The Doctor Will JUDGE You Now

We've all gone red-faced while having to answer intimate questions. But if your provider makes you feel bad, here's what to do.

- TULA KARRAS

Let’s face it: No one likes to be told that they don’t floss enough or that they should quit smoking. However, experiencing some awkwardness regarding issues related to a controllable factor is different from feeling as if a doctor isn’t speaking from a place of concern. Health care providers shouldn’t gloss over medical realities that are hard to hear, but if information is delivered judgmentally or without basic sensitivity, it can feel like shaming, says Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., an obesity medicine physician at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School who has researched weight bias. Weight is a big reason patients say they feel shamed at the doctor’s office, according to research; smoking habits, STIs, mental health issues and noncompliance with medical recommendations are also on the list.