Hi everybody, I would really like to hear your views. I have just been to see my psychiatrist ( I am bipolar). He is a nice chap who treats me with great respect and kindness. He was very positive about the effect that exercise and weight loss can have on self esteem and serotonin levels. However, when I asked him about any avaliable treatment for morbid obesity and mental health issues he looked at me as if I were talking Klingon.
There are services for bulimia and anorexia and I could be referred to a dietician for advice on diet but he did not make any connection between mental health problems, abuse issues from the past and morbid obesity.
I would argue that for alot of people ( I would have included myself in this in the past) morbid obesity is far from a lack of knowledge or laziness on the part of the sufferer. It is a complex mix of mental health problems, reliance on food for comfort and abuse issues from the past that remained unresolved. The 3 episodes I have seen on Obese a year to save my life featured people who had been abused in the past and at least one who had serious mental health problems.
Am I alone in thinking that some( by no means all) morbidly obese people need a bit more help than " eat less ...do more".......?

I have been lurking for awhile, not ready to post - but your post really made me want to - I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU!!!!

I have thought the same thing for years! all the people i know who are in the morbidly obese category have struggled with abuse at a younger age or several mental problems in tandem -

when i fail at changes in healthy eating and exercise habits it is not because i suddenly forgot to get out of bed and walk or that candy has sugar - its because stress or bad news has triggered a really bad depression/anxiety attack and i just want to punish myself/don't care anymore

there needs to be someone who can help us redirect our guilt and sadness, that we are currently self medicating with destructive habits, into a a cycle of rebuilding or supporting instead of tearing down

and ps. - thanks for posting this, i was having a bad morning and feeling bad about a stress binge and i realized that i should be kinder to myself

I totally agree! Call it stress eating, emotional eating, whatever you want. It's a coping mechanism just the same way that alcohol can be for an alcoholic. Problems is that we can't stop eating cold turkey. Plus food, especially junk food, is EVERYWHERE. It's at gas stations, department stores, book stores, and almost everywhere you go.

very well said! I 1000% agree with you. This reminds me of a debate I had w my friend once when I said obesity isn't just BC someones lazy or doesn't know what & what not to do, alot of the time its psychological with deep rooted issues. He didn't really agree. But I know theirs more to it and I'm happy other people do to!

Hello

Excellent post! I couldn't agree more. The difference between an alcoholic and a morbidly obese person is that the alcoholic doesn't need the booze to live. We have to eat or else our bodies stop working and we die. So how do we deal with this? It's not just "say no to Twinkies", you know? I don't even know if they have counselors for overeating--other thank for bulemia like you've already said. Maybe it's easier for them to just think we're all just lazy and stupid.

I think this is true for "some" people -- as some people who have mental health issues also deal with weight issues. I wouldn't say that ALL people with weight issues have mental health issues though; but after being here for some time, you can certainly see a co-relation between over-eating and some emotional/stress issues for sure. Labeling is precarious at best, so like another poster said -- whatever you want to call it, yes, there IS a co-relation for some people.

There does seem to be a group of conditions that can relate to obesity: like stress; emotional-response eating; all kinds of abuse, past or present; mental health issues/diseases including anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and schizophrenia; diabetes & other hormonal disorders; plus injury & pain issues, etc. Whether they are physical, emotional, and/or mental -- they all need to be addressed, so people can get better.

I am just glad that you have seen the co-relation for yourselves -- and hopefully, that may help you deal with your WL issues better too. Sadly, there really aren't a lot of programs that deal with all these issues together; maybe in the future this will change, esp if people start asking for and/or demanding help with them. I have seen some ads here for "eating disorder" counselling in Canada, but I'm not sure what that all covers, or how wide spread this help is.

BTW, I think there is a "cultural connection" to obesity as well. I am sure that would also be considered controversial, but I am convinced of it. Reading what people here have to say about their eating habits in our modern "fast food" society just confirmed that belief for me even more.

Thank you so much for all your responses!

I am not in the 300 club but I saw this post and found it very interesting. I think you will probably find a mix bag of people amongst the population of abuse survivors. But it's a totally valid if you feel like abuse has had that affect on you and doesn't have to be validated by a psychiatrist. That being said, psychiatrists tend to be more talk/listen/medicate and psychologists tend to be into talk/listen/teaching coping methods with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and working on esteem/worth issues which can be major hurdles for abuse survivors. I think you might be onto something if you are feeling this way but you might get more feedback/help with these behaviors from a psychologist than a psychiatrist. Maybe you can see your psychiatrist for your bipolar but if their eyes gloss over when you talk about coping with abuse, you might need a psychologist to learn those coping techniques.

Another thing to think about is the medication people with these symptoms are on. Some of the medications prescribed can have weight gain side effects. Quite a few of those that have that side effect listed are those that affect serotonin levels. (zoloft, etc.)

I was on zoloft for years and gained about 80 lbs. Was it the drug, my habits, or a combination of both that did it? Who knows? It's just important to be aware of what kind of side effects any medication you're on can have. I'm not saying to stop taking meds, just maybe look at similar meds that may not have those side effects. Something to maybe talk to your doctor about.

It always struck me oddly that in treating depression, we give patients drugs that can make them gain weight, resulting in more depression....

Vex that is a good point. My meds seems to be working OK for me, the mood is stable and the weight is coming off.
4start thanks for that advice.

OMG this! I'm currently on several meds for depression, trying to figure out what will work, and at least one, if not two, of the meds have the side effect of weight gain. Yes, I feel better mentally, but physically I feel a heck of a lot worse. I almost liked it better when I was depressed but didn't care I was the weight I am. Since the cloud has lifted, I'm not really grateful for this extra burden put on an already fragile state of mind.

bellahth i can only say what I found helpful. My biggest battle was what was going on between my ears. My weight would wait (if you see what I mean) I was much more at risk from the negative thoughts and destructive behaviour caused by my mental health problems than I was at that point by my weight.
Once the sun started to come out ( and yes I was heavier than I had ever been) I could start to treat myself with some respect and gentleness. Good food at least some of the time and a bit of gentle exercising.
From there, with a few rubbish days here and there, I have progressed well but am very well aware that it's only been a few months so early days after a life of problems.
You can't fight 2 massive battles at once my lovely, get your mood in a better place and it will feel much easier to start your weight loss.
Good luck. Please keep me posted.

I agree with ^this^ totally ...

I can understand if a person doesn't have any issues with weight or needs to actually gain weight, to put them on those meds. However, there are so many medications to treat depression, I'd prefer to try meds that don't have a possible side effect of weight gain. And I think a huge part of it is we still haven't found the right combination of meds to treat the depression in the first place. Sorry, just frustrated.

Mountain WAlker - that's so great you were able to get in a better place. It gives me hope that things will get better for me too.