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Mental Only

This Vogue article speaks to my own experience and that of many other women I know. There is common and widespread belief that a much of what a woman complains about are in her head. The modern flavor of being hysterical by default. I saw a male nutritionist (and that was probably a mistake) to help me come up with a diet plan that I met my needs, was not too meat-based and helped me manage my weight more effectively. During the 45 minute consult he asked me at least five different times if I was depressed or anxious or experienced mood swings. Saying no to all of that two or three times was not sufficient to drive the message home. 

He must have assumed I was reluctant to come clean with my mental health issues and if prodded enough, I would come succumb and speak the truth. After the fifth time of hearing I had none of those symptoms, he offered to write me a script for an anti-depressant that I could get on if I ever felt "overwhelmed". The conversation about diet went absolutely nowhere. He just was not able to work within my parameters and instead I was prescribed a 1000 mg of Vitamin D to take forever. It was unclear to what end what such a great overdose. I took none of what he prescribed, did not get any advice that I could take action on and returned to the internet to seek guidance from other women like me - presumably deemed depressed, hysterical or both just like me. 

My friends have had it far worse. One went with undiagnosed diabetes for years and now cannot make it without insulin. The other was put on a full battery of mood regulating medicines because that was the easiest fix and now she cannot function without the cocktail. Stories like this abound - you only have to ask a woman and she is likely to have a horror story. When I ask doctors how long the drug they want to prescribe has been on the market and what results from longitudinal studies show, I am often greeted with iciness - it is as if I don't have the right to ask what chemicals they propose to shove into my body. Asking that is crossing some unspeakable line. For me that is the litmus test, if the reception to that question is not what I need it to be, I have no trust in that doctor and will most definitely not do what they tell me to do. 

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