Mental Health Challenges: Most people have some symptoms of mental health issues. However, this evaluation is assessing if you have issues like depression, anxiety, or eating disorders that could make it harder to recover or stick to the new diet and lifestyle after surgery. Having a mental health history does not make you an inappropriate candidate for surgery (in many causes overcoming mental health issues can build coping skills and reliance that will only help with your new lifestyle after this surgery). However, there are some mental health conditions that can negatively impact surgery outcomes or could get worse with the stress and lifestyle changes of this surgery. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide recommendations based on your mental health presentation at this time.

Seeing How You Handle Stress/Uncomfortable Feelings: Surgery means changing how you eat, how you see your body, and even how you interact with others. The evaluation checks if you have healthy ways to deal with stress. If food is your primary way of coping with stress and upsetting feelings, it will be important to learn new coping skills to manage stress because after surgery, food will no longer be a viable method of handling stress or uncomfortable feelings. 

Making Sure You Know What to Expect: the evaluator wants to ensure you understand what is going to happen with your body during this surgery and what will be changed forever. They also what you to understand what the surgery can and can’t do. The evaluator will check if you have realistic ideas about how much weight you’ll lose and the effort it’ll take to keep it off. Surgery first requires adequate recovery and support, and the lifestyle changes needed after surgery are meant to last a lifetime. This is not another diet or temporary weight loss lifestyle change.

Gauging Your Commitment: After surgery, you’ll need to follow specific guidelines about food, exercise, and medical visits. The evaluation checks if you’re motivated and ready to stick with these changes for life. The evaluator will also want to make sure you are aware of the commitment and resources that you will need to have in your life for success.

Looking at Your Support System: Having family, friends, or support groups can make a big difference. The evaluation checks if you have people to help you through the process. If you don’t have a support network, the evaluator will might need extra support, like counseling, joining support groups, getting more involved with positive people in your life.

Lowering Risks: If you have trouble controlling impulses or managing emotions, you might struggle to follow the post-surgery plan, which could cause issues like weight regain. The evaluation spots these risks so you can get help, like therapy, before surgery.

Meeting Insurance or Program Rules: Many insurance companies or surgical programs require this evaluation to make sure you’re prepared, which helps lower the chances of problems after surgery.