I can’t decide if I’m just freaked out or if there were any red flags in my interaction with my doctor today. I could really use a second opinion.

I came out to my doctor as trans today (since I wanted to start hormone therapy, and it’s possible to do that through his office.) It was stressful, but he responded pretty well, and didn’t say anything transphobic or anything. But then he said that he was going to ask me some psychological screening questions.

At that point, our conversation got kind of weird. He started asking me about things on the usual depression survey and anxiety survey. And then… well. He asked if my depression was interfering with my quality of life, and I said I don’t really notice the depression, and the main thing on my mind is the PTSD. (He already knew about the PTSD, I mentioned it to him several months ago.)

And then, he asked me if I have PTSD because my family is abusive. First of all, I have no idea how the fuck he figured that out. But he was correct.

I sometimes tend to dissociate around cis men and tell them things I didn’t want to/ without my consent. That happened today. I was so surprised and caught off guard that I just froze for a minute, and then I just stammered out a “yes.”

He reassured me that he can’t report me or anything because I’m 21 and there’s doctor-patient confidentiality. But I’m kind of freaked out that he asked me about abuse at all. Why would he ask me that? He’s not a therapist or psychiatrist. Me being abused wouldn’t be relevant to him at all… would it?

I tend to be extremely private about my life, and guard my personal info very carefully. So I’ve been very triggered for the rest of the day. I spent several hours super dissociated and lying in bed staring at the ceiling. I don’t think I actually felt comfortable telling him what I told him. I feel like he’s not qualified to be asking me these kinds of questions.

Is there any reason for a primary care doctor to ask me if I was abused by my family that isn’t really weird or suspicious? Is it in any way actually relevant to my medical care? Wouldn’t knowing I have PTSD have been enough for him? I am very upset and am wondering if something wasn’t right with today’s interaction. If you think he did have a good reason to ask this, though, please feel free to comment that as well. I can’t distinguish whether I was just triggered by the question or whether it was not an ok question for him to ask me.