Not so funny when it actually happens to you:
Because of really bad experiences with alcoholics as a child, I am afraid of people who drink. My psychologist and my doctor wrote that down.
When I became seriously ill and could no longer work in my old job, I had to retrain. To do this, you have to go to the German employment office and get an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, including what your doctor and therapist have to say.
They read the paper from my doctor and my psychologist, but just skimmed over the words and decided that because the word "alcoholic" was there, I must be the alcoholic. They told me that I could get paid retraining and benefits, but only if I attended a therapy group for alcoholics once a week - me, who is afraid of alcoholics because of the abuse I suffered as a child. .... I immediately started crying and swore that I had no problem with alcohol, only with alcoholics!
It took 6 months to get someone at the job centre to actually read the papers word for word to find out that me saying "I'm not an alcoholic" was not me being an alcoholic in denial. I got a half-assed apology and my retraining 6 months after I could have started it because of this. Not to mention that every time I refused to go to AA meetings they threatened to take away my benefits and I was in such a bad mental state that I probably would have killed myself without the help of my family. Oh, and my family who tried to intervene were labelled as co-alcoholics, holding me back.
I was diagnosed with anorexia because I was 5 kg 'underweight' and answered 'no' when asked if I had an eating disorder. Answering 'no' was apparently the justification for the diagnosis. It's still on my file 10 years later, despite now being 'over-weight' and always having had nominal blood test results. Conveniently, denying you have anorexia is a symptom, and so is asking to have the diagnosis removed, I guess.
This has completely blocked me from receiving medication and treatment, because any physical or pyschological ailment I seek help for gets blamed on 'my anorexia' and I'm referred to psychotherapy.
Only acoholics actually need to try to convince others that they aren't alcoholics. Nobody goes up to a person on the street to start aggressively asking if they have a drinking problem.
Any serious questions about how alcohol is affecting your life will quickly demonstrate whether it is is or isn't a problem, without you ever saying that you don't have a drinking problem.
Permanently Deleted
"I have about three drinks a week and get drunk maybe once or twice a year. I'd say I'm the picture of moderation, but I'm not really concerned with how you feel about my drinking habits."
I haven't drunk alcohol in over a year, last time I got drunk was maybe almost a decade ago...
I'm sure that'll convince someone? Though it makes it sound like I used to be one too lol.
"What do you mean? I don't even drink"
"I've honestly never really thought about it." And then "I don't know, I don't really keep track of how much I drink."
I really should reduce my consumption, I've always hang around people that tend to get wasted on a weekly basis. Getting tipsy is enjoyable, but more than that is just fucking stupid. I also find it hard to talk about stuff with them, or to do meaningful activities, they just want to drink a lot and act like dumbasses in night clubs. So boring. I should try and find new friends, but I feel like most people act like this, honestly. It's the same when I hang out with strangers. My hard limit is 3 drinks per night now.
"Fuck you, I can stop whenever I want."
"I don't even drink!"
I have a drink once a month (or sometimes not for a few months) and it makes me feel exhausted. We do a big party once a year and that's more than enough for me.
accurate
Unless you're a Muslim 👑
Let one who is not neurodivergent cast the first stone
