#HOW are u supposed to respond???#i get hit w diet talk all the time at work and i hate it i hate it#but im sooooo bad at feeling and channeling rage. how do u self advocate!!
with people who do not have medical/economic/carceral power over you:
walk away/physically remove yourself rather than engage
"i am not interested in your thoughts on my lunch"
"I am not interested in your thoughts on my [or someone else's] body"
"did she gain weight?" "it isn't our business/it isn't relevant to you."
"why are you eating that?" "because i'm hungry."
"i choose to decline my weight" (you can always choose to decline your weight as an outpatient)
"i am requesting a larger blood pressure cuff in order to receive an accurate reading"
"i am here to discuss [x]. my time and yours would be better spent addressing my present concerns, rather than speculating on others."
"i am not interested in discussing my eating habits, because it is not currently a priority to change them."
these scripts are YMMV. people are horrible, doctors are abusive, and not all situations can be escaped. grey rocking, putting up an affective/communicative wall for all but the most basic/removed exchanges, is a technique many people use with abusers until they can safely remove themselves; this can be helpful, too. but these scripts are perhaps a starting point to shut down and redirect harmful diet/weight loss talk & refuse social pressure to surveil other peoples' bodies and your own.
jbbartram-illu
origamiaround
