The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the American psyche, with a third of Americans now showing signs of clinical depression or anxiety, a rate twice as high as before the pandemic, according to Census Bureau data.
continues to indicate that suicide rates among physicians outpace rates in the general public.)
"There was all the awfulness of people not being able to say goodbye to loved ones and having to witness that," he said. "It spills over, Parker said."You are left with an intensity in reaction that becomes dysfunctional."Dr. Jo Shapiro's job is taking doctors' mental health and well-being seriously. "The level of hypocrisy that I demonstrated to myself as I was getting sicker and sicker shows you how deep the culture is. I was doing exactly what I tell people not to do," she said.
Hospital staff talk after checking on a COVID-19 patient Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at Kearny County Hospital in Lakin, Kan.Not everyone who experiences trauma or burnout will develop conditions like anxiety or depression, but there are some early signs to watch out for, Meltzer-Broady explained. "Just being able to name is one thing, having tools to deal with it is a different thing," Meltzer-Broady said.COVID-19 could exasperate doctors’ existing mental health burdenMORE: Apple and Google launch digital contact tracing system
When asked about the potential for doctors dying by suicide, Meltzer-Broady said,"People like me who run these programs think about it every day and worry about it every day."COVID-19 has the potential to have a devastating impact on doctors' collective mental health in the U.S. But it could also be the catalyst needed to implement preventative mental health support programs in institutions that aren't investing in them.
In her work, Shapiro has found that doctors feel most comfortable opening up with a physician colleague, rather than with a mental health professional, who might not be able to relate to their exact circumstances as intimately.
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