psyc eval... to tell or not to tell?

My husband and I just seperated... like he just moved out Thursday (see other thread!).

I have my Psyc eval Monday.

Do I mention it or just talk about all of the great supports I have, how I understand taht it's a tool etc?

I was advised to keep it light, and I can generally play things pretty cool... so I am inclined to go with the advice :-)

What do you all think?  I truely believe I am in a good place right now, and my surgery probably won't be until June/July... so I have time...

Hi,
If it was me I would try to keep it lite, because they might think that you are to upset to have WLS at this time in your life. If you know in your heart you are ready for surgery, keep it lite without lieing

God Bless you, you have a new life a head of you.
Evie

If it were me, I'd keep that to myself UNLESS the doc flat out asks whether you're with your hubby or not. I mean, if you say "I'm married" it's really not a lie... You ARE still married. If you believe you ok to move forward with the surgery without your husband in the picture, I think that's your choice to make!

 most of the pysch who deal with bariatric aren't geared toward "getting to the root of the problem" like you would assume. I went thru two psych appt, both barely even asked anything about me. There was things I wanted to discuss but kept it to myself, i jus wanted my clearance so i could move on to the next step in this process. it would be up to you to tell, personally, i would wait til after surgery if it starts getting to yu, things may even change with your situation by then. but if you feel you aren't in a good head space about yur situation and you need someone to talk to then i would mention it. they will probably just make sure you aren't "depressed" about it. hope this helps lol. it really isn't "advice"  more like.. a thought 

First of all, so sorry for ALL you are enduring right now. HUGS~

What they are looking for in a psychological eval are: major mental health issues/diseases such as depression, anxiety, delusions/psychosis to determine for the surgeon & bariatric team what your likelyhood is for coping with the changes that comes with this surgery and how well you handle life's issues. This eval is completed from the answers in a personality inventrory test which is a written muliple choice test that has a pattern to it. They add up your scores, along with a brief interview to determine whether "THEY" believe you will do well in handling the surgery and lifestyle changes.  

The psychologist also completes a basic interview in the beginning where they are gathering demographics (age, gender, marital status, children, job, economics, phys health) and gets to know you somewhat. So you do not have to reveal anything right now as they are NOT going to be providing any mental health THERAPY but more how well you are coping in your life and how well you are in meeting your needs and asking for support.

So you may need to ask yourself if this separation will better your life or not. Separation/divorce is very stressful and affects our metabolism and coping. Then add the stress of surgery, healing and making lifestyle changes..you will need to be realistic if the timing is good or maybe needs to wait some.

If it were me, I know I would blurt out the truth of the separation, but from me to you, ( I am divorced, then widowed, now have major health issues on disability) I would ask yourself if this is a good time to go through ALL of this or perhaps wait some. I do not know you..but it WILL be stressful on your mind & BODY to go through all this at once.

Do you have a support system? And do you ask for help? In spite of what just happened, do you eat/binge/purge on stressors? They do not expect any of us to be perfect as that in itself would be suspect, but how well we deal with life and its stressors.

Again..HUGS to you and yours!! You have MY support~

Warmly, Jan

My psych eval was kinda weird!

They had me sit down and take a written test (true false/multiple choice) of about 300 questions. This test was data mining for your potential for suicidal tendencies. I mean about 1/3 of the test was! It was so ridiculous that I was actually laughing every time the test would try yet another approach to asking the same question, over and over.
Bottom line, unless you have serious underlying mental issues, this is just simply another rubber stamp that the insurance providers require.

Keep it simple. don't go into great detail about your terrible childhood (psych professionals love to add new clientele), focus on the task at hand. Your ready to embark on a surgical solution to improve your health and your life, and loose this darn weight for the LAST TIME!

It's a piece of cake, good luck to you... Craig

I didn't have to take any of those stupid multiple choice tests (thank goodness). My surgeon also said if any of his patients were depressed he would want it addressed before surgery because it can get worse after surgery not that it would stop someone from having surgery. If it doesn't come up, you don't have to mention it but, the majority of the time, if you're lying, they can see it. Everybody gives off signs they are lying. Keeping things light isn't a bad idea and chances are they won't even ask questions that would require you to talk about it. If asked about your support system (mine asked me about my support system) talk about that.

I haven't read the other thread yet. How are you holding up? 

Every Psych eval is different from what I have heard. Mine was like mrmoms...A LOT of t/f questions (341 to be exact) it was a standardized MIPS test - here is what it says:

Addresses Key Dimensions of Normal Personalities

While brief to administer, the MIPS Revised test provides a comprehensive, up-to-date evaluation that encompasses and subsumes many other normal personality assessments, such as the NEO-PI, the MBTI, and the 16PF. The MIPS Revised instrument addresses three key dimensions of normal personalities:

• Motivating Styles, anchored to Evolution and Psychoanalytic theories, helps to assess the person's emotional style of relating to his/her environment;
• Thinking Styles, anchored to Jungian theories, helps examine the person's mode of cognitive processing; and
• Behaving Styles,  anchored to Interpersonal and Social theories, helps assess the person's way of working with and relating to others.

This widely useful test offers a convenient tool to help professionals assist ostensibly normally functioning adults who may be experiencing difficulties in work, family or social relationships. It may also be helpful in career counseling or employment settings. In addition, the tests Clinical Index is useful in helping to screen for the possible presence of mental disorders in persons who present as normal.

All I can say is  just get through it (if you have the 3 hour appt like I did) and don't answer any of the obvious questions that would identify you as the next DEXTER with a sleeve.

I read your other thread and it sounds like you are doing the right thing - the healthy thing; especially with a man who would even insinuate violence...That's just unacceptable - and coming from another man...Cowardly.

I would NOT mention to the shrink that you have recently been seperated...He/she will ask about your home dynamic and support - tell him that you are a) married b) have a wonderful kid and c) that your husband will be taking care of all domestic duties when you return home! WHAT A GREAT GUY! And you did not lie.....Just "elaborated"...
Best of luck - I'm sure it will be fine.
J

Thanks guys!

I am holding up pretty well all things considered. A bit frustrated because I had to have carpal tunnel surgery Thursday (yup, the day he moved out) so I am a bit limited... huge to do list and only one operational hand :-)  I stayed with my paretns for the first 2 days for my daughter  more than anything... but it was nice to have the support all the way around... It would have been tough to take good care of her in the first 24-48 hours after surgery.

She's doing well with him being gone so far.. she'll visit him Tuesday... overnight if she'll do it.

I'm still waiting for reality so settle in....

 I had my psych evaluation last week. I didn't have to do any written test. She mainly asked me when did i know I was overweight an how was high school, what my goals were and what made me want surgery now. I also have seperated from husband during this journey and she only asked me was he in agreement and supportive. I said yes because the best support he could have given me was moving out! lol. my exam took 30 minutes and only one appointment and she issued her report within 48 hours.