Doctors commit suicide too!

Doctors have the highest suicide rate.

Patients may be surprised to realize that doctors get depressed and commit suicide. But what may be even more surprising is the fact that doctors have the highest rate of suicide in the country. Physicians in America have the highest rate of any profession: twice the number of suicides as the general population. 

According to Medscape: physicians have at least one completed suicide daily despite the fact that they are surrounded by other medical professions. 

A doctor at the CDC recently killed himself by drowning. This illuminates the fact  that if you don’t  seek out the signs or ask, depression can be masked.  

If you suspect someone maybe suicidal you must act.

 54% of people who commit suicide have no known prior mental health condition. 

The commonest method is with firearms, followed by hanging or strangulation. Montana has the highest incidence of suicide and Washington DC the lowest, in the United States.

I had planned to write this blog a couple of months ago when I read about a doctor and a  final year medical student, at the same hospital in New York, committing suicide in the same week. 

I didn’t get around to it because I was extremely busy and getting ready for my safari to South Africa.

But, in less than the 2 weeks that I was gone: two well known celebrities hung themselves. It is becoming an urgent issue: according to the CDC the rates are definitely increasing, having risen 25% since 1999.

Whenever someone kills themselves I always think about what a waste of a life it is, and I often wonder if they are aware of the pain and suffering they bring to their loved ones and friends. 

The people left behind feel like failures, they feel helpless and empty, soul searching for what they could have done differently.

Doctors, clearly, must do a better job of suicide prevention both for our patients and ourselves. Doctors are taught the symptoms of depression which should give them an advantage yet they too succumb to suicide. How much more people who don't understand what they maybe going through. It is up to us to assure them that the cloud will lift, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Please look at the suicide prevention website or call the national suicide prevention lifeline for more information and educate yourself.

In a nutshell: if you are depressed seek assistance from your doctor immediately. If you are on anti-depressant medication follow up with your doctor regularly even if you think nothing has changed. 

Learn the signs of depression and if your friends, family or co-workers exhibit them, encourage them to get help. Do not be afraid to ask people you care about, you will not give them an idea too commit suicide if they haven't already considered it.

Depression is like any other medical condition and there should not be a stigma attached to it. By understanding the condition and removing the stigma, people will be more willing to share how they are feeling with others.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC said there are simple steps anyone can take to help someone at risk. "Beginning a conversation, helping keep them safe, helping them connect and then follow up with them," she said. "We don't think every single suicide can be prevented, but many are preventable."

How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provide contact information for crisis centers around the world.

Together we can all save lives!

Babies, babies, babies!

Babies, babies, babies! People often comment that there are so many baby pictures in my office. That’s because I love babies and they are pictures of children I have taken care of over the years, many of whom have graduated from college already. Over the years we have less and less babies in our practice. This may be because of all the anti-aging signs in the office, perhaps mothers think you have to be walking and talking to be a patient of mine! The average age of my adult patients is also increasing so not as many are getting pregnant. Be that as it may, we love our littlest patients as much as the older ones. I am still certified by Johns Hopkins with privileges in the newborn nursery and I take care of many small people. Many people do not realize that Family physicians do 3 years post graduate training in pediatrics just like pediatricians. Their focus tends to be more on out patient healthy children than sick hospitalized ones. A common question asked is why someone would choose a family physician (board certified of course) over a pediatrician to take care of their children. Here are some of the reasons: A family physician knows the whole family and what history may be relevant to the baby. The child doesn’t have to find a new doctor at 16 and has someone who has followed them and their family all their lives. With female children family physicians can answer questions about periods and gyn issues. Girls are developing much earlier these days. Family physicians generally have less children in their practice so they know and care about the intricacies of each individual child. We know all our babies by their first name. In our practice we have a dedicated room for babies so they don’t have to wait in the waiting room. And they don’t have to compete for space. In many cultures it is assumed that the person who takes care of the mother is able to take care of her whole family, it is more the norm than the exception, family practice is a holistic specialty that encompasses everyone. It is the one specialty that specializes in you whatever your age. In this country there is a push to use specialists for everything, for example I know my patients are often surprised when I treat their rash and it goes away yet they thought they would have to go to a dermatologist because they have something on their skin. Everyone should really think through their options, as always knowledge is power, and then do what makes sense for them, their family and their personal aspirations. ‘My’ last baby was born the week before Xmas rounding out a family of five and 2015 for us. Looking forward to 2016 and more babies to love and care for!

Originally published by Dr. Tuakli in 2015