Invalidated by my Psychiatrist

your feelings are beyond valid, several of my psychiatrists and therapists have said similar things to me and it made me feel crazy but you are not. you never need to prove how deeply you hurt by expressing your feelings outwards through outburst or crying so the fact that they said that to you is beyond wrong and i’m so sorry you had to experience that.

You made the right choice for yourself; you know your needs best. Unfortunately, doctors are taught to recommend care based on outdated and ill-fitting standards based on neurotypical emotional responses. You should not have to look any certain way to be taken seriously. That was wrong of her to invalidate your distress, and not give you any other option to mitigate that pain. You are not crazy for feeling the way you do; it makes sense that you would feel hurt by someone dismissing your needs. When you are able, if you want to, you can try letting her know how her words made you feel. It’s worth it to have the conversation with a provider who otherwise wants to help you. But if she’s typically like that, you do not owe her the energy of explaining how dangerous her invalidation could be. If you were someone in crisis that didn’t seek out the help on your own because of her suggestion, you could have really been in serious danger. Sometimes I think that doctors are just too out of touch with the populations that they serve. They don’t know any other way than what they were taught in school, and that’s just not enough to really help people. I frequently have trouble communicating my needs to doctors because I’m autistic—so hypersensitive, nonverbal under stress, atypical emotional responses, and a general misunderstanding of my neurotype. It’s my hope that we can open the doors for more neurodivergent doctors and professionals so that we can get help that is better tailored to our needs. We’re not just examples from a textbook, we are real people who deserve to be listened to and believed without the caveat of doing certain emotional expectations.

No, your feelings are valid especially your opinion about your own body because only you know you.

My son suffers from bipolar as well and if any Dr would've said that to him they'd have been fired immediately. It's hard sometimes to find a psychiatrist and/or therapist that you jell with really well but it's worth the effort to try. Never let anyone discount your feelings. You know when something is wrong. 🤗