More Than 1 In 4 Medical Students Are Depressed, Analysis Finds

F.I., 31, is in her final year at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She’s studying to be an emergency department doctor, and come March 17, or “Match Day,” she and thousands of other medical students across America will find out if they got matched to a hospital residency program after graduation. F.I. has something else in common with many of her medical school colleagues: She’s struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. These are issues she’s dealt with since she was 10 years old, but F.I., who asked that we use her initials due to concerns about mental health stigma in her field, said her symptoms got worse when she was applying to medical school. When F.I. got into a top-20 medical school, she thought her problems were over. But soon, the relentless competition and insecurities about not being smart or prepared enough re-triggered her old depression symptoms. “I still remember the day I got the acceptance letter,” said F.I. “I was really shocked and I was incredibly happy, and I thought all those feelings of inadequacy would be gone.” “But then after I started, they all returned, and it’s never-ending,” she continued. “Then you have to apply for residency, and it’s like the same thing all over again.” F.I. isn’t alone in her struggle, and American medical students aren’t unique in their unusually high rates of depression and suicidal though...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news