[gagalu]

what a stupid psychiatrist. my self esteem is roughly the same (negative integers over here) and my anxiety is higher than it ever has been. i'm in therapy myself, POST weight loss. find you a new one, doll. they're not all bad.

[kurbain]

I have never, ever once had a mental health professional say anything about my weight! That's ridiculous. I'd definitely seek a new therapist!

[slmon]

I am sorry you are going through a painful time.
As to weight loss raising your self-esteem, it is only a superficial kind of self-esteem gained and it is very easily deflated. The underlying issues remain.

[Sheridan]

Hi,

My response to him would have been" Next year I may be thin but you will still be the same P.... that you are today. Then I would have walked out.

He is a jerk-fire him!

Sheridan

[fillupthesky]

also gotta put in my two cents...

this guy is a quack. i agree with another poster, may seeing an MSW, MFT, or Clinical Psychologist would be a better bet. Psychiatrists aren't always best for counseling, more for medications. a good therapist can refer you to a psychiatrist for medications if need be.

i'm sorry for your losses, and i'm sorry this psychiatrist wasn't hearing you. good clinicians will "meet you" where ever you're at...and let you pin point some issues. in addition, if a therapist notices something that you may not have, they'll likely tell you in more gentle way or just let you come to it on your own.

finding a good therapist can take time, and "shop around" so to speak.

good luck

[3stonetolose]

You would think someone so well trained would have thought really!!! People have commented on my weight a lot even when Im smaller than I currently am....look at it this way...at least it shows that the only thing people can think of is ur chubb...could be a lot worse things to criticise x Chin up and don't let it get to u...if u waste ur life worrying about others ur really not living it the right way x x x

[Smiling_Sara]

Originally Posted by LetItBe

I went to see a psychiatrist today... I have been having severe difficulties focusing on school and life in general... also I've been dealing with the loss of a number of people very close to me these past 5 years, one being my mom, and I just wanted to talk to a professional. Anyway.. upon getting there and him getting some background info, I told him my concerns and how I've been dealing with the loss of my mother, and he asks me "Is there physically anything you would want to change about yourself?" and at that point I knew what he was getting at... but it kind of took me off guard. He hadn't asked me if maybe I'd been dieting or anything, (WHICH I HAVE, so this was completely discouraging) and I reply... "No nothing I can think of". He then says to me, "like if one thing popped into your head about you physically now that you could change, what would it be?"...... "Maybe you should try to lose weight". My response? -"I'm happy with myself and where I am at right now (at this point I was about to break down in tears and I had to fight it back). Then he responded with "Well losing weight would make you have higher self esteem, and might help these issues you're having with anxiety" (I never said I had anxiety, I actually told him the opposite).

I left there feeling more hurt then when I went in. This is my first time going to a psychiatrist and I wonder, are they supposed to say things like that? It seemed borderline crass the way he said it. I understand if it was put a different way, but I specifically told him I was fine with myself!

Ugh... I don't know what to think, I'm probably just being oversensitive

You're not being oversensitive. And he's a damn liar about having higher self esteem. In fact, when I got down to 183, I started having more panic attacks cause people ( guys mostly ) were paying more attention to me and it FREAKED me out....to the point of gaining back 40 pounds.

I can't imagine that they are suppose to talk like that. Try and find a new one if you're able. I"m so sorry you had to go through that.

[CharityMarie]

Good luck with your next potential doctor! That one was completely over the line and I dont think you were being oversensitive at all!

[JollyGreenSteen19]

That original post is a crock of crap. Completely. I am oversensitive myself so I greatly think that would affect me the same way - but seriously just from an honest stand point... that's so lame. It's fine for him to feel it out, but it's a subject you need to bring out by yourself so to openly identify you as a fat person and claiming that as the center of your issues - unprofessional. I would probably never want to go to therapy EVER again :X.