The state of mental health in the United States demands that we put ourselves first

For our first weekday daily report, what could be more important than our collective sanity after an unprecedented year inundated with danger and conflict? Just in time, a summary of the recent Mental Health America survey caught my eye yesterday.

The data on the public’s mental health was appalling, but not surprising: some additional increases in symptoms of anxiety, depression, loneliness and suicide, although more so for youth, LGBTQ + and minority populations.

However, it was the data about us – about healthcare professionals in particular – that really caught my attention. About 90% reported excessive stress in the past 3 months, and about 75% reported symptoms of burnout, including frustration, exhaustion, and overwhelm.

What will become of this country if caregivers have more mental health problems than those they are trying to help? We can help others on our own, but to solve this problem we need the help of society (patients, payers, politicians, and the public) to reduce the harms of for-profit medicine. Normally we would try to do more in less time, but we can’t if our mental suffering increases so much that our emotional engine signals that we are running out of gas.

Let me suggest this heresy, at least for now, of shifting our ethical priorities, which is to put our mental health needs above those of patients. After all, burnout is associated with poorer patient outcomes. Tomorrow is not too early to start because it is the World Health Organization’s annual Suicide Prevention Day, and doctors have one of the highest suicide rates, which is not the way we want to be known.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who has specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the Unique Designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues related to climate instability, exhaustion. professional, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. for a better world. He sits on the editorial board of Psychiatric schedules^MT.