Dr. Anupama Atluri, MD

Several years ago, I sought treatment for major depression and chronic anxiety as a result of lifelong trauma and abuse. This was the first mental health doctor I had ever worked with. It was extremely uncomfortable to express how severely I was affected by what I experienced, and I was very distrusting from the start. I never lied to her, but I would not reveal the full extent of how debilitating my condition was. However, after several months of sessions with this doctor and medication management as an assist, I made a decision to reveal more details about how poorly I was managing the emotions resulting from trauma and the pain I was feeling. The session I decided to be more open and trusting, her response was, "Why don't you just stop it?" I was shocked and upset immediately by this, and asked her what she said a second time because I could not believe a doctor would say such a thing to my face. Again, she said, "Well if you're feeling bad, why don't you just stop it?" I was so… disgusted by her reaction and hurt by this comment that I got up and left her office without another word. If I or ANY of her patients could "just stop it" then she wouldn't have a job and I wouldn't have put myself through the anxiety of even going to her office that day. Despite not having much experience with mental health professionals, it should be more than obvious that this was not a professional nor an appropriate thing to say. I decided that the guidance of a doctor who would think it prudent to have such an opinion and actually voice it to a patient could not be trusted and terminated her services.