Silent Tests Doctors Use To Judge Your Mental Health
00:00 The Handshake
01:11 The Waiting Room
02:19 How You Handle Silence
03:21 Your Grooming and Self-Care
04:26 Abstract Thinking
05:31 The Pen Click
06:27 “Did You Hear That?”
07:36 How You Describe Other People
08:46 What You Do For Fun
09:55 The Doorknob Confession
24 Comments
So far I've realized my doctor doesn't give two hoots about me.
Never shook a docs hand.. but when I was depressed and mentally unwell my hand shaking was weak and clammy as fuk … Interesting since I've gotten a lot of help over the years my hand shake has significantly changed. I'm no longer even trying to avoid them or freaking out in my head when someone reaches out. I still don't care for it but it's not a mental collapse any more.
What if my doctor has a weak limp shake?
You're giving doctors too much credit. Most are burnt out and dgaf. If you're young and attractive, maybe some prodding, but most just are waiting for the next patient.
5:28 2026 DBC wuz here ✌️
Total 🐂💩 video.
If the doctor touched my hand… right… sometimes it’s just arthritis.
So you’re telling me the man that has that operates a 12 hour shift on four hours of sleep and cigarettes has a mental capacity to tell me about my mental health. I came in about a broken wrist and he asked me if I could be pregnant and then I say no and then the questions get evasive. This is why I have a separate psychologist.
An orange is not yellow, so yeah wrong.
You're going to make people more paranoid!
Most doctors are too overwhelmed to pay this much attention.
I’ve struggled with severe depression and anxiety for decades, taking medication for psychosis and more. While some of these observational techniques might have merit, they’re far from conclusive. I remember walking into my GP’s office on the verge of suicide, and my doctor remarked, “Oh, you came in through the door whistling.” And yes, I had. Like many living with mental illness, I can hide it well. For example, with the handshake you mentioned, I always give a firm, quick one as a sign of respect—nothing more, nothing less. My mood never changes that. I might also add that GPs, or MDs as Americans might call them, don’t know much about mental illness.
First problem there. You think your doctor cares. They are trained not to. It's protective.
If my doctor greeted me with a handshake, I will be worried
I don't think I have ever done a hand shake at a doctor's appointment. I'm almost 70.
Inability to stop moving has several causes. I have ADHD and do not even realize when I am jiggling my knee or tapping my foot because I have to move.
If a patient said an orange was yellow I'd be very worried
I just don't say most of whats wrong to the doctor because they never do anything that helps
I've seen plenty of doctors that won't so much as glance at me, let alone listen or judge my reactions so closely
I don't recall ever having a doctor shake my hand. Not any specialist of any kind, let alone a GP.
Actually, Handshakes mean nothing. I have the weakest handahakea of all but I dont have depression or any disorders
Doctor goes quiet for no reason and looks at me. Clicks his pen once, for no reason. Suddenly he asks me if I hear noises that aren't really there… but HE is testing ME???
I've always hated handshakes. I tend to nod, and/or wave. Often with a slight step back. I've even done that namaste thing.
Is touching hands "firmly" a man thing? Having sat near toilet facilities in various places, I think that a large percentage of men don't wash their hands after going. There's just not time for hand washing while they're in there. So, no, I don't want to touch your dirty hands. Or test your grip strength.
I wonder what percentage of Viagra and Cialis prescriptions come about as a result of a conversation that started while a patient hit his hand on the door knob ready to leave.
Also I had a doctor for a long time that always wanted to shake my hand and I dreaded it because he had the limpist dampest handshake ever. He was a good doctor though.