Breaking the Silence: Mental Health Among Medical Care Providers

Please note that this episode discusses depression and suicide, which some listeners may find triggering. IF YOU NEED HELP: The peer counseling service we discuss within this episode is called the Physician Support Line; it can be reached at 888-409-0141. It is a free service available every day between 8 a.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern Time.     For this podcast, we are stepping away from the discussion around what doctors and medical professionals need to do in order to be better. This framing rarely considers the well-being of medical professionals, or that they themselves often need support and are rarely afforded the grace to ask for it. Many clinicians feel it is potentially damaging to their careers to acknowledge that they are experiencing strain or to ask for help, for fear of facing stigma or being perceived as unable to handle the pressures of their profession.     TheBodyPro contributing editor Juan Michael Porter II speaks with Perry Lin, M.D., FACP, an assistant program director of the internal medicine residency program at Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio. The conversation focuses on the expectations medical providers place on themselves; the expectations that society and our systems place on them; the challenges of asking for help; and how systems can change -- and are changing -- to make it easier for clinicians to seek counseling and care when they need it.     Read the full transcript (clicking the link helps support the podcast!): https://www.thebodypro.com/article/future-hiv-care-podcast-6-mental-health-for-medical-care-providers   Our podcast team: Executive producer Myles Helfand; audio producers/engineers Alex Portaluppi and Lucy Mueller; project manager Alina Mogollon-Volk; and podcast editors Maria Elena Perez and Juan Michael Porter II.