Psychiatrist Laughed at me...

[LittleBirdy]

I'm so mad, I needed new medication so I went in for my appointment as usual. She began asking me about my back story and I said I was and still am to a degree abused. She asked what kind and I said mostly psychological (as in verbal/emotional etc) Then she snickered and said "So what, you think you were abused just because you were yelled at?" I became defensive so I told her I was also physically abused and it was only then that she took me seriously. The reason I don't usually talk about that is because the physical abuse only happened when things got really bad; but the emotional/verbal and whatnot was pretty much daily. It just makes me so mad that a mental health professional could say something like that! I felt so invalidated and that was triggering because my feelings were constantly being invalidated and deemed unimportant growing up.  ugh...

[Combine59]

I'm sorry to hear this. She doesn't sound like she was acting very professionally. Anyone else you can see for meds?

[Rainagain]

Why do they say things like that?

I've had similar dismissive replies from a psychiatrist who was otherwise very good.

Being angry is the healthy response, its bad of your psych to belittle what you are saying.

[BlancaLap]

Your post makes me so mad! Like I can feel you like it was happening to me. No wonder why you are mad.

[LittleBirdy]

I'm sorry to hear this. She doesn't sound like she was acting very professionally. Anyone else you can see for meds?

Yes, but i have to wait about a month or so :/

[sanmagic7]

dang, don't blame you for being mad.  snickers?  plus she said that to you?  that was totally invalidating, in my book, all of it.  no one knows what verbal/psychological abuse is unless it's happening to them.  what a gross assumption on her part. 

very sorry you can't get someone else sooner.    bit hug.

[Combine59]

So sorry. Hope you can get in early with some one else. Advocating for yourself is hard enough. We need supportive professionals.

[Phoebes]

LittleBirdy,

This makes me so mad!
I've had similar things said to me in the past by therapist. Maybe not so blunt, but with the same sentiment.
I just chalk it up to the medical and psych field is full of narcissists, too, like any field. It doesn't discriminate. That's why it's so important we now know this information so we can say "buh bye" when we encounter these people, and can detect the smaller red flags before we wind up trusting them with our story or our health.

[Rainagain]

I had an encounter with a specialist who was giving me a lot of dismissive airy nonsense and totally invalidating me.

He stopped suddenly, he had realised that I was about to come over his desk and probably harm him.

I wasn't aware I was about to do it, just got all hind brain for a minute, I was hunched up in the chair measuring the distance between us over the desk.

He was really shocked, he really did expect to treat someone like that with impunity, so arrogant.

Nothing was said about it, meeting ended abruptly after that.

Later on it transpired he had been completely wrong about the thing which led to that meeting, he was too arrogant to apologise or acknowledge the harm and distress his error had caused. 17 years on and I can still remember the shock on his face........