It bothers me to see people actively promulgating this over-generalization. It especially pains me to hear this level of cynicism coming from someone with limited clinical exposure. Granted, it may be the truth for some patients. But it's not true for everyone, or even for most. When I read the word "chuckled," I feel some derision behind it, and that bothers me. (Forgive me if this is a misinterpretation.)
A huge number of patients who we treat in psychiatry have such severe psychopathology (mania, psychosis) that the mainstay of acute treatment and maintenance is medication. All the mindfulness and re-framing in the world isn't going to snap you out of your catatonia. However, that's not to say that some patients with these types of disorders, once stabilized on meds, can't benefit in the long-term from non-pharmacologic management in addition to meds--ie, coping skills, social skills training, etc.
Furthermore, even at my early point in residency, I am coming to understand in a deeper way that some of my patients who appear med-seeking, eg some with anxiety disorders who pop benzos like candy, have very poor coping skills. From an outsider perspective they might get "chuckled" at and labeled as "lazy" folks who "don't want to work that hard." But for many (not all), when you delve a little deeper it's apparent that they may not have much self-awareness or interoceptive ability, or were just not naturally gifted with great coping skills to help them manage their illness. Many of these patients would love to feel more in control of their illness and their lives, and teaching them cognitive and behavioral tools (which may seem obvious or intuitive for the more intrapersonally-gifted) can be very empowering for them, and they welcome it.
And finally, to go back and address the original point of the OP. I agree with previous posters that sad stories are not unique to psychiatry, but rather are part and parcel of most fields of medicine. There have been threads on this very topic in the past. In psychiatry we also have the opportunity to make a very big difference for people and that can be very rewarding.
I would add that I feel I am actually being better prepared than residents in other specialties to deal with the stress and sad stories inherent to my job--at least at my particular residency program. I can't speak for other programs specifically. But as a part of our psychiatry residency, we all participate in a process group, we have 2 hours per week of individual supervision, I am surrounded by psychologically-insightful colleagues, and our residents are offered 1 year of individual psychotherapy as part of our educational experience. Many of these features are not unique to my program, but are common elements of psychiatry training. This has the potential to promote personal and professional growth that can help one become a better clinician and be more prepared to constructively deal with the difficult or negative aspects of medical practice.
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