A Day I Wish We Didn't Need
September 17th is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day.
Physician suicide is one of the reasons I have been so dedicated to physician wellness for the last 20 years.
A physician commits suicide in the US on average every single day and rates are going up. Physicians have the highest suicide rate of any profession and twice the national average.
The work we do as physicians is beyond hard. Especially now.
Yes, we signed up for it and knew it would be.
What we didn’t know is that our trained thought patterns - those that serve us well as diagnosticians and in emergencies also make us even more susceptible to burnout, general life and relationship unhappiness, and even suicide.
The culture in medicine is that self-care is selfish and reaching out for help and even needing help as a physician and healer is a weakness.
Most suffer and struggle in silence.
This is why Pause and Presence specifically expresses the intention to help those who are
"successful on the surface yet struggle underneath."
Too many of us- physicians or not- struggle underneath.
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We need to change the culture around help-seeking and mental health.
And as humans support wellness as a “value, not a problem.”
Let’s support each other with kindness and unconditional support around our perceived weaknesses.
And let’s encourage help-seeking behavior.
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Mindfulness and coaching are tools to help ease and prevent burnout, exhaustion, depression, anxiety, overwhelm, and relationship distress.
For physicians and everyone else.
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Sometimes even more help is needed.
There is no shame in reaching out for any and all kinds of help.
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Paraphrasing Charley Macasky in The Boy the Mole the Fox and the Horse - when have you been at your strongest? When you ask for help.
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In coach training, we receive suicide awareness training.
It's a bit different than the medical approach- being there in the moment as a fellow human is a key intervention.
Let’s do that for each other.
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Mental health struggles are everywhere- in loved ones and colleagues.
Whether they show outwardly or not.
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Let’s stop the stigma, encourage help-seeking behavior and show up with mindful loving kindness - noticing awareness generosity patience nonjudgment compassion, attention, and intention.
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If you haven’t listened to this month's Mindful Healers Podcast episode “Getting Help Helps” check it out.
In it, we talk about common barriers in our minds to getting help
and why getting help is a demonstration of strength.
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Reaching out for help is the first step. Let’s be there for each other.