UNRAVELLING STIGMA – A PSYCHIATRIST’S EXPERIENCE AS A PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT

When I studied medicine in the 1990s, it was never discussed what to do if a doctor became ill and needed medical care themselves. What I did learn was that medical doctors are at greater risk of suicide than other people with the same level of education. I recall learning that, compared with the general population, the relative suicide risk was especially high among female doctors, anaesthesiologists and psychiatrists. Not a single lecture during the six years of medical school addressed how to reduce the risk of ending up making that tragic final decision. Nor was it discussed how to cope with mistakes one makes, or with the responsibility, demanding working hours and chronic stress inherent in the medical profession. Nor did anyone talk about what to do if one needed psychiatric care as a doctor. We were never encouraged to seek help ourselves. It was never said aloud that it was okay to seek help when needed.