[stopchewinggum]

I'll try to keep this relatively short. I've been drinking rather heavily lately, and I have multiple mental health issues. I started seeing a group substance abuse counselor in secret. It was going good I thought, until today. He said he had done what he could for me, and he wants to send me to a hospital far away. Obviously, this is not good news. I don't know that I want to go, in the first place. Plus even if I did go, I don't know what I would tell my doctors and my family. Additionally, it's far away, and it's more of hospital settings. I generally get highly agitated in those settings. I'm not sure what to do. I really have no one I can talk to at this point or bounce ideas off with.

[here today]

Do you believe that you are addicted to drinking? I have overused drinking sometimes but only when I couldn't sleep, as a substitute for the habit of emotionally beating myself up at night in order to numb out. So I substituted alcohol use for a very toxic emotional habit over which I had little control. Definitely a mental health issue for which there was no effective treatment and that was the primary thing to me.

Sounds good that you were able to get some help with the substance abuse counselor but I think they are pretty focused on drinking as addiction and not every heavy drinker is necessarily addicted, according to an addiction medical doctor I once heard speak.

How are things with your mental health issues? Do you think you could try a change of therapist or something different there? Doesn't sound like hospitalization would be very good for those.

It's your body and your mind and I know with my mental health issues it's been hard to trust myself at times but eventually I've had to.

[stopchewinggum]

Oh I'm definitely an addict, but I don't know if a hard core dual diagnosis hospital place outside of my comfort zone is for me.

[Argonautomobile]

I'm sorry you're struggling with this, SCG. Alcohol is a real *****. God knows I've had my struggles with it.

I don't know if hospitalization is the answer. If coming clean with your doctors/family is what's stopping you....well...What do you think would happen if you told them? Could you count on them to be supportive?

[whisperingskye]

Not sure I have an answer for you, but felt the need to respond. A few years ago people around me decided I was an alcoholic. I never agreed with this and I'm not sure I ever will. A problem drinker, maybe, alcoholic no.

I reached out for help because I was so suicidal and instead got sent to rehab. It was not what I needed at that time, as a result I got no better. And it made me angry. And actually made things a whole lot worse.

I think, although our circumstances are different, if you are not ready to accept hospitalisation for alcohol and whatever mental health issues you may be struggling with then you probably shouldn't go for it. It will focus on your addiction (from my experience).

If you think you can accept and work with it thenby all means go for it. But it is hard when you don't believe you should be there...

[kecanoe]

I sobered up a long time ago, long before I was diagnosed with a mental illness. Still sober-and grateful for all I learned about sobriety and sober living. I don't know about dual diagnosis treatment places, although I would probably go to one if I were to start drinking again and couldn't quit with the help of AA.

Do you feel like you have tried everything short of going to hosp?
Do you think you need residential treatment for the addiction?
Is your mental illness controlled or stable?
Are you ok with the meds (if any) you are taking for your MI?
Is a treatment center likely to be ok with your meds? I take Xanax as needed; for some reason I am able to take it and not go down the addict path. But I am sure that a residential treatment place would not think that it is cool to do that. I would think, though, that they probably would be ok with antidepressants, antipsychotics, bipolar meds. But I would want to know what was ok before going to residential treatment that was not dual diagnosis.
Do you see a t for other stuff or just the group substance abuse t? If yes, what does that t think?

I'm not asking so that you feel like you have to answer here, those are just some of the questions I would ask myself.

[stopchewinggum]

Originally Posted by kecanoe

I sobered up a long time ago, long before I was diagnosed with a mental illness. Still sober-and grateful for all I learned about sobriety and sober living. I don't know about dual diagnosis treatment places, although I would probably go to one if I were to start drinking again and couldn't quit with the help of AA.

Do you feel like you have tried everything short of going to hosp?
Do you think you need residential treatment for the addiction?
Is your mental illness controlled or stable?
Are you ok with the meds (if any) you are taking for your MI?
Is a treatment center likely to be ok with your meds? I take Xanax as needed; for some reason I am able to take it and not go down the addict path. But I am sure that a residential treatment place would not think that it is cool to do that. I would think, though, that they probably would be ok with antidepressants, antipsychotics, bipolar meds. But I would want to know what was ok before going to residential treatment that was not dual diagnosis.
Do you see a t for other stuff or just the group substance abuse t? If yes, what does that t think?

I'm not asking so that you feel like you have to answer here, those are just some of the questions I would ask myself.

My meds for my MI are somewhat working, but my substance T believes the alcohol is limiting there effectiveness. I also have a bunch of physical problems that aren't responding to treatments, and he believes I might be having these problems, since alcohol effects the immune system. I'm not worried about the ant-anxiety meds being prescribed. I've been on all of them before my addiction, and they never worked anyway. I do see another T for MI, but she doesn't know about my other T.

[stopchewinggum]

Originally Posted by Argonautomobile

I'm sorry you're struggling with this, SCG. Alcohol is a real *****. God knows I've had my struggles with it.

I don't know if hospitalization is the answer. If coming clean with your doctors/family is what's stopping you....well...What do you think would happen if you told them? Could you count on them to be supportive?

I'm afraid to lose my pdoc. He's the only one in the area who hasn't blacklisted me for my MI conditions being "too risky."