Doctors rescuing others forget themselves – about 80 percent. are burned, a third prone to depression

What happens when doctors no longer see meaning in their lives and decide to commit suicide? We talked about it with Auristida Gerliakienė, president of the board of directors of the Lithuanian Medical Movement (LMS), and Jonas Fugalis, psychiatrist, on the Delfi Tema program.

“The flirtation of politicians with antivaks is really remarkable”

As Dr. A. Gerliakienė said on the show, there are several reasons why the psychological condition of doctors is so bad. The first and probably the main one, according to the interlocutor, is the rather deficient psychological education of the doctors and the inability to assess one’s own or other people’s mental state, to defend themselves from emotional violence.

“I’ve been seeing those things for many years. Fear of turning to professionals. More recently, the law that states that a doctor with psychological problems cannot renew a license has been repealed. That stigma in the medical community was especially acute,” he said. the president of LMS.

Another cause is the coronavirus, which has been happening for the first year. Due to the pandemic, doctors feel extremely tired, even worse: isolated from society and unheard.

“The public’s attitude towards medicine is very hypocritical. Very high standards and qualifications are required, but in reality the work of a doctor is not valued and is not protected. We can see in the recent pandemic that doctors are really doing last. effort, working in difficult physical conditions, the burdens are enormous, but society anticipates it.

The choice of a variety of entertainment such as big concerts, rallies, and politicians flirting with anti-vaxes is truly amazing. There is the immediate environment, the workplace and the social environment: when several critical factors come together, a person simply no longer maintains and chooses not to exist, ”said A. Gerliakienė.

The interviewee observes that in a crisis situation the number of suicides increases. This is also confirmed by the ideas of Paulius Skruibis, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy of Vilnius University. Statistics show that the rise in suicides occurs when economic and political crises begin, just as the suicides of prominent people can lead to raising one’s hand against oneself.

80 percent. Doctors were exhausted, but they rarely seek help.

According to a psychiatrist, a study conducted in the United States shows that suicide is the second most common cause of death among people between the ages of 10 and 34. According to international studies, about a third of doctors have a high tendency to depression. A study conducted in Lithuania at the time shows that half of doctors meet the criteria for burnout syndrome.

“What’s scarier is that about 80 percent. Metropolitan doctors are exhausted: more work, commuting to districts, less time for you and your family. Doctors rarely tend to seek help and tend to think they are they will take care of themselves because they treat other people. Statistics show that three-quarters of doctors who have problems do not seek help. This is a very big problem.

People who choose to become doctors are empathic with other people, but they are also perfectionists. They try to do everything perfectly, do everything without mistakes, they are prone to burnout. The personal qualities of people are such that if something goes wrong, there is a lot of frustration, ”said J. Fugalis.

When it comes to burnout at work, the doctor distinguishes two factors: current stress and the tendency to burnout.

The predisposition to burnout is a very important personal trait that has a great impact on the well-being of a person. Attention should be paid to your emotional health when, according to J. Fugalis, it takes more effort to work.

“If you notice that you need more and more effort, more and more time to work and less and less time for yourself, that is one of the signs. Then the person abandons his needs, which further worsens well-being. In addition, if a person tends to stand aside during conflict situations, not to defend his opinion when his limits are exceeded, it is the path of exhaustion. It is still very important to deny your problems. Doctors, in particular, tend to deny their problems and believe they can do anything. It is natural that it cannot continue like this for a long time ”, said the interlocutor of the show.

The worst thing is the wrong reaction to the mistakes of doctors.

A. Gerliakienė notes that after the events of April, a critical point was reached and decisive action was initiated. The head of the Šiauliai Hospital was arrested, a commission was organized which deepened the situation and worked responsibly for 2 months, as well as observers were invited and the conclusions were presented to the Minister. The 2020 Ministerial Order was modified to improve the mental health of workers.

“There were 5 tasks. The first task is for universities, students and professors. I hope that the curriculum includes new topics on how to recognize psychological violence, how to behave when you see violence against your coworker. These are employees who will be trained to acquire more psychological knowledge. I see them really missing. And the last point is that a toxic environment must be eliminated. Funding has also been provided for this plan, which is encouraging, ”said the interviewee.

In the medical community, according to A. Gerliakienė, the culture of error should be fundamentally changed. There is public pressure for a perfect job, the personal qualities of perfectionism do not help either, and the situation is further aggravated by intolerance of mistakes.

“Mistakes are not a sin, they always happen while you work. But the reaction to a mistake is simply unforgivable because man is despised. I would invite the doctors themselves to see this phenomenon differently and, after making a mistake, it is better to do the analysis so that it does not happen again, ”said the doctor.

Mr. Fugalis is also pleased that there are finally no restrictions to prevent doctors from receiving psychological help. For this, he said, thanks to the Ministry of Health. Still, the process of change is very long and things happen very slowly.

“It is very scary to go with a colleague, and a person tends to deny their problems and it is better to ‘go to the cup’ in the afternoon,” added the psychiatrist.

How do you recognize that a colleague needs help?

Burnout, according to J. Fugalis, is signaled by the fact that a person no longer has the resources to creatively look at their work. Second, insensitivity towards those around him.

“Doctors tend to be insensitive to patients, they start to evaluate it cynically. Third, reduction of job satisfaction ”, said the interlocutor.

One of the first signs of suicide is substance abuse. There are also sudden mood swings, chronic illnesses, divorces, family conflicts, academic failures.

“It is very important not to be afraid to use the word ‘suicide.’ encourages a person to commit suicide. It just takes stress away from a person, if you really think about it, you may feel relieved when asked. This may be the first person to talk to you about it. It is also important to consider if a person they start canceling their work in advance, they start filling out a will or they sell a property. There are indications and at least half of the people talk about it before doing something for themselves, you just have to listen, “advises the psychiatrist.