You’d think that a “real” alcoholic wouldn’t have much alcohol in the home because it’d all been drunk. 
The problem is that people expect whatever they see a lot of, so if the agency targets/attracts people with particular issues, that’s what staff are looking for, or finding even if it’s not entirely there. I went to a conference a few months ago. While I was doing some things around the house, I banged my forearm on a doorknob. The person I was rooming with at the conference was someone I didn’t know and who didn’t know me or the first thing about my life. When she came into the room, she took one look at my arm and said, “Why did this to you?!” I said, “Nobody did it–I was moving furniture at home.” It was clear that she didn’t believe me. In her world, men were abusive and women took the brunt of it and then covered for them, and she simply wasn’t interested in any other information that might inform her understanding of the situation.
I’ve used that exact argument before.
There’s always “Don’t believe me? I’ll pee in the cup.”
I don’t have much to add here that hasn’t been said before. (It seems strongly to me that the counselor took your first response as the “accidental truth” and all the rest as denial and excuses)
Anyway… I stopped by to say… if at all possible-- fight fight fight anything that gets on that chart that is not accurate. Other Doctors, IME, don’t usually account for another doctor’s bias on this type of thing, and will generally trust the chart (and the other doctor) more than the patient.
My mom was born with spinal problems and has had problems her entire life. Once ONCE her pain medecine got misplaced after a trip- the Doctor got it in his head that she was shopping for pain meds since her prescription had been filled fairly recently… and it took YEARS to finally disavow them of the notion. Literally everything she did just convinced him more and more that she was addicted. When she finally got fed up and switched clinics- they got her chart and then they thought she was Doctor Shopping for somebody who would prescribe to her.
Anyway… good luck. I hope that the depression issue gets taken care of.
Perhaps when you said about a hour ago, she checked off the ‘drinks regularly throughout the day’ box. Even though you corrected it, the box was checked, perhaps she tried to correct this, but she didn’t have a eraser, nor did she write it in pencil. When she looked it over for the report she saw the box checked and that’s how she wrote the report.
I’m sure most health care professionals mean well, but it becomes an “every problem is a nail” thing. I used to hear the same crap from my mom (a health care professional). I would say something like “I think I’m going to cut back on the drinking this month” and she would all be like “I’m a little concerned that you are drinking so much you feel a need to cut back”. Would you rather I didn’t care about how much I drank at all?
The thing is that alchohol abuse can sneak up on you. and it seems very common in people I’m most familiar with - young, educated, professional types who tend to be social and image-conscious and have disposable income for going out on the weekends. Next thing you know, all your activities revolve around alchohol consumption.
Because I’m curious, I just ran through those questions and can truthfully answer 6 of them affirmatively.
I don’t drink.* The last taste of alcohol I had was almost three years ago at my own wedding, and it was precisely that - a taste. I took a token sip of champagne during the best man’s toast to my husband and I. Before that, I can’t even recall my next most recent drink. The last time I got drunk was approximately a decade ago - when I was in my very early 20’s. Which was also the last time I had more than two drinks in a 24 hour period.
When asked by doctors, I tend to say I drink “occasionally” - because it’s an accurate description. I have a drink once in a great while, generally at “occasions” like weddings, large holiday parties, and other social events. If pressed, I explain. It’s more than a little disheartening to think I’ve left medical professionals in my wake who assume I’m an alcoholic in denial.
*It’s just not my thing, I don’t care for the flavor of alcohol, and have a minor family history of alcoholism - therefore, easy enough for me to abstain. I abstain from drinking much the same way and for mostly the same reasons I abstain from eating sushi (save the last one, obviously).
Maybe the questions are meant to determine whether you really need mental health care. I mean, if you can get through questioning like that without throwing chairs, you’re in better mental health than I am!
Usually I ask several questions about alcohol intake when I meet a new patient. Any new patient.
“Would you take a drink?”
“What would you usually drink when you drink alcohol?”
“How often would you drink that?”
Usually, this being Ireland, I determine that my patients are heavy binge-drinkers who are not physically dependent on alcohol and are not impaired by alcohol in their daily lives, i.e. they could all cut back a bit, but they’re not alcoholics. I tell them the recommended limits to stick to and suggest they cut down a bit. I don’t write anything scary like “alcohol abuse” and I don’t give out AA literature.
The ones who look shaky, sweaty, smell of drink or have alcohol-related health or social problems and continue to drink…those people are the ones I ask about eye-openers, withdrawal symptoms, inability to quit and desire to abstain. They’re the ones with problems, but if they don’t want to quit, well there is feck all I can do about it, except ensure that if they’re an inpatient in my care they get boat loads of Librium and Thiamine so they don’t go into the DTs on my ward.
I write C2H5OHXS on my clerk-in sheet to indicate heavy alcohol intake that might need some inpatient Librium and vitamins (I’m talking 60 plus units/week). It’s not some sort of judgement about your life, it’s to remind me to make sure your brain doesn’t melt from alcohol withdrawal while you’re an in-patient.
Give me a patient with acute alcohol intoxication over someone who has tried to detox at home and has frank DTs any day of the week. I’ll take a comatose drunk over the very scary sick and seizing person every time.
AA has its fair share of nutcases, but having been around AA people and being a visitor at quite a few meetings, I’ve never yet been accused of being an alkie in denial. Hell, when I was 20 and visiting Canada, three of them insisted I should go ahead and get a glass of wine because it was legal for me to. I wasn’t going to out of consideration for them, but they insisted, so what the heck. (I’m still a bit bugged I didn’t get carded!)
A martial arts classmate of mine (female) bruised fairly easily, and was often called into bosses and counselors offices. Many times “helpful” coworkers would anonymously report her to counselors for signs of domestic abuse.
A typical conversation…
Counselor: You have been coming into the office with some noticeable bruises…are you ok?
Her: I’m a martial artist, I get asked that all the time
Counselor: You’re sure? Everything’s ok?
Her: Yes, this bruise (points to arm) is a result of my successfully blocking a heel kick that was aimed at my temple. These (points to other arm) were from grip release practice. These–
Counselor: But these look like defensive bruises…
Her: Exactly the point!
and so on…very amusing.
She once was actually asked to demonstrate techniques, locks, holds, strikes, etc, to a meeting of supervisors and counselors to somehow “prove” she wasn’t lying.
It’s my impression that this type of diagnosis does not exist in the US. It seems like any habitual alcohol use at all is classified as alcoholism. I drink wine, almost every day - I’m trying to learn more about it, and am planning on taking various wine industry certification courses eventually. I’m sure that alone would make me an alcoholic in a lot of people’s books.
It’s the same issue with my father. He drinks his brandy every day, and if anything, he’s been cutting back over the past four or five years. He’s not an alcoholic - he doesn’t get drunk, and his blood work in his yearly physicals have never shown any alcohol related problems. But he admitted to drinking when admitted to the hospital, and the next thing we knew we had a doctor accusing him of hiding a bottle in the garage and sneaking out to have drinks so my mother wouldn’t notice.
It’s nuts. Anyone who’s ever been around an alcoholic knows what alcoholism is, and it’s not pretty.
There’s also the whole “alcohol as hobby” thing, which you and others have alluded to. Practitioners of homebrewing, oenology and viticulture, and the fans of various hard liquors and mixed drinks somehow manage to keep their hobbies from becoming abuse. In fact, in the 10 or so years I was in AA, I can’t recall a single person who was an alcohol hobbyist.
Robin
Isn’t RedRoses one of us girly types? If that’s the case, I do hope her sperm count is real, real low.
Yes, I am of the female persuasion.
I’ll have to see about filing a complaint, because I don’t want to deal with future issues. You’d think that the opinions of the other counselors who’ve done evaluations on me in the past couple months would count for something, but since this was my third intake/evaluation/interview in the past couple months where I had to answer the exact same questions, it doesn’t seem like they share information. Even though I specifically remember signing forms allowing this agency and its satellite programs to share information.
They might also be asking you these questions multiple times to assess the consistency of your answers.
Good God, I think I’m becoming an Alcoholic!
I’ve finished off 4 bottles of single malt Scotch in the last 6 weeks!
There were less than 3 ounces in each bottle, which was why I made the effort to “finish them off”, but you know…
No, I understand that, particularly if you suspect someone is lying. I just mean that in the bureacratic hell that is seeking mental health care with no insurance, I’ve answered the same questions and filled out the same forms dozens of times. And about things I wouldn’t dream of lying about, like allergies.
I just wonder what information they’re sharing, since nobody ever has a copy of the paperwork from my last interview. It’s just getting ridiculous, 3 identical evaluations with this program before I get an appointment (in a month) with a nurse practioner to get back on my meds.
Seriously, I always find myself in that completely-fucked position of being in really bad shape, but not bad enough to qualify for anything. As in, I don’t have insurance and I’m really poor, but I don’t qualify for Medicaid. Or, I’m really depressed and need to get back on my meds, but I’m not so crazy that I feel I need to be commited (thus getting back on my meds immediately).
-
Do you drink alone?
I’ll occasionally have a glass of brandy while watching tv or reading a book. Once a month or so. -
Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of drinking?
20 years ago I got carried away on screwdrivers at the lake with friends. Can’t even stand the smell of them now. -
Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?
20 years ago when I was throwing up my toenails after said screwdrivers.
(Italics mine.)
Seems that I’m at risk for alcoholism. I’d better dump my licquor cabinet down the drain when I get home.
When all you have is a hammer, all the world is a nail. Fortunately there are competent councelors and therappists out there.