What was the psych eval like?

I had my eval last week and it was pretty low key. I answered a questionairre (fill in the true/false circle type thing) and then spoke to the doctor for a while. We chatted about history of weight loss tries and why I didn't think they'd worked for me, any substance abuse or eating disorder history, and what type of exercise I enjoy. I think the main focus was on how I deal with stress and whether or not I had a supportive enviornment. The eval wasn't bad at all!

It was no big deal...

The psychologist basically asked me about my upbringing, focusing on any childhood trauma or adverse experiences that may have occurred during my youth.

She asked about my typical eating habits and probed as to whether I would change them.

She wanted to know about my living situation and whether or not I had family and/or social support to sustain the lifestyle changes prompted by surgery.

She asked about my motivations for seeking weight loss surgery, wondering why I didn't just "stop eating when I wasn't hungry." As a thin person who had probably never been obese, she likely didn't understand that my physical hunger was insatiable and I felt hungry all the time.

She asked about my relationship history, wondering why I wasn't actively dating at that time. I told her my personal experience of dating being more of a challenge as an overweight woman compared to when I was thin. She understood and actually agreed with me.

She asked about my goals, educational level and career.

Since I once worked in psych, I know how the psych eval is compiled. She likely listed my strengths (college education, career, realistic insight, having sought professional help in the past) against my pitfalls (childhood trauma, living alone, history of emotional eating) to formulate her recommendation.

Honesty is important. The psychologist would rather hear you admit to overeating than sit across from someone who insists, "I eat 1000 calories a day and can't lose weight!"

Edited August 13, 20178 yr by Introversion