Curious about Psycologist advice

[SoooTiredof-IT-]

         I think that It would be great if some of you shared your experiences with your psycologist. What advice or comment made you see gynecomastia from a different perspective? I'm not trying to save some money by asking, I just feel the need of knowing the views and reaction of the community of psycologist .

        Did they just told you guys that If surgery would make you feel better "go for it" or did they told you that the condition is 90% mental and 10% physical?

        Does any of you think that as teh years pass by people have become more and more obsses about their appearance and thats the main reason we feel teh way that we do?

        Do we blame gynecomastia for the choices  that we took in the past that made us become the individuals that we are in the present?

        Is that society doesn't see us pass our condition? For example : A girl likes the way that u are....funny , smart, mature ( how do u see yourself? ) then she notices your inperfection ( what's perfect in this world?) she reacts in a negative way, she puts that imperfection in front of all that she liked you for. Should you blame her for that reaction? What goes through a woman's head when she meets someone with gynecomastia? Did society though her to think that way ?

        All good questions!!! Something to think about .... for sure!!

[Worrier]

1 I saw a psychiatrist while dealing with gyne. In fact I was seeing him anyway for a seperate anixety problem but developed gyne through the medications he prescribed. He was always pro surgery as he felt that having it would increase my self esteem and confidence. However I feel he wanted it resolved partly because it was his meds that caused it.

My psycholgist had a different attitude.I do suffer from BDD and to me my gyne was huge. In reality it wasn't at any point. She tried to get me to see that people have all sorts of physical problems that they have to deal with. Some she felt worse than mine and as it was only minor I should get on with life. Easy for her to say .She told me that if a girl likes me she will accept it and she would be more worried about herself than me. I never made a move though while having gyne as I was scared I would be rejected.

She did do some good though as she encouraged me to get off the meds and lose weight This in the end completly resoved it and I don't need surgery now according to a PS although I am still not totally happy.

2Yes people have generally become more materialistic about everything including body image. In the past even in developed countries many people had trouble getting food and shelter. That was more important than ones weight etc. We are also now bombarded by the media images skinny girls , men with wash board stomachs and hairless chests. It is great to have role models but I feel sometimes it goes too far , anorexia in girls , BDD . (the media is not the sole cause but I feel it has an influence on these problems)

3 I cannot answer that question as I only had gyne for two years and  it affected short-term decision not long term ones.

4 I think sometimes it is us ie we see an imperfection and it consumes us while others particularly those who love us don't see an issue or maybe a minor one. This happens to people with their weight or a  nasty scar etc. Although men with breasts I think is a pretty hard thing to accept.

However i think some people are vain and some are down right nasty and unfortunately if you come into contact with them then you may not be accepted and ridculed. I have great respect for people who are hardheaded enough not to let it bother them. This is all relative though on the extent of ones condtion.Ie a minor case of gyne will probably create less of an issue with others than a major case of melons. ....

[SoooTiredof-IT-]

Still the question that really caughts my attention is what goes through  a woman mind when she meets somebody with gyne? She would think that:

       a. I smoke tons of weed
       b. That I'm not healthy
       c . Too lazy to burn that chest fat
       d. not a good choice to be friends with someone with moobs bigger than hers
       e.all of the above

All of you that are married !!! ask your wifes or the ones that have girlsfriends....thats if you gather the courage of course :-/

[merle]

There is no easy answer here. I try to figure out if the chest is really the problem or if they really feel bad about themselves on the inside and are trying to find something on the outside to blame the bad self feelings on.

Then you can begin to figure out what if anything you want to do about the gyne.

Merle

[Paa_Paw]

I saw a Psychiatrist which was a total waste of time for me.

Later, I saw a psychologist and he was of great support and help in learning to cope with my condition. This was a few decades before the present surgical methods became available and Cosmetic surgery back then (1950's) was really crude compared to what is common now.

My feeling is that I probably would have had the surgery if it had been available when I was younger.  But, we do change, and by the time the surgery became available I had a different set of priorities.

I lost track of that Psychologist many years ago, but thinking back, I believe he probably would have supported surgery if it had been available at that time.