Alcoholism and AS: dual problem

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I've been sober for for over 13 years but I had a strong history of binge drinking. I think this because alcohol triggers a very strong compulsion in me. I would not assume you couldn't become alcoholic at any stage of life. AA is not for everyone, it wasn't for me. I was unable to benefit from the social aspects of the program. I went through a (thankfully free) 28 day rehab program and then follow up care at a mental health care facility that operates on a sliding scale fee system. If I have one piece of advice, that is not to succumb to the "hair of the dog" remedy for hangovers. Just suffer through it. It was this that led me into the second day of drinking, and then the third.

According to the latest research, you can. Google "epigenetics alcoholism" . You can have a genome that is predisposed to alcoholism thus leading you to exposure and thus dependence or you can overexpose yourself to alcohol, also leading you to alcoholism. It's the chicken and the egg thing. My old dad (himself a recovering alcoholic) used to say, "Most people don't drink enough to get bad breath". The fact that you're "scheduling binges" is a warning sign. I had always heard that "alcoholics miss work", so I made it a point to prove to myself I wasn't an alcoholic by never missing work-and working with hangovers that would have killed a lot of folks. I also have a problem with the social and (in some groups) the religious aspect, but the philosophy is sound, and though the slogans are corny, they help with the struggles of everyday life. Drunk or sober, life is a struggle, but my struggles in sobriety are of a much higher class.

I don't think the co-occurrence of ASD and alcoholism are rare. Why wouldn't people prone to chronic anxiety and depression resort to alcohol (chemically the same as benzodiazepines) to feel better?

In my case, I inherited a tendency toward addiction from my father and ASD from my mother. They co-occur in me, but I think they are unrelated.