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[-] Wirrvogel@feddit.de 168 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

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.

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 51 points 11 months ago

That is terrible and I am so sorry.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 40 points 11 months ago

They do AA in Germany? I thought that pseudo science was just an American thing.

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[-] devdad@programming.dev 111 points 11 months ago
[-] TheBlackLounge@lemmy.world 57 points 11 months ago

Congrats, how many years are you sober?

[-] TheBat@lemmy.world 27 points 11 months ago
[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

Born again huh.

[-] cryptiod137@lemmy.world 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Oh, so you don't like it when other drink then?

Edit: that's literally the response my buddy gets every single time it comes up, every single time without fail, even from other people who don't drink.

[-] devdad@programming.dev 30 points 11 months ago

Haha yeah it’s weird how NOT drinking is weird. I couldn’t care less what other people do, nor what they think of me; drinking is just no longer appealing to me

No idea why you got downvoted so bad, I guess I did have the benefit of your edit when I read your reply.

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[-] rikudou@lemmings.world 29 points 11 months ago

What the fuck?

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[-] SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

Sure buddy what ever you say

[-] jacktherippah@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

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[-] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 83 points 11 months ago

“I don’t have time for alcoholism—I’m too busy shooting heroin.”

[-] SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

At least your not a Morman

[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 11 points 11 months ago

No, I am only one man, not more men.

[-] fubo@lemmy.world 64 points 11 months ago

"My psychiatrist prefers to say that I have a 'substance use disorder' and cautions that the old 'alcoholism' model isn't very scientific."

[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 40 points 11 months ago

"I don't limit myself to just alcohol"

[-] HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works 13 points 11 months ago

Modern problems require modern solutions.

[-] ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

Fortunately, alcohol is a solution. Unfortunately, far from modern.

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[-] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 40 points 11 months ago

"I have literally not had alcoholic beverages even once in my life, how would it be possible to become an alcoholic given that?"

[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 49 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

You must be a hardcore alcoholic if you had to abstain for that long.

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[-] Spaghetti_Hitchens@kbin.social 13 points 11 months ago

Well clearly given your decision, your mother drank with you in the womb and you had fetal alcohol syndrome. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.

Checkmate, atheists.

[-] frezik@midwest.social 36 points 11 months ago

I drink a lot less now that I have easy access to THC.

This goes for a lot of other bad things, too. "Just to get it out of the way, I am not a child molester".

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[-] DaGeek247@kbin.social 33 points 11 months ago

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.

[-] Entropywins@kbin.social 32 points 11 months ago

Sounds like you have a drinking problem...

[-] HeChomk@lemmy.world 28 points 11 months ago

I don't have a drinking problem. I drink, I get drunk, I fall down, no problem!

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[-] habanhero@lemmy.ca 23 points 11 months ago

It's because denial is part of being an alcoholic. The same goes with being called a liar.

[-] Alto@kbin.social 25 points 11 months ago
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[-] GoroAkechi@lemm.ee 18 points 11 months ago

It’s pretty easy, actually. I drink around twice a month. No one could credibly accuse me of alcoholism.

[-] andmonad@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Exactly what an alcoholic would say

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[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 14 points 11 months ago

I dodged it as a youth, no point starting it now.

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[-] WorkIsSlow@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

I literally just threw up. I feel better now though.

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[-] LoraxEleven@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

That's exactly what a fuckin boozer would say, also.

Although... I've been drinking since about October o'clock.. so, what the fuck would I know about it, anyways.

(I say: they can stop anytime you want me to.)

Cheers!

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[-] irmoz@reddthat.com 11 points 11 months ago

Drinking just isn't my sort of thing

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[-] TheDoozer@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

"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."

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this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
395 points (94.6% liked)

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