Importance of the Psychologist evaluation

Will you succeed?

Psychologist evaluation is an integral part of the preparation for bariatric surgery. It is not only about your body that will undergo some kind of transformation, a lot of the underlying problems that led us to the amount of excess weight are in our mind. There is some reason why we got there.

So the surgeon wants to be sure that his work won’t be wasted. As simple as that. If you are still having a major problem with food, it is not likely that the psychologist or psychiatrist won’t find out and give you the green light. I know that you would be angry, you want the surgery really badly but trust me, it is for your good.

Food-related problems of bariatric patients

It has been proven that bariatric patients have/had some problems with food. Obviously. If we didn’t have it, we wouldn’t abuse food for a different reason than nutrition and fuel for our body and we wouldn’t become overweight or morbidly obese. It is like this. You can’t deny this.

So most likely before you end up on the surgeon’s table, you will have to figure out what your real reason for your weight is and start doing something about it. I know that this is the very last thing that you want to hear, but if you are an emotional eater, no surgery will ever save you. It is not a miracle. It is only a tool that will help you to get rid of the weight.

Losing weight is the easiest part

What will happen after you lose your excess weight, that is where the real game starts. I never thought I would say something like this, but indeed: losing the excess weight is the easiest part of the story. It is so easy. You can eat next to nothing, if you have one more bite, you are sick and you may even puke. So you think very carefully about what you are putting inside. This is easy.

But a year after your bari-honeymoon is over. Your stomach can handle much more food, you are very rarely sick, and you can eat almost everything. Yes, there will be some things that will make you sick forever, but only a few. You will be able to eat pizza, a whole burger, and chips will go down exactly like before. And this is where the real test starts.

Do not fall off the wagon!

If you don’t do what you are supposed to do if you won’t eat what you should, if you don’t do your exercise, if you don’t meet your protein and liquid goals… YOU WILL GAIN IT ALL BACK!!! This is something the doctors don’t tell you. They prepare you for the surgery and if everything goes well, when you lose your weight, they tell you they are done with you.

But this is exactly the moment when you face the real challenge, where you will need the most support and somebody who will encourage you to keep going. It is not over. It has all just started. You have to maintain the weight. And it is not as easy as it looks like. I don’t want to scare you, but trust me, I am speaking out of my own experience.

Life will be like before (+surgery)

Life happens. You will get angry sometimes, you will be celebrating things, there will be many social events to attend, there will be some wild parties… maybe your loved one will die. It is a huge emotional toll. And you will have to cope with all that without food. Because food is no longer your coping mechanism. It mustn’t be. If used to be for your old you. The new you don’t do such things. It is like that.

So if you don’t have a strategy, some new way how to deal with all these things, you will do exactly what a lot of people did. They went back to what they were doing. They start eating. And this is exactly why they fail. They lost it all, they will gain it all. And they will say that bariatric surgery doesn’t work. But is it really like this or has something completely different happened here?

Evaluation is vital

This is why the psychological evaluation is very important. Be honest with the professional. It is the part of the story. Maybe they will give you a red light. But it is not the end of the world. It will be only temporary. Yes, it will delay the surgery, that is unfortunate. You are desperate, this is the last attempt at how to deal with the pesky weight. You want to get rid of it now. Yesterday it was late. And I get it. I was there myself.

Do not take it personally

But the good part is that if they stop you here, they have nothing against you as a person. Don’t take it personally. They simply want to give you a chance to work on your problems, fight your food demons, and prepare better. They want you to succeed. You are just not prepared yet. You need a little more time, to figure things out. They will give you the green light when you are ready.

Maybe you will have to go to therapy for a while. It is not the end of the world. Use the time wisely. Think about what you are doing around food and why. How it feels, why you eat this and not that. Maybe explore some new food and recipes. Learn something new. It will come in handy later and you will be very happy to be better prepared.

Uncomfortable questions

I passed. The doctor asked me about the history of my weight if I was trying to lose something, and how it went. We talked about my childhood experiences, how were things around food in my family, and if it changed since I started living alone. And then things started to be a little tough. If I have a history of any kind of abuse, if I was abusing food for solving emotions, if I am overeating regularly, and if I have a history of anorexia or bulimia.

Those were not easy or comfortable questions to answer. I have to admit that I was thinking about them for a long time after the appointment. There were many things to contemplate about.

Tame the demons

I was glad they approved me. But I was not wasting my time. I was working hard on my food demons. I had more than one. And I was only able to tame them. It is not likely I will ever kill them altogether. They are there and they are waiting for their opportunity to attack again. One has to be very careful or they will win again.

Life happens. Not every day is amazing. It is easy to keep going when you have a great day. It all motivates you, you don’t have any problems, no struggles. But when you have a rough day when things are going south, then you are struggling, the last thing you want to do is to keep eating your broccoli. It would be so nice to eat a piece of chocolate cake. You know what I mean. This is when your mental strength and perseverance have to take over your autopilot.

Those who are prepared well, win

These were the days for which you had been training when the sun was shining. This is when you prove to yourself and the rest of the world that you can do that. It is not easy. But you can do that. If you prepare yourself, these will be the days when you will succeed. And this is the only thing that counts in the end.

It is about transformation

If you can conquer your past, fight your demons, and transform yourself into your new version, this is why you all did it. It is not about the lost weight, the nice dress, and the admiring looks. It is all about creating your new you. The better version. The one who will be able to live better and use the second chance you are being given wisely.

Do you think it is true? How was your psych evaluation? Were you given the green light? Or did you have to put in some more work at first? Tell me. This is a very interesting topic for me. Hii, a psychologist in training is hard to hide 😀