Is there anyway to make Mental illness work in a personal statement???

[zerenheh]

I know it already that discussing mental illness of any kind you have is a huge red flag to adcoms that pretty much equals to automatic rejection as they see you as a liability and even a danger or maybe even a pathetic excuse. (which is messed up, but that's just the harsh reality of med school adcom, and society in general as even for the boards mental illness = pretty much no license for you even if you're stable.

My diagnosis isn't really any better as unfortunately, it is often associated with being "scary" and "dangerous people" due to inaccurate media portrayal.

But my illness has had a huge role in my life in shaping who I am and why I want to become a doctor (hopefully primary care, pediatrician or even a psychiatrist) as I realized there is a huge lack of compassion, empathy, and understanding regarding to patients with mental illness. For example, in my second year of college I was sent to the ER for a suicide attempt and psychotic breakdown and I heard both the nurses and doctors making jokes about my situation calling me crazy and I should be locked up which was not only a shock but really hurtful and humiliating. It's experiences like that that make me understand why a lot of people with mental illness don't want to speak to their doctors about their mental health as they're afraid they won't be taken seriously and even ostracized. ( I also had terrible traumatic experiences at psychiatric hospitals too but I think that may be a little too extreme and off topic)

I'm hoping to become a doctor so I can change that, even if it's for a single person as I know it can mean the world to them. So I was wondering if there is anyway I can mention the role of mental illness in my pursuit to become a doctor. Maybe talking about my experiences through the description of close friend or family member who went through these things rather than myself?

By the way, I am currently stable (on medication and ongoing therapy) and my cumulative GPA and Science GPA managed to be both decent (3.5+) so I'm not too concerned about that though maybe they're a bit low?

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[LM75]

mental illness = application killer

If you're good in the head now and there is no documentation of any of those things, don't even bring it up.

The last thing some med school is going to want is a potential suicidal doctor.

 

[zerenheh]

mental illness = application killer

If you're good in the head now and there is no documentation of any of those things, don't even bring it up.

The last thing some med school is going to want is a potential suicidal doctor.

what if I wrote it through observing a friend going through that instead? That way it won't be me who is suicidal but my friend

 

[ciestar]

Don’t bring this up. Med school breaks healthy people, those without a history of mental illness. Med school is stressful and pushed me into a full blown relapse, which led to major problems along the way.

And if the disorder is what I am thinking it is, absolutely don’t mention it. It is a super high risk scenario and I would advise against saying anything about it. Adcoms will be weary that admitting you will lead to a relapse later on.

 

[Goro]

I know it already that discussing mental illness of any kind you have is a huge red flag to adcoms that pretty much equals to automatic rejection as they see you as a liability and even a danger or maybe even a pathetic excuse. (which is messed up, but that's just the harsh reality of med school adcom, and society in general as even for the boards mental illness = pretty much no license for you even if you're stable.

My diagnosis isn't really any better as unfortunately, it is often associated with being "scary" and "dangerous people" due to inaccurate media portrayal.

But my illness has had a huge role in my life in shaping who I am and why I want to become a doctor (hopefully primary care, pediatrician or even a psychiatrist) as I realized there is a huge lack of compassion, empathy, and understanding regarding to patients with mental illness. For example, in my second year of college I was sent to the ER for a suicide attempt and psychotic breakdown and I heard both the nurses and doctors making jokes about my situation calling me crazy and I should be locked up which was not only a shock but really hurtful and humiliating. It's experiences like that that make me understand why a lot of people with mental illness don't want to speak to their doctors about their mental health as they're afraid they won't be taken seriously and even ostracized. ( I also had terrible traumatic experiences at psychiatric hospitals too but I think that may be a little too extreme and off topic)

I'm hoping to become a doctor so I can change that, even if it's for a single person as I know it can mean the world to them. So I was wondering if there is anyway I can mention the role of mental illness in my pursuit to become a doctor. Maybe talking about my experiences through the description of close friend or family member who went through these things rather than myself?

By the way, I am currently stable (on medication and ongoing therapy) and my cumulative GPA and Science GPA managed to be both decent (3.5+) so I'm not too concerned about that though maybe they're a bit low?

I can't recommend it no matter how important it is to you. When I see essays like this, I involuntarily gasp. And this from a guy who has been on anti-depressants twice, and seen a therapist at least five times in my adult life for depression, and has close relatives with mental health issues.

I'm telling you all this because medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.

 

[pms_testosterone]

It's hard to know if writing about your own mental illness would hurt your application - it probably would at some schools/to some readers.

It would certainly be safer to discuss mental health through the experience of others. Have you volunteered with any mental health organizations? You could make that a main subject of your essay.

 

[zerenheh]

I can't recommend it no matter how important it is to you. When I see essays like this, I involuntarily gasp. And this from a guy who has been on anti-depressants twice, and seen a therapist at least five times in my adult life for depression, and has close relatives with mental health issues.

I'm telling you all this because medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.

I guess I'll have to scrap it and write something else. I guess once you're in the medical profession you just have to keep mental illness as a secret or risk not getting admitted, not getting a license and even losing your job. I wish it wasn't like that but I guess I'll just have to comply to the expected standards

 

[zerenheh]

It's hard to know if writing about your own mental illness would hurt your application - it probably would at some schools/to some readers.

It would certainly be safer to discuss mental health through the experience of others. Have you volunteered with any mental health organizations? You could make that a main subject of your essay.

I have thought of that as I had volunteered in such organizations but some people say its a bad idea because your personal statement is supposed to be about YOU and not other people

 

[pms_testosterone]

Writing about your volunteer work/work/research (and how it led you to medicine) is writing about you, and seems to be what most people write about.I think it'd be just fine.

 

[Goro]

I guess I'll have to scrap it and write something else. I guess once you're in the medical profession you just have to keep mental illness as a secret or risk not getting admitted, not getting a license and even losing your job. I wish it wasn't like that but I guess I'll just have to comply to the expected standards

Having seen students get dismissed because of acute psychotic breaks, or refusing to take their meds, or having their grades trashed because they not only lost all motivation, they refused to seek help, makes us very conservative where mental health issues are concerned. Long periods of academic excellence can help allay our fears.

I think that you can discuss your issues, but it has to be done with a decent amount of spin. Perhaps save the discussion for secondaries.

 

[zerenheh]

Having seen students get dismissed because of acute psychotic breaks, or refusing to take their meds, or having their grades trashed because they not only lost all motivation, they refused to seek help, makes us very conservative where mental health issues are concerned. Long periods of academic excellence can help allay our fears.

I think that you can discuss your issues, but it has to be done with a decent amount of spin. Perhaps save the discussion for secondaries.

Well I am currently stable and have treatment but I guess it's still too risky of a subject so I'll have to come up with something else a bit more "acceptable"

 

[LM75]

what if I wrote it through observing a friend going through that instead? That way it won't be me who is suicidal but my friend

As I said, mental health issues are an app killer. It doesn't matter if it's you, "your friend" or Big Bird.

Talk about something OTHER than this issue like helping people or your "love for science."

 

[Medic741]

I guess I'll have to scrap it and write something else. I guess once you're in the medical profession you just have to keep mental illness as a secret or risk not getting admitted, not getting a license and even losing your job. I wish it wasn't like that but I guess I'll just have to comply to the expected standards

Nope. Be honest, take care of yourself but recognize that airing dirty laundary has no place in a professional environment. You’ll find people professionally who will become your friends that you can lean on, but there are appropriate lines and boundaries in professional life that are very different & honestly more appropriate than what you’ve experienced in UG.

I saw a counselor for back end of college after life happened, didn’t write about it but when I was at interviews I was asked about professional struggles. Talked about some personal & professional traumatic experiences, interviewer turned to how I was able to be resilient to these events, so I talked about the importance of hobbies and having a counselor I trusted.

They valued the positive self-care and empathy and I was accepted. Mental health is something that may be pol-pooed by students (kids) who haven’t had an experience that’s left them staring at a ceiling for hours. Don’t let that get to you. Take care of yourself and no, your concerns are in no way a precluding factor to medicine. Just be aware of your demons and make sure you’ve found a way to keep them in check.

 

[Biochemistry69]

I can't recommend it no matter how important it is to you. When I see essays like this, I involuntarily gasp. And this from a guy who has been on anti-depressants twice, and seen a therapist at least five times in my adult life for depression, and has close relatives with mental health issues.

I'm telling you all this because medical school is a furnace, and I've seen it break even healthy students. The #1 reason my school loses students to withdrawal, dismissal or LOA is to unresolved mental health issues.

Do you think medical schools will lose the stigma to mental health? Reading things like this just forces me to become very good at being dishonest and hiding my issues, and I think a lot of premeds feel the same way.

 

[Goro]

Do you think medical schools will lose the stigma to mental health? Reading things like this just forces me to become very good at being dishonest and hiding my issues, and I think a lot of premeds feel the same way.

When we stop losing students to mental health issues.

 

[pms_testosterone]

When we stop losing students to mental health issues.

I really hope not all schools have this defeatist attitude. Lots of schools putting a lot of resources into mental health right now, you would hope this would result in them being more accepting of and willing to work with applicants with a mental health history.

 

[Goro]

I really hope not all schools have this defeatist attitude. Lots of schools putting a lot of resources into mental health right now, you would hope this would result in them being more accepting of and willing to work with applicants with a mental health history.

Students with a history of academic success have a way of assuaging our concerns. But at the outset, this process for the applicant is about minimizing risk, and so one should not torpedo one's chances.

 

[Peter Pan.]

Why would all cases be treated the same? I would think them mentioning it would depend on a couple things.

How long ago did the person suffer from this mental illness? Do they still suffer from it? I would think someone that has been well for years wouldn’t be treated the same as the person who still has difficulties with mental illness or recently got done with treatment.

What mental illness was it? Schizophrenia? Depression with a history of suicidal ideation? Social anxiety disorder? Obsessive compulsive disorder? Some mental disorders are more severe and much more difficult to treat. For instance social anxiety disorder is the most treatable of the anxiety disorders whereas schizophrenia is more difficult to treat with lower rates of success.

It would seem that an application discussing ongoing battles with depression or suicidal ideation(med school can give stress and cause depression) with limited extracurriculars would be a bigger red flag than someone who used to suffer with social anxiety disorder(years ago) but since then as seen on their application they’ve had many leadership experiences, volunteer positions, and other extracurriculars showing that their life is no longer hindered. Also an upward grade trend can reflect that.

I’m disappointed to see this. I was going to talk about how I overcame mental illness and how it created emphathy for other people. I’ve also had the opportunity to help people with mental illness. There is a stigma towards those with mental health issues and this even happens among healthcare professionals. You would think a background with overcoming mental illness with some extracurriculars centered around this would be an attractive quality on an application.

 

[RTC19]

Having seen students get dismissed because of acute psychotic breaks, or refusing to take their meds, or having their grades trashed because they not only lost all motivation, they refused to seek help, makes us very conservative where mental health issues are concerned. Long periods of academic excellence can help allay our fears.

I think that you can discuss your issues, but it has to be done with a decent amount of spin. Perhaps save the discussion for secondaries.

I don't mean to hijack the OP's thread, but are you able to define "long" a little bit better? 1 year? 2 years? 3 years?

 

[ciestar]

Why would all cases be treated the same? I would think them mentioning it would depend on a couple things.

How long ago did the person suffer from this mental illness? Do they still suffer from it? I would think someone that has been well for years wouldn’t be treated the same as the person who still has difficulties with mental illness or recently got done with treatment.

What mental illness was it? Schizophrenia? Depression with a history of suicidal ideation? Social anxiety disorder? Obsessive compulsive disorder? Some mental disorders are more severe and much more difficult to treat. For instance social anxiety disorder is the most treatable of the anxiety disorders whereas schizophrenia is more difficult to treat with lower rates of success.

It would seem that an application discussing ongoing battles with depression or suicidal ideation(med school can give stress and cause depression) with limited extracurriculars would be a bigger red flag than someone who used to suffer with social anxiety disorder(years ago) but since then as seen on their application they’ve had many leadership experiences, volunteer positions, and other extracurriculars showing that their life is no longer hindered. Also an upward grade trend can reflect that.

I’m disappointed to see this. I was going to talk about how I overcame mental illness and how it created emphathy for other people. I’ve also had the opportunity to help people with mental illness. There is a stigma towards those with mental health issues and this even happens among healthcare professionals. You would think a background with overcoming mental illness with some extracurriculars centered around this would be an attractive quality on an application.

Yeah, it absolutely sucks. I feel like those struggles helped get me to where I am now and shaped my world view.

However, I have first hand experience as to why adcoms are hesitant. Med school really messed me up mentally for a while. First year I lost 30 lbs (and i wasn’t heavy to begin with) and stopped caring enough to study and my grades fell. Im super lucky I never failed any courses but med school can push you to your breaking point.

 

[Second_choice]

I’m having the same dilemma. I’ve struggled with schizo-affective disorder. I’m currently in the process of taking science classes for medical school. I don’t know if mentioning my triumph of mental illness would make me a stronger or weaker applicant. If I get an interview, I would like to talk about it and reassure them that I’m highly compliant with my meds. But I keep getting mixed messages about mentioning it. I think this transition in my life would make me stronger and a better doctor. I’m just not sure.... I’m thinking about contacting schools I wouldn’t apply to and ask them about their take on a student who reports mental illness. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

 

[ciestar]

I’m having the same dilemma. I’ve struggled with schizo-affective disorder. I’m currently in the process of taking science classes for medical school. I don’t know if mentioning my triumph of mental illness would make me a stronger or weaker applicant. If I get an interview, I would like to talk about it and reassure them that I’m highly compliant with my meds. But I keep getting mixed messages about mentioning it. I think this transition in my life would make me stronger and a better doctor. I’m just not sure.... I’m thinking about contacting schools I wouldn’t apply to and ask them about their take on a student who reports mental illness. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

There are plenty of adcoms on SDN that say you shouldn’t.

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

I’m having the same dilemma. I’ve struggled with schizo-affective disorder. I’m currently in the process of taking science classes for medical school. I don’t know if mentioning my triumph of mental illness would make me a stronger or weaker applicant. If I get an interview, I would like to talk about it and reassure them that I’m highly compliant with my meds. But I keep getting mixed messages about mentioning it. I think this transition in my life would make me stronger and a better doctor. I’m just not sure.... I’m thinking about contacting schools I wouldn’t apply to and ask them about their take on a student who reports mental illness. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

I do think that your own struggles might very well make you a better physician in the long run, though as others have said, medical school is very stressful and can exacerbate any underlying disorder. I agree with others here that you should never explicitly mention your own personal struggles with something as serious as schizoaffective disorder. Adcoms and residency program directors will generally run for the hills. There are so many qualified applicants for every spot that they will feel that it is not worth the risk. I have seen this attitude prevail even for more "minor" psychiatric issues such as brief suicidal ideation after a relationship breakup or anorexia in high school, long-resolved. (And this from an ad com at a school where former leadership eventually admitted a long-standing serious psychiatric disorder). If you must display your understanding and ability to empathize with patients with mental health issues, write about the issue as if it was experienced by a family member.

 

[surfsuncali]

I know it already that discussing mental illness of any kind you have is a huge red flag to adcoms that pretty much equals to automatic rejection as they see you as a liability and even a danger or maybe even a pathetic excuse. (which is messed up, but that's just the harsh reality of med school adcom, and society in general as even for the boards mental illness = pretty much no license for you even if you're stable.

My diagnosis isn't really any better as unfortunately, it is often associated with being "scary" and "dangerous people" due to inaccurate media portrayal.

But my illness has had a huge role in my life in shaping who I am and why I want to become a doctor (hopefully primary care, pediatrician or even a psychiatrist) as I realized there is a huge lack of compassion, empathy, and understanding regarding to patients with mental illness. For example, in my second year of college I was sent to the ER for a suicide attempt and psychotic breakdown and I heard both the nurses and doctors making jokes about my situation calling me crazy and I should be locked up which was not only a shock but really hurtful and humiliating. It's experiences like that that make me understand why a lot of people with mental illness don't want to speak to their doctors about their mental health as they're afraid they won't be taken seriously and even ostracized. ( I also had terrible traumatic experiences at psychiatric hospitals too but I think that may be a little too extreme and off topic)

I'm hoping to become a doctor so I can change that, even if it's for a single person as I know it can mean the world to them. So I was wondering if there is anyway I can mention the role of mental illness in my pursuit to become a doctor. Maybe talking about my experiences through the description of close friend or family member who went through these things rather than myself?

By the way, I am currently stable (on medication and ongoing therapy) and my cumulative GPA and Science GPA managed to be both decent (3.5+) so I'm not too concerned about that though maybe they're a bit low?

I talked about overcoming social anxiety in my secondaries, and touched on it in my primaries. However, since your mental illness is usually associated with "scary" and "dangerous" people like you mentioned, I might just write about something else.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

If you want to be a doctor, don’t write about your mental illness.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Peter Pan.]

I talked about overcoming social anxiety in my secondaries, and touched on it in my primaries. However, since your mental illness is usually associated with "scary" and "dangerous" people like you mentioned, I might just write about something else.

Overcame social anxiety as well. How many interviews did you get? Did they ask you about it in interviews?

 

[wholeheartedly]

I'm not a fan of the stigma mental health issues have in medicine, but it's worth noting that schools being gun shy isn't just to protect the school.

Physicians have an incredibly high suicide rate, and that can't be ignored.

If you're on or considering this path, you really need to look beyond just the admissions concerns and have an honest heart to heart with yourself if this is really a good idea. Aside from from your personal wellbeing, some mental health issues can really impact how you interact with your patients as well. A good resource will be your trusted friends and your psychiatrist. A psychiatrist knows you, your condition, and they've been through medical training. They're in a very good position to tell you if they think you're high risk for major issues. If they ok you moving forward they can also help you put a game plan in place to prevent issues before they occur or get on top of them quickly if things start to go sideways.

 

[surfsuncali]

Overcame social anxiety as well. How many interviews did you get? Did they ask you about it in interviews?

Just one interview, but I didn't apply to a ton of schools. I got in though!

My social anxiety did come up in the interview, and they told me they would never have been able to tell. It was very nice to hear that. I hope your cycle is going well!

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I'm not a fan of the stigma mental health issues have in medicine, but it's worth noting that schools being gun shy isn't just to protect the school.

Physicians have an incredibly high suicide rate, and that can't be ignored.

If you're on or considering this path, you really need to look beyond just the admissions concerns and have an honest heart to heart with yourself if this is really a good idea. Aside from from your personal wellbeing, some mental health issues can really impact how you interact with your patients as well. A good resource will be your trusted friends and your psychiatrist. A psychiatrist knows you, your condition, and they've been through medical training. They're in a very good position to tell you if they think you're high risk for major issues. If they ok you moving forward they can also help you put a game plan in place to prevent issues before they occur or get on top of them quickly if things start to go sideways.

Exactly. Some people are not cut out for medicine because of their mental health disorders. Not every disorder will disqualify you from being a doctor, but some should. If you cannot perform your duties safely, then you are a danger to patients. There are some jobs that I will never be able to do, no matter how much I want to. For example, I cannot be a construction worker, or crab fisherman. I’m simply not physically strong enough. And because of my body construction, I never will be. Period. I can talk about how unfair it is, but it’s just the way things are.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[DokterMom]

I really hope not all schools have this defeatist attitude. Lots of schools putting a lot of resources into mental health right now, you would hope this would result in them being more accepting of and willing to work with applicants with a mental health history.

They're putting more resources into mental health because it's necessary to save the students with lower-level mental health issues that flare up under the pressure. Accepting a larger number of students with greater mental health needs is a recipe for even larger problems and more washouts.

 

[doc05]

Here's a thought: serious mental health issue? Don't go to med school.

 

[puahate]

Here's a thought: serious mental health issue? Don't go to med school.

Lol look in r/medicalschool and you'll see how almost everyone there has some kind of mental health issue.

 

[el_duderino]

The only thing better than an applicant with mental illness is an applicant with both mental illness and poor judgment as evidenced by writing about their illness in the personal statement.

Don't do it.

 

[Peter Pan.]

Just one interview, but I didn't apply to a ton of schools. I got in though!

My social anxiety did come up in the interview, and they told me they would never have been able to tell. It was very nice to hear that. I hope your cycle is going well!

I haven’t applied yet. Currently studying for the MCAT and going to apply next cycle! Glad you got in!

 

[lalalallala]

Just one interview, but I didn't apply to a ton of schools. I got in though!

My social anxiety did come up in the interview, and they told me they would never have been able to tell. It was very nice to hear that. I hope your cycle is going well!

I feel like on the spectrum of mental health issues that applicants may have social anxiety is probably going to be one of the least alarming. Especially since it is something that you can show that you can overcome. Schools want to be sure that you are fit for medical school and to complete your training in all regards - academically, socially, personality wise, and mental health wise. Sometimes people can't see that they are not fit for a job, so it is the job of others to not accept them. OP, if you want to get in then do not bring it up. The chances that it goes over well are very low.

 

[siliso]

You know what, if you have a psychotic disorder I think you should disclose it and possibly should reconsider your career choice. It’s going to be a problem with getting through school and with licensing. You were psychotic less than 2 years ago. Who says you won’t be again under a greater than ever load of stress and also feeling that you have to hide your condition? You can be an advocate for people with mental illness in lots of fields that aren’t such pressure cookers.

 

[LukaDoncicLuk]

If you disclose that you have bipolar 1 disorder, schizoaffective disorder or schizophrenia I think it would be impossible for you to gain admission to medical school. Any mention of attempted suicides will probably throw up huge red flags in terms of liability/safety as well.

I'm not qualified to give my opinion on this, but I think that there is a question as to whether someone with these conditions should attempt to become a physician.