Arri London wrote:

> Then we have the case of a colleague who *knew* she was allergic to crab
> (and other crustaceans) and ate some anyway at an office party!
> Developed hives, so she took an antihistamine and we drove her to
> Casualty.
> No idea why someone would do something so daft!


I have a few good guesses. For some people, the desire for special
attention is so great that they're willing to put their lives in danger
to get it. I have no way of knowing, but I'd be willing to wager that
your colleague is single, possibly newly single after being in a longish
relationship, in her late 30s or early 40s, pretty enough but not really
stunning, the sort who wears a bit too much make-up and keeps changing
her hairstyle, and someone who keeps getting interested in something new
and faddish without ever settling on the boring side of staying
interested in something. So she's into an exercise program for a while,
then an alternative medicine; she's a groupie for a particular type of
music, then a religion or a good charitable cause, followed by throwing
herself into making a particular sort of art or craft. In each case,
she gets into it a bit overmuch and talks about it constantly, then
doesn't find the sort of satisfaction that she expected and looks for
something else.


Is any part of my guess correct?


You wouldn't think it, but the office holiday party is a source of real
stress for a lot of people. All year you have one sort of relationship
with the people you work with, and all of a sudden, you're expected to
have an extra-social relationship with them. If you suspect your family
life is lacking somehow, if you like attention and are a bit of a drama
queen to start with and add alcohol to the mix, you end up with someone
who accidentally needs to take others away from an enjoyable party to be
driven off to the emergency room. That's a great way to get the
reassurance you need that people care about you at this lonely time of
year when it is so important for people to show they care.


By the way, I think you did the right thing by driving her to good
medical care. Even if you were manipulated, you did a good deed.


--Lia