven't been taking purified drugs for the many thousands of years it would take to adapt to them).

In my case, much of my cravings are satisfied through humour, and my pets.

Yes, dopamine is a neurotransmitter that triggers cravings and is more about "wanting" than "liking":

• Dopamine and cravings
  Dopamine is associated with cravings because it makes you want to repeat pleasurable activities. For example, when you eat a food you like, your brain releases dopamine, which can make you want to eat that food again.
  

• 
  
  
• Dopamine and addiction
  Dopamine plays a role in the development of addiction. When you use drugs like cocaine or heroin, they trigger a large release of dopamine, which can make you feel euphoric. This reinforces the connection between the drug and the pleasurable feeling, which can lead to addiction.
  
  
• 
  
  
• Dopamine and cues
  Dopamine activation can make you want a reward that's available immediately, rather than a reward that's more distant. Cues in your environment can become linked with drug use, and can trigger cravings even when the drug isn't available.
  

• 
  

You can increase your dopamine levels naturally by:

• Eating a healthy diet, especially foods rich in tyrosine, like nuts, seeds, dairy, and meat
• Exercising
• Meditating
• Getting enough sleep
  
  

dopamine is not just a feel-good neurotransmitter, but it also triggers cravings - Google Suche

 

[Magna]

I was blessed in a way. I was a big drinker for much of my life, but when I was in my 20s I went through a very hurtful breakup with my fiance and during that I realised that alcohol made everything 10 times worse.

Save the recreational drugs for when you're in a mood to be recreational.

From then on I only ever drank if I was happy. I never did form an addiction to alcohol, I don't know why and I do know how rare that is. I used it as a social lubricant but when I wasn't socialising I just didn't need it. Sometimes I'll feel like having a few drinks at home but that's getting more and more rare these days. It's usually only in hot weather that I feel like a drink.

^ That's interesting because I'm very similar. I drank socially when I was in my teens and up to my mid-twenties. Often it was at bars and parties and to excess. Even so, I too never developed an alcohol addiction. It was never something that I "loved" or even craved. I think the last time I had any kind of alcohol was probably almost two years ago now, but yet I have a robust collection of distilled spirits, mainly scotch that sits idle.

Cannabis on the other hand has contributed to a positive improvement in my life overall and most definitely helps me on many levels including with my issues that manifest from my autism, ADHD and PTSD. However....I am mindful that it's something that without willpower and without accepting the occasional cravings for it as something I just need to ride through and abstain from instead, that it's a substance (like caffeine and nicotine) that can be used to an excessive and then detrimental effect. For me it's an effective medicine in regimented and controlled (and minimal) usage.