Prioritising your mental health from the junior to the senior years of medical school.

Dr. Belinda Bell is a GP based in south-west Victoria, who vividly remembers breaking down into tears for apparently no reason, while sitting in a crowded lecture theatre as a young medical student.She's very open about her past mental health challenges, including during her student and registrar years. Belinda says she learned the hard way about the need to prioritise her mental health; from eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep and knowing when to seek professional help.This even meant requesting to work part time when she was a GP registrar, in order to cope with the workload. Something, which was unheard of at the time.Dr Bell grew up, studied and interned in country NSW, before eventually settling in Warrnambool, where she is regarded as ‘the GP to see’ for mental health support.In this episode, you’ll hear how Dr Bell turned her perceived ‘weakness’  of being a highly empathetic person into a doctor's super power. She also discusses how she continues to look after her mental health as a practicing GP and now a mother of a 3 year old.Please be aware this episode also briefly discusses suicide. If you need to speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.—For more information about the study and training opportunities across regional Victoria, head to the Monash Rural Health website.The North West Victoria and Gippsland Regional Training Hubs have commissioned this podcast to help medical students and junior doctors learn more about training and practising medicine in regional Australia.  Find your nearest Regional Training Hub here.