Do Psychiatrists go Crazy?

[Delvonik]

I'm not even in med school yet but I've been told I should still think about residency.(even though I haven't took the MCATs or graduated.)I'm interested in psychiatry but I've heard that this is a very stressful line of work,even on standards of other physicians.Anyway,if there are some Psychiatrists or residents in that field,I'd like to know if you curl into a little ball,shaking and nail biting after a day of work.I've heard that some Psychiatrists go under mental anguish from dealing with people's pain.IS IT TRUE?

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[DuneHog]

Absolutely. Actually, most long-term mental health facilities are filled with former psychiatrists. This is one of the reasons psychiatry is not a very competative as a specialty, despite having a very good lifestyle.

Sorry for the above sarcasm. Seriously though, I have heard it rumored that many psychiatrists have some sort of mental illness. However this is not because they are under go mental anguish from their line of work. I've heard that many psychiatrist had some sort of mental illness which they have learned to manage, and they chose psychiatry because there personal problems sparked their interest.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I'm aware of no published studies or even anecdotal reports that Psychiatrists are more likely to "go crazy" as a function of their work. There IS a high rate of depression and suicide amongst Psychiatrists but it is generally believed to be pre-morbid to their career choice, ie, not related to their work.

Like all residency fields, psychiatry has its frustrations. Your job is to find a field in which you can deal with the difficult aspects and still remain relatively happy. IMHO, Psychiatrists who "go crazy" as a result of dealing with the anguish of mental illness are probably likely to do so regardless of the field of residency they may have otherwise chosen.

 

[mano12]

My friend was considering psychiatry as a residency until recently when she meet a psych. resident that for her seems to have a very odd personality, a combination of anxiety and obsessive/Comp disorder and something else, she is studying right now for step 3, I told my friend that it would be because of the stress for the exam, but she was not convinced by my arguments...in general I think for psychiatry you have to have a very strong personality and you have to be convinced of who you are because with the problems that we have in life, a psych. can make the mistake of thinking that he/she has one of this diseases when what she/he really has is the normal stress of a medical professional plus he is more involve with the social problems of the patient......

-I think that most of us become self-critical as soon as we become self-conscious-

 

[DoubleDoctor]

My Mom has been a nurse for 25 yearsand she says that most of the psychiatrists she knows personally freely admit to being on antidepressants and have some sort of OCD component to their personality, I think that could be said about most med students and MD's also. I know I personally can't function until my dayplanner is laid out a certain way and my textbooks and notes have to be in a certain format. If I miss class and have to get notes from someone else then I rewrite them in my own format before I study. I also have a dirty little secret about symmetry.........I like it. I can't stand those assymetrical flower arrangements, they grate on my nerves. I also like my silverware perfectly alligned at the dinner table, and I could go on and on. I think everyone has these like quirks.

 

[mano12]

Then you have to go for Psychiatry......is just a joke

 

[mano12]

Double Doctor............
Then you have to go for Psychiatry......is just a joke

 

[Clip]

One reason that there might be more psychiatrists with mental illness is that their own experiences have led them to have a greater sense of compassion for mental health patients. Similarly, I know medical students who have epilepsy being interested in neurology, ulcerative colitis in GI, etc.

 

[Thewonderer]

I really don't think that there is anything wrong mentally with psychiatrists. I have heard stories about how anesthesiologists are unhappy and abuse narcotics, etc. (since they have easy contact with them). We have also heard about how unhappy certain general surgeons are. Psychiatrists probably suffer similar rumor. In fact, a lot of people go into psychiatry because residency is relatively easy and they want to take care of their family lives as well. As for whether people go nuts following residency and seeing too many crazy people, I don't think so (but
there could be some tint of truth that I might not know about).

Or it could be that psychiatrists understand mental health better than other docs and are not afraid to put themselves under antidepressants. It is like, dermatologists have name for everything, including the minor rashes most of us don't care about and won't even bring them to anyone's attention!

Psychiatry remains the only specialty that I feel truly tries to talk to the patients and reach out for them emotionally. Everything else (including internal medicine and pediatrics) does not ask the students to talk to the patients much at all!

 

[Jive Turkey]

This whole thread is nonsense. Psychiatrists do NOT have any more tendency to go crazy than any other type of doctor.

 

[Histrionic]

Please continue to perpetuate the myth that most psychiatrists have mental health issues. Anything that decreases the applicant pool is fine with me.!

 

[SomeFakeName]

Of course it's true the psychiatrists eventually go insane.

It's also been proven true that all surgeons are type A jerks, all pediatricians are kind and considerate, all radiologists are socially inept, all pathologists are very weird, and everybody who goes into dermatology only does so because you get to make alot of money for very little hassle compared to other doctors. It's all been proven throughout the ages and will continue to be perpetuated. So if you want to go into anyone of these residencies, make sure you have their required personlity traits.

 

[DoubleDoctor]

I agree with the posts that perhaps psychiatrists have seen the benefits of antidepressants and are more open to taking them. Depression affects a huge percentage of the population and is probably one of the most undertreated diseases. As far as my comment about the OCD personality component, as stated, I think alot of med students and physicians have this problem. We are highly effective people and being kinda anal comes with the territory.

 

[Raf]

Originally posted by DoubleDoctor
I also have a dirty little secret about symmetry.........I like it.

this quote had me rolling on the floor laughing!

 

[i_bite]

All psychiatrists are depressed and take Prozac.
All urologists have erectile dysfunction and take Viagra.
It's the fact of life. Accept it and chose your field appropriately.

 

[Delvonik]

But it would be way more fun to make up rumours about specialists,wouldn't it?(We emphasize,JOKE,JOKE,JOKE...)

So we can conclude that all Ob/Gyns are $ exual predators and just went to med school for ....obvious reasons.

And all Radiologists eventually mutate into weird gross-freaky creatures from long term exposure to radiation from x-rays.


As well,most pathologists develop craving for human body tissue...and well....I think Hannibal was a pathologist,lol


Anesthiesiologists deal with long hours by putting THEMSELVES in a coma.....

 

[ckent]

Originally posted by Delvonik
As well,most pathologists develop craving for human body tissue...and well....I think Hannibal was a pathologist,lol

Hannibal Lecter was a psychiatrist. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was a predilection for med students being treated for psych problems to go into psych, you see it all the time with cardiologist and heart problems, GI and digestive problems, etc. Psych patients seen in other specialties are among the most notoriously difficult to take care of. I have enough trouble with the 1-2 psych pts I see every day in my internal medicine rotation, I can't imagine having a clinic full of them.

 

[Pinky]

what i've noticed during my internship (and which my co-intern who is a psych pgy-1 agreed with) is that it's one thing to only have to take care of a person's pysch issues. it's a completely different issue when you have to deal with someone's medical problems in addition to the psych issues.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

What's so freakin' stressful about psych? 9-5 hours, no emergencies, easy call... When I did my psych rotation, the residents sat on their butts most of the time talking about whether they should up some patient's dose of celexa, or effexor, or whatever... and then wait days to weeks to see any change. That doesn't seem very stressful to me.

And if sitting on your butt, listening to others' problems makes you uneasy then you probably shouldn't be going in to psych. That shouldn't be stressful, that should be exciting.

One other thing. Perhaps the reason that so many shrinks see other shrinks is that that's what those people do. I mean, why do you think so many anesthesiologists wind up getting in trouble with drugs? Perhaps it's simply the availability factor.

BTW, this is not a rip on psychs. I do think that it is a valuable field with a lot to offer. I just don't see what the fuss is all about regarding the "stressful" nature of the job.

 

[Med Seeker]

When I am feeling blue and pondering my future competence in the medical field, I am thankful for some of the people who post responses here. You have a lot to learn if you easily accept some of the horses??t that is presented. Don't make decisions, especially those as important as your residency, on some rumor or supposed truth. In my 8 years of working as a therapist in the menthal health field, working with DO's, MD's, psychiatrists, family doc's, etc., no one position seems to posses universal characteristics, personality wise or professional. Listen to some of the more logical, non-judgemental, well-considered perspectives here. With every useless reply, another meaningful, 'voice of reason' post, is right there.

 

[Delvonik]

I share your thoughts exactly.I mean,I don't actually believe all that stuff I said,it was just a joke.

 

[josephl]

If you folks think that a psychiatrist just sit on the ass and do nothing that is totally wrong. IF you are going to listen to folks say their problems to you for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 40 something weeks an year and for 30+ years you are bound to get affected. I challenge each of you folks who have bad mouthed in here to listen to someone else problems for an hour for 1 month and see if you can handle it. By the way I am not even a psychiatrist. But I got so pissed of at your folks ignorance so I had to write something. All of you folks say that a person has selected a job and they should get detached from it totally and be robots and get on with their lives no matter what happens in their work world. If this is the case then you would make just about the worst doctor that anyone can imagine.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Originally posted by josephl
If you folks think that a psychiatrist just sit on the ass and do nothing that is totally wrong. IF you are going to listen to folks say their problems to you for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 40 something weeks an year and for 30+ years you are bound to get affected. I challenge each of you folks who have bad mouthed in here to listen to someone else problems for an hour for 1 month and see if you can handle it. By the way I am not even a psychiatrist. But I got so pissed of at your folks ignorance so I had to write something. All of you folks say that a person has selected a job and they should get detached from it totally and be robots and get on with their lives no matter what happens in their work world. If this is the case then you would make just about the worst doctor that anyone can imagine.

Hmmm...sarcasm...a high-brow type of humour in which others make fun of that which they secretly envy. Perhaps you might consider becoming familiar with it (ie, the posters critizing Psychiatry were being facetious or sarcastic).