Psychiatry and you

Improving your emotional resilience is a key task for you as a medical student. As a future doctor, your health and well- being are vital to that of your patients: if you are not functioning reliably, you will not be able to help your pa­tients as much as you otherwise would. It is therefore vital that you look after your body and mind and, by implica­tion, adopt a lifestyle that is both healthy and sustainable. It is often said that doctors make bad patients. There is some evidence that doctors are slow to seek help for health problems, and comply poorly with advice given by other healthcare professionals. In addition, doctors’ lives may be unhealthy, with high levels of stress, low levels of exercise, and excessive consumption of alcohol. The mental health of doctors is a particular con­cern. Doctors are at relatively high risk of mental dis­order, and female doctors appear to be at higher risk of suicide than women in the general population. The reasons are several, and include the following: … ● The nature of doctors. Doctors are driven to succeed, and do not tolerate failure well. It is inevitable that some of our patients will die, some treatments will not be successful, and that, in a professional lifetime, some mistakes will be made. Our aim should be to reflect on and learn from these events, and then to move on positively. ● The nature of doctors’ work. Doctors tend to work hard, work for long hours, and work in challenging, resource- constrained environments. ● Poor help- seeking. Doctors may be reluctant to seek help for their medical problems, and this is particularly likely when the problem is psychiatric. ● Unsupportive and unsustainable lifestyle. Many doctors have challenging careers and challenging home lives, and allow themselves little time to recharge their batteries away from these ever-present stressors. They may not prioritize the maintenance of important resilience factors, such as the relationship with their partner, or interests outside medicine. ● Knowledge of and access to the means of suicide. Doctors (and vets, farmers, and pharmacists, to whom the above- mentioned factors also apply) have special expertise in the use of chemicals which are toxic in overdose.