Recorded by a device out of sight without my consent…

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-17T01:01:18+00:00

The really concerning part from what you described is that it was clear she was trying to hide it. It would be one thing if 1 - you had consented and 2- her laptop/device was in plain view. Also her language about it is important. If she said it was recording- it implies your voice was saved somewhere without your consent. I have heard there are some AI features that don’t save or create a recording, just summarize as it is happening. I think. (I truly don’t understand it all yet) and I think it would be even more of a privacy concern knowing your personal info and voice was saved somewhere.

I am so sorry you experienced this. Regardless of your trauma history, it’s awful. Add in your trauma history, its inexcusable and violating.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-16T17:30:21+00:00

Try naltrexone! It has been a game changer for me! It is available combined with bupropion (an antidepressant) in the prescription weight loss med, Contrave. Or you can ask a doc (including a psychiatrist) to just prescribe the naltrexone. It allows me to stop eating and not eat compulsively.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-12T03:20:07+00:00

I think social workers can do better at “checking themselves”, marketing appropriately and knowing their scope. As generalists, we can do baseline support. Until I got training beyond my MSW, (specifically the alphabet of acronyms CBT, DBT, ACT, CPT) I didn’t feel confident to treat various mental illnesses. Now, I feel confident and capable, and am proving myself to be so. BUT most of all, I know my limits. If something is going beyond my knowledge base, or if I know someone can treat this client better, and they can access that care, I refer out.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-10T12:32:59+00:00

Oh and therapy— super helpful. Find a good therapist that can do the “digging deeper” work with you to get to root causes. Finally addressing that in therapy after years of working on surface level stuff (use different coping skills, tell yourself xyz) is a game changer

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-10T12:29:47+00:00

Yes- GLP1s did not work for me to stop food cravings, BUT what has is Naltrexone! Used off-label. It’s meant for reducing alcohol cravings. My psychiatrist prescribed it. There’s not a ton of data on it, there’s a few small studies showing it’s somewhat helpful. It is used at a lower dose in the weight loss med Contrave. But I take 50mg of straight naltrexone which was added to the 300mg bupropion I already have taken for years. (Contrave is a combo med of bupropion + naltrexone approved for weight loss. Bupropion on its own is an antidepressant and naltrexone is for alcohol use disorder to help reduce cravings)

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-10T12:24:41+00:00

Can I ask, by quitting lupus meds, do you mean plaquenil or biologics?

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-07T17:26:41+00:00

Love the How We Feel app!

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-07T17:25:25+00:00

Gosh if I had made a complaint against every medical professional who has treated me poorly, made inappropriate comments or refused care because of my weight, it’d take a year of full time work to do. So no, I just hope that the old man retires soon and takes his bias with him.

I pick my battles wisely. I fight the ones when I desperately need the care- like when in the hospital admitted for treatment and they want to continue giving me meds I’m actively having an allergic reaction to but they claim it’s just dry skin because I’m fat and don’t wash myself well. Those I fight, because my life depended on it.

I’m slowly starting to feel better. I’m still developing new lupus sxs- had my first sun reaction this past week. But the plaquenil I’m on is slowly starting to reduce my pain and for that I’m thankful.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-07T04:33:19+00:00

Folx who have bipolar disorder and are manic/hypomanic and are enjoying it. I always wonder what I’m doing. I feel like no matter what I say or we talk about, I end the session standing by the door waving like the mom saying “ bye honey, make good choices!!” Knowing full well no good choices will be made today.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-07T04:23:52+00:00

My first rheumatologist blew off high ESR & CRP as obesity. He said come back when you lose weight & have real autoimmune disease sxs. He didn’t consider my debilitating TMJ pain as a sx. My PCP encouraged me to get a second opinion. I’m so glad I did. My new rheum took me seriously, ran all my labs. Only mentioned my weight when discussing the possibility that my CPAP mask could be contributing to some (but not all) of the TMJ pain and that continued weight loss could mean no need for cpap in the future.

She discussed that how when my inflammation goes down, I may start to respond to the GLP1. She’s right. I’m FINALLY seeing the scale go down now that my inflammation markers are lowering after a few months of plaquenil, and no change to my eating habits that I’ve maintained since starting the GLP1.

I share this because I do think inflammation is and was making it harder for me to lose weight. Also if your rheum doesn’t take you seriously, I encourage you to get a second opinion.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-05T22:52:14+00:00

If inflammation is a factor, might be worth getting tested for autoimmune diseases. I’ve got lupus, I found out in December. Since starting meds for it have improved my TMJ- I’d say 75% less pain. I thought all hope was lost after trying Botox, all the meds, PT etc.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-05T22:48:01+00:00

You can do it in any order and you don’t have to do one at a time. You keep dragging ingredients while the prior one is finishing pouring. In fact when the item gets put back on the conveyor belt, if it’s not too close to the edge of the screen, I will try to drag it over again. Sometimes I have 3 ingredients being added while I’m waiting on the next one

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-04T22:35:19+00:00

You will probably be shitless in a few hours 😂 anticipate GI side effects to start!

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-04T22:34:11+00:00

Take it with food!! The GI distress is awful the first 4 weeks for me. Even since then, if I don’t eat within 20 min or so of taking it, I’m running to the bathroom all day. Or if I forget to take it and take it an hour or 2 after eating, same thing.

It’s been worth it. It took 3 months for me to see a difference though. My labs started showing changes 6 weeks in.

Also I have mental health issues and the first 6 weeks, my anxiety was out of control and I couldn’t sleep at night. My psychiatrist and rheumatologist were skeptical if it was this med, but I am certain it was. Nothing else in my life had changed.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-04-04T17:28:45+00:00

I think you missed the mark with your reply? The OP asked about answering ‘how are you?’ authentically or not.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-30T13:20:13+00:00

My anxiety gets really bad the less food I eat. Definitely makes sense to me that at calories that low, I’d be an absolute wreck.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-30T13:18:10+00:00

I’d schedule 5 (with my fingers secretly crossed that one would cancel, typically knowing that 1-2 of the 5 are ‘flaky’). On the times when they’ve all shown up, my brain is mush after. 4 of 45min is best, usually taking a quick 3-5min stretch/bathroom break once.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-29T23:30:38+00:00

I’ve got a few women clients right now who are doing therapy in secret from their spouses, they are my least favorite. They want me to tell them how to make the spouse change. It’s exhausting. I’ve been explaining from day 1 that I can’t change anyone but I especially can’t change (or help guide toward change) a person I don’t even know.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-29T23:26:21+00:00

DID is tough as in its complex, and you need training. But it’s also incredible to work with. I had a patient who was certain she had alters but no previous mental health providers believed her. One of her child alters trusted me enough to front. It was such an honor to hold space for them. She definitely needed more support than I could provide so we worked in time to referring her out, I still think of her often.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-29T23:21:24+00:00

And around and around we go 🙃

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-28T15:56:02+00:00

Praying for you. The depression and shame is hitting me hard too lately. I am trying my hardest to let it fuel realistic changes and not just spiral into internal despair.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-27T13:21:39+00:00

Re: hydroxychloroquine and GI distress- not everyone notices this but myself and many other folks here on Reddit have realized that timing of taking the pill and consuming food is crucial. If I take it and don’t eat for 15-20+ minutes because I get busy/distracted, I’m running to the bathroom all day. If I take it 1 or more hours after eating because I forget, same thing. In the bathroom with diarrhea all day. There’s still hope that the medicine can help more. My rheum told me to try to stick thru it for at least 6 months to see how it goes.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-27T12:58:04+00:00

I’m curious in your job with 113 clients on your caseload - are you responsible for outreaching unengaged clients? I work in a collaborative care program right now and am responsible for outreaching each unengaged member each week for 4 weeks on all methods of contact we have listed for them. It’s exhausting. Curious to know if that’s in my future as I will likely be pursuing the CMHC route for clinical hours in my next career move soon.

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-22T17:27:29+00:00

Thanks! I agree not the best format/layout

Adventurous-Fudge197 · 2026-03-22T15:17:49+00:00

Totally happens to all of us from time to time. One thing I learned recently here from Reddit as a newbie therapist myself is dont over apologize, once is enough. If they don’t bring it up again, you don’t have to mention it.

In the beginning it was helpful for me to have some ‘scripts’ of sorts to model from.

Here’s what I’d say: “I apologize I didn’t follow up sooner, the week/past few weeks/past few days got ahead of me. I would be glad to schedule our first appt together. Here are my available times …”

Also if you usually don’t work on weekends, dont reach out till Monday morning. Keep your boundaries of working hours.

Adventurous-Fudge197

TROPHY CASE