Attention! Health care providers and ‘our’ mental health
- Parneeta Singh
- Nov 15, 2017
- 4 min read
As I mentioned before, my initial audience was medical students. This is because as a medical student when I first started facing challenges, I did not know who to turn to, especially with my support system (my family and close friends) being oceans away. Sure I had classmates and slowly forged few strong friendships, but at the end of the day we were all facing the same pressures of medical school; we were all stressed, depressed and/or anxious. We all needed to be taught how to cope with stressors. It was harder yet for me because I was suffering from physical chronic illnesses as well, something that only a person with a chronic disease would understand. And so my mental health worsened, being that mental health ailments are co-morbidities of physical chronic illnesses. One day my body crashed unable to take it anymore. As a part of my recovery process, I sought help (allopathic, holistic and integrative) from mental health experts. I continue to read and learn more about mental health and resources, that can help me and similar individuals; which I hope to share here. As I read, I learn that apart from medical students being unable to access mental health care due to limited resources, many other health professionals also suffer greatly from mental ailments and do not discuss it or seek help. The shocking truth behind this is that mental health issues in ‘our culture’ are unfortunately still considered a taboo. Whether you are a world renowned surgeon or a medical student, we avoid discussing mental health in the fear that we might be judged by our colleagues, superiors or even patients especially because we are ‘supposed’ to maintain a perfect image. Some work places require you to disclose if you have mental ailments and might discriminate when it comes to hiring. So applicants lie. Sadly enough, health care providers are one of the most depressed and suicidal populations in the world. This is ironic because as health care professionals we are aware of the necessity to address this issue, yet choose not to in the fear of appearing vulnerable.
Health care providers are seen as super humans who don white coats as if they are invincibility capes, and so are not ‘supposed’ to fall sick. But in reality, we are, in my opinion, the most susceptible to illnesses; both mental and physical. We are exposed to different kinds of diseases day in and day out. We are under constant pressure, working long hours with not enough sleep, poor eating habits, lack of exercise and a social life. We are definitely more prone if not the most prone to mental health ailments especially those who are empathetic and sensitive like me.
By denying and not seeking help for health ailments, because we might jeopardize our career, only makes the situation worse. We become more depressed and some entertain suicidal ideations. And when somebody does succumb to suicide, only then is it questioned as to why it happened and could it have been prevented.
Medicine is an extremely cutthroat discipline. But I believe our medical community should be like a family where our superiors are like our parents who we can turn to in times of crisis and not be chastised for having a meltdown. Imagine unsupportive parents/ care givers? If the medical society cannot be honest with themselves and hesitate to ask for help, how can we expect our patients to be honest with us? How will we be able to help and empathize with them if we cannot help our own kind? If only we realize that medical professionals are not super humans and that no one is infallible.
The following two articles are heartbreaking, yet honest about why doctors and medical students do not seek mental health care. We need help, not discrimination. Please take some time out to read, understand and help.
Another upsetting article about how doctors are suffering from burnout and depression which can be fatal.
Somebody had posted this upsetting photo below on twitter:
The articles above are only about doctors burning out and dying by suicide though burn out can happen in the early years of medical school. As I mentioned earlier, students are depressed, stressed and/or anxious all the time about never ending difficult exams, high expectations, outshining others so that they are remembered when the day comes for hiring new physicians for limited residency positions. Finding jobs (residency) is getting more competitive and difficult every year. Ironically we have a physician shortage but are still unable to provide residency positions to medical school graduates with one of the reasons being inadequate government funding. This in turn leads to longer wait times for patients and an increased patient load on already over worked physicians further leading to burn out and depression. It seems like a vicious cycle. Thus some take their own lives to escape the misery.
Below are two articles about a young medical school graduate who died by suicide because he could not get a job as a resident physician after trying for years and working so very hard. Were his hard work and efforts all in vain? The articles pose different yet relevant views that should not be ignored.
Robert Chu’s suicide:
This is just one case about one student in one state, in one country. Can you imagine the combined rates of all health care providers’ suicides worldwide due to different, constant pressures? We are going nowhere like this.
But hope is on the horizon. Some people know this attitude needs to change and are starting to do so. Here are two articles that indicate steps in the right direction:
Hospitals, Med Schools Act to Prevent Physician Suicide:
Reducing Frustration and Increasing Fulfillment: Mindfulness:
I want to do my share, as a medical student who suffers from mental health ailments. I want to raise awareness and try to de-stigmatize mental health in our medical culture. At the end of the day we are all humans and like anybody else we too are prone to illnesses; mental and physical. I believe the first step towards helping yourself is being honest with one self and acknowledging that you might need help. And I hope we can do this together, as a team.
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