MENTAL HEALTH News:May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s a great time to encourage people to talk to their doctor about mental illness.
But what if a doctor is struggling with their own mental health? According to Michael F. Myers, MD—known as “the doctors’ doctor—that struggle is more common than we think, and at least once a day, it ends in suicide.
“Doctors are killing themselves at an alarming rate, due to a multitude of triggers—such as burnout, depression, bipolar illness and PTSD,” Dr. Myers said. “At the core of this epidemic is a dangerous stigma related to mental health care and doctors, causing many of them to never seek treatment.”
Dr. Myers discusses:
- Mental health awareness for families of doctors: Understanding the signs and stressors unique to this profession
- The fight to not become a patient: the deadly impact of mental health stigma
- How patients are affected when they lose their doctor to suicide, and how they can prevent it
- Captivating insights from those who are affected when doctors die by suicide—including bereaved loved ones, medical training directors, and patients
- How the culture of medicine must change, providing support and treatment for doctors with mental illness
For more information, visit Mental Health Awareness Month
