Hello and thank you for reaching out with your concern. I fully agree with you that obesity is an illness. I am so sorry you have been ridiculed and misunderstood for it. And I am sorry that you are staying in because of it. This is a very hard situation but there is hope. Let s look at some of the things that might be helpful for your stress and your weight. Without knowing more about your medical history, and what services are available to you where you live I ll discuss a variety of things, and some might be realistic for your situation while others might not. First, if I saw you in my office, I would want to make sure that you don t have an underlying medical problem causing your excessive weight gain. These include Cushing s disease (too much cortisol), thyroid disease, and others, which can be evaluated by exam and blood tests. I would also want to make sure it wasn t being caused by medications, Medications that have a higher risk of weight gain include some meds for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In the case of medications, sometimes switching to a different one with a lower risk of weight gain can be helpful. Next, as you say you are a stress eater, I would suggest trying a medication such as an anti anxiety/anti depressant to try to address the feelings of stress and emotional pain. Some medications, such as Prozac, have a higher risk of further weight gain so would not be a good choice, while others, such as Wellbutrin (buproprion) do not have a high risk for weight gain and in fact people are more likely to lose weight while taking it. Management of obesity, and the stress that both causes and results from it in some people, really needs to be dealt with in a multifactorial way. Assistance with food choices and calorie restriction, and counseling, are both important, as is any increased activity you can do. Group support programs can be very helpful too and can help both with tips, insights, and can also help keep you from feeling isolated and rejected. If you have one near you, I would recommend a multifaceted and medically supervised weight loss program. I don t know if you are in a city large enough to have one, but some university hospitals and other hospitals offer such programs. There is also bariatric surgery where the stomach is made smaller and the patient can only eat small amounts at a time and feels full quickly. As it is surgery, a patient has to be medically ok to have this type of surgery. And while it can be helpful in losing weight, some people who have had this procedure do not feel emotionally happy with it afterwards. My heart goes out to you with this difficult situation, but I m glad you have taken the first step in reaching out. Best wishes to you.