Therapist always make things worse for me

I'm 27 and have seen 10 different therapist in the last 12 years. I am bipolar, have anxiety, depression, an eating disorder (used to be anorexia but now I binge eat and am fat), type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, chronic pain in my knee, social anxiety, insomnia, and have attempted suicide 5 times.

When I was anorexic one of the therapist I saw asked me for weight loss tips. One lady kept telling me to change little aspects of my life, like when I got up etc, and when that didn't help my depression and insomnia, she told me that she just tells her patients to keep changing little things and it eventually works out but since that was not working for me she didn't know what to do anymore. Another lady refused to help me with my depression b/c I was too thin...she said my physical health was more important than my mental health...I was actually at a healthy weight at this time.

One guy actually told me to have sex with strangers to take my mind off of my knee pain. Another guy forgot my name and everything about me on the 2nd appointment. My last therapist constantly asked me how much I weight I gained or lost which made me want to die b/c I have gotten so fat.

I am afraid to ever see a therapist again. I have no desire to do anything in life except try to lose weight but I get so depressed about that b/c I have so much to lose and end up binging. Has anyone been able to get themselves motivated enough to enjoy life after being depressed for over 10 years?

Jesus, it sounds like you have been through a lot of ropey therapists. I'm so sorry they were your experience.

But there are good ones out there too. It may be difficult to believe that right now, but they really do exist.

I think if I were in your position, what I might do is try to find a good support group for people wanting to recover from disordered eating, and start with that, getting some comfort and support from others and feeling a bit less isolated. Then hopefully you might get some recommendations for therapists who are understand eating issues, and when you felt ready you could perhaps try again?

Sounds like you have been through a lot to say the least! And I would feel the same way as you if I were in your situation. As the above poster has said, there are good therapists and then there's the bad. You have clearly had the bad. A support group, as Indestructible said sounds like a great idea. And I do, think that you should try another therapist, despite the bad experiences. If you can afford to pay for a one, look on the internet for those who have a lot of experience in what you need to work out in your life in order for you to enjoy your life. Then have 5 sessions or so, to 'trial' them. It's a lot of trial and error and yes, you can have a bad experience but I think because of the situation your in, you really need to find the right therapist to help you.

Don't give up. Sometimes you got to take a leap sort of speak, in order to find the right one. I had to do this myself, after many bad experiences. Sometimes it doesn't feel worth while, but it is. There is a light on the other side of the tunnel. It just take's a while to get there. You are brave to talk about it here, be proud of that. Let us all know how your getting on. We are here for you, to help support you if we can. Drop me a private message anytime you want to talk I don't judge. Good luck.

Gee, lovely Ts you got there...
I'm really sorry so many of them proved unhelpful (to say the least). There ARE good Ts for you out there- though I do understand you not willing to give it another go. Maybe try a support group for ED (cause honestly, from your post it seems like your main thing) and when you're feeling a bit stronger find a new T? Go for one specializing in ED, if you could pay out of pocket that would make it so much easier to find one.
In the mean time, please, try not to focus on loosing weight (even if you are medically overweight- it's not healthy for you to try and loose it now) start eating normal portions and find some ex that you would enjoy (swimming's good for bad knees)- all this should help you to feel better and more stable.

((((Huge hugs))))

It's so important to find a t who knows about ED's; especially as this seems a raw issue for you. I echo what the others have said; there are healing therapists out there; I'm sorry your experiences sound awful. Don't give up yet xx

Thanks for your advice. I talked to my parents today about our situation at work, we have a small family business and I have not been working much bc of all of my eating problems and depression. We are coming up on the busiest time of the year, so it's not a good time for me to search for a new therapist, but if things aren't much better for by the summer I might look into it.

I have an appt with my psychiatrist at the end of the month and am going to talk to him about changing or increasing my meds. I know that my depression comes from my weight so I am going to try to lose some, but am not going to cut my calories real low so hopefully I won't end up binging. I do exercise and that helps me feel better but that's mostly bc I feel like it will help me lose weight. I know that's part of my eating disorder, but at this point I'm so depressed about my weight I can't deal with not trying to lose any.

I hope that you can find a good t, believe me you have to kiss many frogs to find the right one but they are there. are there any ED specialists in your area. once you find one that understands an ed and what you are going through, this is when the true healing will begin. Its such a horrible cycle you are in. I can't imagine what it was like going through all of those bad therapists but you know what stands out here is your great determination and will to want to get better and to help yourself, a good t would love to work with you.