Posted by whiterabbit on July 19, 2003, at 16:36:10
In reply to Re: babbling, posted by kara lynne on July 19, 2003, at 12:28:16
I don't see anything wrong with it...if you can afford it and it will make you feel better, I say go for it. Just be VERY careful about choosing a doctor so there will be no screw-ups. You want a person board-certified, affiliated with at least one reputable hospital in your area, with lots of experience...you do NOT want Joe Blow performing any type of surgery on your body...if you have a GP that you trust, ask her for recommendations and an opinion on the doctor who will perform your surgery. Even if your GP doesn't know the other doctor personally, doctors usually know about other doctors in their vicinity who have a reputation for not being very good...
With all that said, don't expect TOO much from the liposuction, it won't change your life. People with low self-esteem usually have a distorted mental image of themselves, like Kara said, so if you're measuring your self-worth mainly by outward appearance, you probably won't be satisfied no matter how good you really do look. When I see pictures of myself when I was in my 20s and early 30s, I'm always surprised by how attractive I was, because I never thought of myself as being attractive...
It's a different story these days. I began to put on weight when I started on psych meds a few years ago, which was so distressing for me that I wanted to stop taking the medication. But the unmedicated Gracie was an extremely unhappy and barely functional individual, so I've had to accept the weight gain because I could never, ever go back to being so miserable and depressed, no matter what...
I discussed this with my psychiatrist's nurse just last week, she's really sharp and I've been impressed by her competence. She talked to the doctor about it and then told me it would be easier to get the weight off if I wanted to taper off the Seroquel...I was frightened by the thought, though, because my brain is working much better these days and I don't want to mess it up. What we decided is that I'll stay on the Seroquel for now, I'm under a lot of stress - going through a divorce - so I'll wait until this crap is behind me and then we'll work on tapering the medication.
The point of all this being (assuming I do have a point, haha) that I've had to learn how to like myself EVEN WITH the weight gain and passing the age 40 milestone, no longer a spring chicken...if you're not thrilled with your outward appearance, you have to find some other yardstick for measuring your self-worth. There's nothing wrong with being concerned about your appearance, wanting to be attractive, and working towards that end...it doesn't mean you're vain, not at all. However, it's unwise to place TOO much emphasis on outward appearance alone, you HAVE to find other things to like about yourself because beauty is fleeting and tenuous. For your own peace of mind, you must start to shift your focus
from the way you LOOK to the things you DO - your accomplishments, your kindness to others, what you learn along the way.So sure, get the liposuction if that's what you want, but work on the other stuff too, the beauty inside.
-Gracie
poster:whiterabbit
thread:243471
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030719/msgs/243530.html