[maybeblue]

So has anyone else been crazy enough to email or text their therapist when they are impaired? I never drink. I don't like alcohol. I've never used illegal drugs. I've never been brave enough. So I don't have much experience dealing with being high. But I recently developed this crazy anxiety and they prescribed me xanax. So yesterday I took one. It turns out that I am really sensitive to that stuff. I was floating.

Somehow I decided it was a good time to email my therapist. After blathering on about why I took the xanax, I said "I love you." Then I said "like a therapist, not something weird." I don't even know what that means. This morning I sent her another email and said I was sorry and that she should ignore everything I said in the last email. She replied and said that it was no problem and that she was honored by what I said.

No more drunk-emailing the therapist for me. Next time I'll wake up and find out I sent her naked pictures or something. Sheesh.

So anyone else email while impaired?

[LonesomeTonight]

Yep! First time I texted my ex-marriage counselor was drunk, alone on the beach (on a family vacation) at 3 a.m. And I've sent a few other e-mails while somewhat impaired to ex-MC and one to current T, including one to each on the same night! Both worked out OK, I guess, though they each, either in e-mail response (ex-MC, as he was also ex at the time) or discussion in session (current T) led to some rather harsh truths. But I had only asked them things I wanted to know anyway but didn't have the nerve to ask.


Also, a few times the morning after I've been particularly drunk (happens once every couple months), I'll nervously check my text messages and sent e-mail folders to make sure I didn't send anything...and am relieved to find nothing. Sometimes I think they should make a gmail or text breathalyzer...

I haven't done this, but I just wanted to make a little note about xanax, which I was given for anxiety once when I was brought to the ER with horrific chest/left arm (apparently anxiety) pains.

I don't like taking medication, but I finally I took half a xanax a few days later, and I was on another planet. I couldn't feel my body. I never took another one again. I'm sure if I took the whole pill, though, I would've google mapped my therapist's house and thrown pebbles at her window just to tell her I didn't love her in a weird way. So a kind e-mail, I think, is quite mild-- even if sent under the influence.

I'm sure your T finds it pleasantly amusing as well as a sweet sentiment.

[Lrad123]

I think it’s sort of cute and I bet it’s endearing to your T. You had no way of knowing you’d respond that way, so it was an innocent interaction.

[circlesincircles]

Did it allow you to express thoughts/feelings you had previously been able to?

I've emailed my therapist when impaired in the past, but not really when drunk. It can lower my inhibition to email in the first place, but not so much the content of what I write.

[peacelizard]

I haven't that I'm aware of but I'm pretty surprised I haven't

[annielovesbacon]

I'm not allowed to contact my therapist outside of session (no email, no calls, no texts, etc) which is sometimes frustrating, but as an addict, it's mostly a good thing. I'm sure that I would send many a drunk/drugged email to her if I had the ability, lol. I'm grateful I don't even have the option because I'm sure I would embarrass myself.

[RaineD]

Yeah, I recently emailed my therapist a poem while I was drunk. Now I'm super embarrassed!

[RaineD]

Also, if I tell him I sent that email drunk he's going to be mad at me getting that drunk.

[Merope]

I haven’t yet, but I tend to profess my undying love to people when drunk (usually over text) so I guess it’s only a matter of time.

I emailed my diagnosing psychiatrist to release my information by email to me and all high off oxy I ranted and ranted and rented on how sound of mind I was on the request however was denied.

Leaving emotion out of it is a Wise Choice.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

I'm drunk or high almost every time I ask for extra sessions (via text or call). Usually, I am already anxious and feeling horrible and asking for help in such situations is really hard for me, so I freak out even more. That usually causes me to turn to some kind of bad coping mechanism.

But I don't get all emotional or ramble a whole lot, I just say I'm not doing well and want to see him.

One of the main reasons I tried therapy was to see if it would have any effect on my recovery from a drinking problem. When I had relapses, I drunk-emailed my Ts many times. Not with confessions of my love for them or any other affection, more with crazy analytical rambles about myself and the therapy itself. I had a habit of doing similar things with many people during the worst times of my addiction. Sadly, both the Ts and other people often actually found those interesting and sometimes very insightful, that was the feedback I got - of course, most often they did not know I was drunk as I hid it. Usually what I wrote was not really nonsense but surely not expressed in the organized, more rational, clear ways I usually do these things sober. There was one particular short email I sent to my last T drunk, which was rather uncharacteristic of even drunken me and different from the rest in that it was quite intrusive and personal for him. That was the only one I apologized for the day after. In general though, there were very few cases of my drunken emails that I did not regret seriously the day after. Including the mere fact that sometimes I sent too many in clusters, which I never do sober. My last T handled the emails (drunk or sober) with a respectful, very professional attitude and very minimalistically. He either sent short responses or no response. My first T though, I think he was not that perceptive and self-controlled and often he actually engaged in ways that were inappropriate and sometimes initiated a series of ugly fights - then he made interpretations about them, not knowing how often I wrote drunk.

Of course hiding my relapses from the Ts really sabotaged the whole therapy, so no surprise it had not proven useful for the issue. In part, not being more open was the consequence of what happened when I sometimes tried. The Ts very really not good at tackling addiction in spite of the fact that, especially one of them, claimed it as his specialty. I just really think that once a week individual therapy is pretty useless to treat a serious addiction, for many reasons I am not getting into because it is not the topic of this thread.

I eventually resolved the drinking stably, using a variety of other aids such as peer support and self-discipline strategies, which I found much more effective than trying to work on addiction in therapy. Those drunken emails are not a nice memory though.

[junkDNA]

yes....it upset him =(

[maybeblue]

Originally Posted by RiverLight

I haven't done this, but I just wanted to make a little note about xanax, which I was given for anxiety once when I was brought to the ER with horrific chest/left arm (apparently anxiety) pains.

I don't like taking medication, but I finally I took half a xanax a few days later, and I was on another planet. I couldn't feel my body. I never took another one again. I'm sure if I took the whole pill, though, I would've google mapped my therapist's house and thrown pebbles at her window just to tell her I didn't love her in a weird way. So a kind e-mail, I think, is quite mild-- even if sent under the influence.

I'm sure your T finds it pleasantly amusing as well as a sweet sentiment.

I hate taking xanax too. It makes me feel stupid, like I can't think. And I have to admit I was a little bit judgemental about people who used benzos because I had learned in school about how addictive they are and how there are all these "relaxation techniques" that are better and safer.

But that was before I had these unrelenting, horrible panic attacks that seem to come out of nowhere.

[SlumberKitty]

I've never drunk-drug messaged my therapist, mostly because I don't drink or drug but if I did, I'm sure I would have messaged my therapist. But I actually told my former therapist (when she was still my therapist) that I love her (in a therapist/client way, not a romantic way) and she took it really well. The fact that I told her while sober and totally knowing what I was doing might be worse than if I told her while under the influence but my former T was really great about it. Kind of makes me love her more.

[nikon]

i used to abuse benzos and sleeping pills, and often emailed my doctor while "high". they made me very disinhibited and i suddenly felt comfortable to talk, but if i looked at what i'd written the next day lots of things weren't even words... i can't remember what the responses were but i ended up in hospital quite a few times over the months/years following.

I never have. Friends? Yes. Therapist? No. She doesnt even cross my mind and if I did I think I would be mortified (and not much embarrasses me).

[maybeblue]

Originally Posted by circlesincircles

Did it allow you to express thoughts/feelings you had previously been able to?

.

Yes, probably. I'm not sure my ranting and raving about why I *had* to take a xanax made a lot of sense. I've been too embarrassed to go look since I pride myself on generally communicating very well in writing. But the "I love you," I meant.

I have very little fear that she'll get weird about it. She is always supportive and nice about whatever I tell her. It still feels like I let myself get more vulnerable that I meant to with her, but it's ok.

[Fuzzybear]

I haven’t ever done this..

[toomanycats]

Yes. 8 char

[mcl6136]

It's only a matter of time for me.

[Lemoncake]

Yep.

I was having one of my crazy moments and it was incredible just how happy I was. I just went on about loving him and repeated this discount code he had on his website for new customers.

[Calla lily12]

I guess I'm sort of guilty of this but for a different reason than drinking/drugs. I'm dissociative and on occasion an alter has e mailed him. It's still very embarrassing and I apologize when I find out this happened. He speaks to any and all alters and says I have nothing to feel embarrassed about.