Social media comparison trap — remember, every journey is different

DanielChem_CHI said:

DebRD_ATL said: ...mental health should only be used alongside therapy...

This is where I part company with the consensus forming above. I would be careful about how confidently the flatness reports get attributed. Rapid weight loss, a large deficit and disrupted sleep produce low mood on their own, and separating that from a drug effect is genuinely hard.

DebRD_ATL said:

My mood has been flatter since about month four and I genuinely cannot work out whether that is the drug, the deficit, or the fact that I no longer…

Therapy insights from my mental health journey: my therapist introduced me to the concept of "identity updating" — the psychological work of becoming a new version of yourself.

Key realizations: I used food to manage emotions, I had internalized fatphobia that I'm still unpacking, my social identity was partly built around being "the big guy/girl," and learning to accept compliments is surprisingly hard when you've been invisible for years.

Physical transformation without emotional processing is unstable. Do both.

Dr.MetabolicMD said:

I would be careful about how confidently the flatness reports get attributed.

Mood changes on mental health: I want to be transparent — I went through a rough patch emotionally around month 3. Not depression exactly, but a weird flatness. Food was my main coping mechanism and without that, I had to develop new ones.

Therapy has been essential. I'd strongly recommend anyone starting GLP-1 therapy also invest in mental health support. The physical transformation is only half the journey.

A narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:

How long did you give it before you decided it was working?

Closing the loop on my own question.

Update: I got the sleep and the intake sorted before deciding it was the drug, and most of the flatness went with them. Not all of it, and I am watching the rest.