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Saturday, January 20th, 2018

Why so many doctors kill themselves

Author:     Pamela Wible, MD
Source:     Chicago Tribune/The Washington Post
Publication Date:     15 January 2018 | 11:23 a.m.
 Link: Why so many doctors kill themselves
Stephan:   I first wrote about physician suicides several years ago, and I have been watching this trend become worse bit by bit ever since. It is an aspect of the American Illness Profit System that outside of the medical profession itself receives almost no coverage this rare report, written by a physician, being an exception. In my opinion this is yet another example of how in the U.S. profit is more important and takes priority  over human wellbeing.  Other countries have figured out how to create wellness fostering healthcare why can't America?

Five years ago, I was at a memorial. Another suicide. Our third doctor in 18 months.

Everyone kept whispering, “Why?”

That was when I decided I had to find an answer.

So I started counting dead doctors. I left that memorial service with a list of 10. Today I have 757 suicides on my registry.

And I began writing and speaking about why doctors die by suicide and why it’s so often hushed up.

The response was huge: So many distressed doctors (and medical students) wrote and phoned me. Soon I was running a de facto international suicide hotline from my home. To date, I’ve spoken to thousands of suicidal doctors; published a book of their suicide letters; attended more funerals; interviewed hundreds of surviving physicians, families and friends. I’ve spent nearly every waking moment over the past five years on a personal quest for the truth of “why.” Guilt, bullying, exhaustion are big factors. Here are some of the things I’ve discovered while compiling my list and talking to so many people:

– High doctor suicide rates have […]

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1 Comment

  1. Mark R on Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 10:53 am

    Medical doctors are trapped in a system that is not about truly helping others to heal. Until we integrate medicine and actual healing..not just curing symptoms..we will continue to see people chewed up and destroyed by an uncaring system..on both the doctor and patient sides. Powerful story. Thanks you Stephan.