Some people get sent to both a psychiatrist and a psychologist. I was, and that was back in the early 1980s.

I must have looked like a particularly suspicious character. People assume that if you have lots of education, you'll always be able to support yourself. It's just not true.

It may be true for someone with an established academic position but it wasn't true for me.

I had worked since I was 16 too and had kept on working at my stay-at-home job as a freelance translator/editor for several years after symptoms became incapacitating. I was no longer able to get to the post office to mail my work off to my employers. I took taxis and later got a postal scale to weigh the packages and send them myself from the nearest mailbox. Then it was hard to get to the nearest mailbox. I knew something was wrong but had no idea what.

One big question in my mind at that time was what on earth I would do if I couldn't keep earning enough to get by on. I didn't know Social Security would be available. I thought it was strictly for folks over 65.

People must have been more ignorant back then. I certainly was.

Anyway, Debbie D, I'm sure you'll do fine. And if for some reason you don't, you can always hire your own psychologist and submit that person's report.

The reason you're asked to bring in the actual medicine bottles is to ensure accuracy. If you brought in a list, mistakes might creep in, they think. People get information wrong from looking at medicine bottles and copying down what they see. It's really easy to make a mistake.