Mental Disorder Secondary Topic?

[theslowclap]

I have a question about secondaries. Is it okay to write about a disorder you have if the prompt specifically asks if there is any hardship you want to indicate? They give geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors as examples.

Why do they want us to write about it?
Would it help or hurt my chances of getting in?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[neuro1986]

My concern is that there is a stigma (regardless of whether there should be) surrounding most mental illnesses. The biggest risk is identifying yourself as someone who has a mental illness that might impair your ability to perform optimally and remain stable. The thing is one of the most prominent impressions that people have of the mentally ill is that they are unpredictable (which is the case for many disorders). It is a risk to present yourself as someone that might behave and perform unpredictably (inconsistently-without certainty) in med school.

For ex.

bipolar disorder- extreme fluctuation between ups and downs- both can be crippling at times- and will most def interfere with performance.

major depressive disorder- although it is the most common of all mental disorders- there is the risk that you will be too low at times to handle the work load- to stay motivated.

schizophrenia- well- the consequences are obvious.

general anxiety disorders or specific anxiety disorders- well they aren't as obviously disruptive but it still might create a negative picture if you experience social anxieties or any anxieties that might interfere with your interaction with other students and your performance.


OCD- well- this might actually be conducive to learning if you frame it in a way that your obsessive compulsive habits actually propel you into O and C study habits.


- I think that there are way too many stigmas surrounding mental illness to take the risk.

If you want to write about it to show that you have overcome adversity and that it has had a significant influence on your life you will probably have to speak to a period of time when you struggled with mental illness and because of its disruptive presence in your life you had to fight to get through it- this means you are giving away that you have had to struggle to function with mental illness- mental illness is something that people do not perceive as an isolated event OR it wouldn't be considered mental illness- genuine mental illness is most often reoccurring (even if it isn't constant- it usually pops its head up throughout one's life) - the fact that you are at a much higher risk of experiencing another bout of mental illness is risky for you (your health and stability) and for your functioning as a med student.

med schools want students who they are confident will be stable, productive, healthy physically and mentally, etc. DON'T risk giving them ANY reason to think otherwise.

The difference between mental illness and say overcoming the death of a loved one that might have caused you extreme sorrow- the impact of the death on you emotionally can reasonably be perceived as an isolated event (external to your control) - that you and the ad comm have no reason to believe will occur again

just my thoughts..

 

[Rendar5]

omg no. In general do not put down any illnesses that can become chronic or recurrent. Keep it private, and get support at the student counseling service if you ever need it. The only exception I can possibly think of is ADHD or something when you're younger which is well under control. And even then. Everything else has a good chance of recurring in this high-stress environment and can possibly be held against you, regardless of stigma.

If you want me to be more specific, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and personality disorders would be among the big no-no's

 

[virusgirl]

You need to be very, very careful about how you do this, and I'm not sure I'd mention it in response to the particular secondary prompt you mentioned.

I wrote about recovering from an eating disorder in my PS (I didn't mention it in my secondaries though), and I think it was the right decision for me, personally. I got plenty of interviews, and while it's entirely possible that some of the schools that rejected me did so on the basis of my PS, I didn't encounter any blatant stigma.

I think the ONLY reason you should mention a mental illness is if it has shaped your interest in medicine somehow. This is why I would NOT mention it for this secondary prompt -- I don't think you should invoke a mental health issue in order to mitigate some part of your application that is sub-par. This information is very private, and you should only share it if it is really and truly relevant to your application.

If you do decide to mention your mental health issues, you need to make it very, very clear that the issue is resolved. Adcoms are going to be hesitant to take a chance on an applicant whose health may negatively influence their ability to treat patients. Some mental health disorders are perceived (rightly or wrongly) as being fairly short-term, or fairly chronic/likely to recur, and you need to make a judgement call as to whether your particular problem is going to be regarded as resolved or not. If you're dealing with something like schizophrenia, DO NOT EVEN THINK about mentioning it.

This is an issue that can be addressed, but you need to do so very carefully. I would suggest having your premed advisor read over a draft of whatever you choose to write -- he or she can give you (somewhat) informed advice. Again, for this particular secondary essay, I would NOT mention any mental health issues, but that's just my opinion.

 

[erdavis]

.

 

[metalambience]

I have a similar question. I was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago and am taking non-stimulant medications (Wellbutrin antidepressant) along with CBT therapy. Is it OK to mention this for secondaries that ask about hardships?

 

[erdavis]

I think that its okay for you to mention it. What ever you have it is probably not as serious as schizo or psycho or other mental disorder that can effect your work because you wouldnt have made it this far if it was

I'm guessing you have a mild disorder like anxiety, ADHD, or depression ect., which are very common and can easily be treated. Disorder like these are controllable and will not hindering your sucess as a doctor if you stay on top of it.

 

[zayka]

I think it would be safer to avoid mentioning anything like that. Definitely don't mention Major Depressive Disorder, if that is what you were diagnosed with, because that is a chronic illness and depressive episodes very often recur after recovery, and there is no sure-fire treatment for it.

Not sure how well anxiety disorders would go down. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder a no. Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia may be okay.

Disorders that would be okay to mention are things like eating disorders and phobias and maybe Asperger's. No mood, psychotic, or personality disorders.

Use your judgment in considering how serious this was, how manageable it is, and how detrimental it would be if this disorder recurred to a doctor.

 

[pharaoh88]

Don't mention it...no question. Some state board exams will even ask you about these, and its definitely not viewed in a positive light.

 

[neuro1986]

don't mention it.

1) many people suffer from ADHD. It isn't remarkable in a way that warrants commentary ESPECIALLY in the setting we are discussing.

2) you were just diagnosed with ADHD and have only been undergoing therapy for 1 year. This creates the impression that this is a fairly recent development and that you have not suffered from it for a long time- which further reinforces why you should not include it- IF you have suffered from it for a long time and never received treatment there are a few ways this can be perceived- a) it wasn't that bad or you would have pursued treatment options b) you didn't take the appropriate "mature" steps to regulate it when you should have.

- the fact that there are possible negative interpretations of your situation on many different fronts (how long, how severe, how important, etc.) should convince you not to bother- do not take the risk.

Its a cost/benefit assessment. Basically, will the benefit of you saying you have struggled with and recently been treated for ADHD outweigh the possible (and likely) negative reflections and concerns- ABSOLUTELY NOT!
The benefits are not as great because ADHD is perceived as a manageable, less severe mental illness experienced by many people.

ADDITIONALLY- featuers of ADHD that might SPECIFICALLY raise red flags for ad comm- impulsivity, difficulty concentrating/remaining focused, hyperactivity (in ways that might distract you from studying), etc. etc.

DO NOT present yourself as someone who possesses these attributes especially in light of the fact the benefits derived from informing the ad comm of "your struggle" with ADHD will not be that great (whether or not you think this should be the case).

 

[apumic]

Short Answer: NO!

Longer Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Reason: As has been said, psych d/o's are associated with poor academic and professional outcomes. Stating you have had a psych d/o is going to give the adcom a very serious red flag (even if you have "recovered," since many question how thoroughly one can recover from a mental illness). Like it or not, your mental health d/o is much more likely to hurt than help you in the application process. I would even be careful with the ones people have made out to be less severe such as ADHD because many of these dx's are known for creating complications w/ other psych d/o's and/or for being precursors to later d/o's. For instance, ADHD + just about any other mental d/o indicates a very poor prognosis for recovery (e.g., IIRC, ADHD + CD is one of the highest rates for a precursor to Antisocial PD). The truth is that for people w/ a spotty mental health hx, it is often difficult to maintain a job flipping burgers, much less graduating med school and achieving success as a physician. Placing yourself in that category to begin with could get your app screened pretty quickly by reviewers.