vulturine

I need to take a psychiatric exam eventually which includes a background check, so my medical and police records are going to be released to whomever is responsible for determining if I'm a risk to myself and others.

Assuming I do have quite an extensive history of mental illness, substance abuse and violence towards myself and others, how can I show I tried to get a handle on myself, other than not getting apprehended or sent to psych for a period of time?

Also, how can you prove that you haven't done drugs in 1 year? I've never had a drug test done.

PurpleKnight

Hey Vulturine,

I've never had the experience of a psych exam, hopefully someone will be coming behind me with a bit more specific advice.

Though I can see how it may be similar to mitigating circumstances in a legal context, in other words put your best foot forward, what are all the things you're doing to turn things around?

I know Sobriety for me definitly made a difference in my own life and anyone who can see you've really turned things around in this last year will be impressed by your 1 Year achievement, one of the post powerful things I have to tell people is my story, how I got to where I am now, so tell them that, your sincerity and willingness to change will shine through!!

I hope it all goes well for you, sending you lots of positive vibes!!

vulturine

The more I look at this exam, the more certain I am that I'm going to fail it. :'( Ughhhhhh.

EndGameNYC

What's the purpose of the exam?

Using conventional methods, testing for drug use can reliably trace back to as much as ninety days. I'm sure there are other ways to test for drug use after several months or more, but they're likely either extremely expensive and/or not widely available.

If the exam is for health reasons, then there's no need to be anything but honest, even if your concern is that you may be hospitalized as a consequence of what you endorse or deny in the interview. If it's meant to clarify behavior related to criminal activity or self-harming behaviors, withholding the truth or otherwise lying, though it may not happen immediately, will ultimately catch up with you.

A skilled and experienced interviewer cannot always tell when someone is lying, but they're good at knowing when someone is withholding relevant information. This always raises an interviewer's suspicions, and it doesn't sound to me like you want to raise the suspicions of anyone involved in the "results" of your exam, or in the exam itself.

Wastinglife

I ended up in a psych ward after a drug and alcohol binge but I have no serious mental illness when completely sober. All my problems are related to alcoholism. I think that they are trying to determine whether you have an underlying mental illness independent of any addiction issues. Just be honest so you get the proper help.

Delizadee

Get paperwork from anyone you are able to say you have gotten help from ie Dr's, counselor therapist addictions counselors, get attendance list from meetings if you have a sponsor see if they'll write a note for you, have any personal aquaintances with some credentials who may be able to vouch for you, be willing to undergo drug testing.
You can't undo the past. All you can do is find out what you can do to rectify the situation if you do fail and go above and beyond. Most importantly do it for yourself because you deserve it. Maybe write a letter stating how you feel about your current frame of mind (and possibly past incidences?) It's hard to say without knowing the nature of the reason for the exam. But endgame makes many good points as usual.
And he's right about the withholding of information.
I've done that far more than lie (I think?) And it has done me no good and in fact been detrimental. Try to stay positive. If you need to talk more in depth feel free to pm me. I've been through all kinds of not so fun stuff myself and while I may not be able to give you any better advice than you'll get here, I'm always a willing and caring ear to listen and empathize

ScottFromWI

I'd suggest just being honest about Everyting. If you've made good faith efforts to "get a handle" on things, simply tell them what you did. If you did any therapy or other counseling that will be in your records, but just tell them what you did and how it helped...again just ne honest.

vulturine

Oh, my passport was flagged at the US/Canadian border, so I'm stuck here now. I'm not even allowed to fly because US airspace is everywhere, not just over the landmass. I need either a waiver, or a DHS-authorized psychiatrist note to gain admissibility. Both are very lengthy and expensive processes, and I'm nervous about preparing my application.

Most of the people who get this paper probably just have an isolated suicide attempt 10 years ago. I have all kinds of reasons for being locked up. It's so bad.