Competitiveness to the point of harm seems to be in the news a lot lately. In case you missed it, Newsweek's David Noonan reviewed a documentary about a silent killer among doctors: suicide. About a doctor a day -- between 300 and 400 a year -- takes his life, according to Noonan.

The problem, which plagues this profession marked by intense rotations, is not limited to men.

"While the rate of depression over a lifetime is basically the same for male physicians and the general population of men—about 12 percent—the doctors' suicide rate is 1.4 times higher. Female docs have double the rate of depression and 2.3 times the rate of suicide compared with the general population of women. (Some studies report equal rates of depression for women doctors; others report even higher suicide rates for physicians.)

So why aren't depressed docs seeking treatment for a common illness that millions of Americans have learned to manage with therapy and readily available medications? Because they worry—not without reason—that if they admit to a mental-health problem they could lose respect, referrals, income and even their licenses. Because, despite the steady increase in the number of women in the field, medicine is still very much a macho profession; physicians are supposed to be the strong ones who care for the sick, not the sick ones who need to be cared for."

Also, unlike the general population, doctors have access to prescription drugs and are more likely to die in a suicide attempt, according to Noonan's story.

>>>

Newsweek: Doctors Who Kill Themselves

Every year, between 300 and 400 doctors take their own lives—roughly one a day. No other profession has a higher suicide rate.
Apr 28, 2008 Issue
David Noonan
https://www.newsweek.com/id/132887

From...https://www.intentblog.com/archives/2008/04/open_thread_125.html