Understanding Autism and AddictionUnderstanding Autism and Addiction
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu and Marissa talk with autistic psychologist Alex Pearson about autism, masking, complex trauma and alexithymia, and how these can feed into alcohol use and burnout. The conversation highlights practical accommodations, boundaries and community support for neurodivergent people in recovery.
55:19•18 Oct 2021
Autism, Masking and Alcohol: Alex Pearson Shares What’s Really Going On
Episode Overview
- Autism often goes unrecognised in women for decades, leading to self‑blame, abusive relationships and untreated trauma.
- Masking, camouflaging and constant people‑pleasing (fawning) can push autistic adults into severe burnout and suicidal thinking.
- Complex PTSD and alexithymia frequently overlap with autism, making it hard to name emotions and seek appropriate support.
- Alcohol and other addictions can become quick, socially accepted coping tools, but the hangovers and memory gaps add further harm.
- Clear communication, specific accommodations and firm boundaries – including the right to say no – are essential for safety and recovery.
“Our yes can be withdrawn.”
Curious about how others manage their sobriety journey while living with a different kind of brain wiring? This conversation on Addict II Athlete brings autism, neurodiversity and addiction into sharp focus, with a mix of humour, honesty and hard truths.
Host Coach Blu Robinson and athletic director Marissa welcome autistic psychologist and content creator Alexandra (Alex) Pearson, who describes herself as "living in the gap between the Neurotypical and Neurodivergent worlds." She breaks down neurodiversity as an umbrella that includes autism, ADHD, OCD, anxiety, major depression and complex trauma, and explains how many autistic women grow up thinking, "Doesn't everybody experience that?" while silently blaming themselves for everything that goes wrong.
Alex walks through masking and camouflaging – the conscious effort to copy social norms, regulate tone of voice, eye contact and body language – and how this constant performance leads to autistic burnout. She shares, "Our yes can be withdrawn," and talks about learning to say no to last‑minute plans, scheduling calls, and treating migraines and sensory overload as non‑negotiable priorities.
The episode also tackles complex PTSD, fawning (people‑pleasing as a survival strategy), and alexithymia – difficulty identifying and describing feelings – and how these interact with autism to increase vulnerability to abusive relationships, self‑hatred and suicidal thinking. Alex links this directly to alcohol misuse in her college years, calling heavy drinking a temporary band‑aid that left brutal hangovers and missing memories.
Designed for people in recovery, their families, and professionals, this chat sheds light on why undiagnosed autistic adults might turn to substances, overwork or perfectionism, and how simple accommodations and clearer communication can change everything. If you’ve ever wondered whether “being the problem” is actually a misread of an autistic, overloaded nervous system, this one might feel uncomfortably close to home – in the best possible way.
So what would it look like if you let your cup fill to overflowing before you tried to give to everyone else?
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