In my experience, a lot of questions get asked as proxies for other
questions. Sometimes the two questions have different answers. Most of
the times I can think of this happening have been somewhat medical.
Which might be its own pattern, or might be because I notice/remember it
more when the difference matters more. I'm not certain.
Example the first: Have you fallen in the last six months?
Every time a doctor has asked me this, they've wanted to know if I have balance issues (kinda, but they're not getting worse). They may or may not have appreciated being told that when a beginner ice skater crashed into me from behind, I did hit the ice. They may or may not have appreciated being told that my brother successfully tackled me during a backyard football game. They may or may not have appreciated hearing that I wiped out once on a week long ski trip. Whether or not they appreciated my precision in answering the question they actually asked, it's not the information they were really looking for. Mostly, I'm a clumsy person who tries to athlete anyways.
Example the second: Have you had any bruises where you don't know where they came from?
Bruises without having some sort of noticeable physical impact or injury first can be a sign of a bunch of health issues. If we have bruises and don't know where they came from, that's a possible explanation. In my case, a bruise that I don't know the exact source of is actually a bruise where I can't tell you which of the assorted desks, walls, chairs, tables, or poles I clipped my hip on actually left the bruise. It is over-explained, not unexplained, but I technically don't know where it came from.
Example the third: Have you been convinced something is wrong with a food or beverage when everyone around you says it's fine?
This was at a psychology intake. Given the context, I'm reasonably certain she wanted to know about paranoia. Here's the thing. I have sensory processing issues. Most people around me think scrambled eggs are food, but the texture means I disagree. Strongly.
Example the fourth: Have you ever been convinced something was medically wrong when the tests were coming back fine and the doctor said you were fine?
Psychology intake again, probably about paranoia again, but let's be real: this also happens to most people with a chronic illness at some point, and they (we) are 100% correct that something is actually wrong. Also, I have an 8 year old dent in my shin that wants you to know doctors can miss broken bones on X-rays.
Example the fifth: Have you ever heard things that other people around you did not hear?
Psychology intake still, standard question I'm pretty sure. They've asked me that every time I've had an intake. Yes. I hear things other people around me don't hear. It's called being 25 and still being able to hear up to 20000 hertz. In combination with sensory processing issues, this is really not fun, because that sound that I am experiencing significant pain from is completely outside the range anyone around me can still hear. Ow. It's not an auditory hallucination, though.
Example the first: Have you fallen in the last six months?
Every time a doctor has asked me this, they've wanted to know if I have balance issues (kinda, but they're not getting worse). They may or may not have appreciated being told that when a beginner ice skater crashed into me from behind, I did hit the ice. They may or may not have appreciated being told that my brother successfully tackled me during a backyard football game. They may or may not have appreciated hearing that I wiped out once on a week long ski trip. Whether or not they appreciated my precision in answering the question they actually asked, it's not the information they were really looking for. Mostly, I'm a clumsy person who tries to athlete anyways.
Example the second: Have you had any bruises where you don't know where they came from?
Bruises without having some sort of noticeable physical impact or injury first can be a sign of a bunch of health issues. If we have bruises and don't know where they came from, that's a possible explanation. In my case, a bruise that I don't know the exact source of is actually a bruise where I can't tell you which of the assorted desks, walls, chairs, tables, or poles I clipped my hip on actually left the bruise. It is over-explained, not unexplained, but I technically don't know where it came from.
Example the third: Have you been convinced something is wrong with a food or beverage when everyone around you says it's fine?
This was at a psychology intake. Given the context, I'm reasonably certain she wanted to know about paranoia. Here's the thing. I have sensory processing issues. Most people around me think scrambled eggs are food, but the texture means I disagree. Strongly.
Example the fourth: Have you ever been convinced something was medically wrong when the tests were coming back fine and the doctor said you were fine?
Psychology intake again, probably about paranoia again, but let's be real: this also happens to most people with a chronic illness at some point, and they (we) are 100% correct that something is actually wrong. Also, I have an 8 year old dent in my shin that wants you to know doctors can miss broken bones on X-rays.
Example the fifth: Have you ever heard things that other people around you did not hear?
Psychology intake still, standard question I'm pretty sure. They've asked me that every time I've had an intake. Yes. I hear things other people around me don't hear. It's called being 25 and still being able to hear up to 20000 hertz. In combination with sensory processing issues, this is really not fun, because that sound that I am experiencing significant pain from is completely outside the range anyone around me can still hear. Ow. It's not an auditory hallucination, though.
The medical/psychiatric fields have not really scratched the surface on researching sensory processing issues. Let’s hope that they do in the future. Assessment questions are outdated, and not fine tuned to individual needs.
ReplyDelete#4 is a particularly strange one as I have literally ended up in hospital before with a life-threatening blood clot, which had started in my leg, and despite having a persistent, increasing and worrying ache in the area, all the tests they did - at least, before I found myself struggling to breathe, experiencing apocalyptic tachycardia, and having to call an ambulance - came back clear and showing perfectly fine circulation. It took until the second round of "just in case" tests to finally spot the recurrent clot site when the pain came back a year later. Until then I had a feeling that some of the docs thought I was imagining it, making it up for attention / access to drugs, or just plain hypochondria...
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