In Part 1, we made the case that a career in modern medicine meets the diagnostic criteria for addiction. Medicine can be unhealthy, yet we carry on or feel unable to make healthy changes. In Part 2, we explore how to get sober if you’re addicted to medicine.

Are physicians addicted to medicine? in this article I will argue that medicine can be so intoxicating, even if it’s bad for us, that doctors can become addicted to it. Before too long, a medical life becomes a way of life until we don’t know any different.

“For the first time in ages, I didn’t feel alone anymore that night. Despite the craziness that had happened in the days prior, I felt calm.

In this, our second Guest Physician blog by Dr Henry Harris, surgeon, alcoholic in recovery, and proudly Approved Physicians Anonymous Mentor, Dr Harris shares his experience of rehab as an alcoholic physician.

In the months before my rock bottom, it felt like there wasn’t a soul around for me to explain how I was feeling.

I had alienated almost all people from my life.

Me slowing dying and I was forgotten in triage.

In this article, we examine the evidence base for physician coaching and wellbeing, how to find a good coach, and how to tell if they’re right for you. We also note a caveat around the need for systemic change – a white coat revolution if you will – to address the underlying toxicity of modern medicine causing so much physician distress, burnout, and moral injury.

A note to the suicidal doctor from the heart of one who has been there and come through stronger.

Imagine a world where no doctor needed to fear sanctions or discrimination for struggling mentally, particularly when the modern practice of medicine is so fraught with conditions causing moral distress. Here’s how to normalize physician mental health.

By the time we are finished our medical training, it’s too late. We have already absorbed or been infused with years of culture, tradition, attitude, and approaches to mental health. These attitudes are towards ourselves, our colleagues, and our patients. If we are to change the culture around physician mental health, we need to start with the doctors of tomorrow. Medical schools have a key role in tackling medical student mental health. And they should start yesterday.

This article explores the thorny issue of physician burnout vs depression, attempting to tease out the similarities and differences.

ED Doctor’s Burnout Story

ED Doctor’s Burnout Story

In this article we explore the impact of “pajama time” and physician burnout, and propose radical solutions like: stop working at home.

This article explores how we can solve physician burnout by changing the toxic healthcare system while also providing physicians with tools to help them recognize and treat burnout and other mental health challenges.

Here we have curated a series of validated questionnaires that will at least assist you in screening the commonest psychological problems in doctors, including physician burnout tests, depression tests, and scales for self-compassion and moral injury.

In Part 2 of this series, we will look at further at the etiology of physician burnout, specifically the roles of medical training and leadership.