Mental Health and Health care Providers

[Cammiecat]

Hello.  I am an RN who suffers from PTSD, major depressive disorder and GAD.  I am medically managed and go to therapy weekly.  I have never compromised patient care although I know that my managers have questioned my abilities at times.  I have always thought that I can't be the only health care professional that suffers with mental health issues.  As a society, we are starting to talk about mental health issues, but among health care providers, there is still a "hush, hush" attitude surrounding the topic.  I am looking for resources for health care professionals or statistics; something so I know that I am not alone in this.  Knowing that there are others that have similar experiences is an important part of recovery.  Do you know where to start looking?  Any ideas on how to combat stigma in the workplace?

[Jaquta]

Hi

I just saw this article in our newspaper today and thought you might be interested.  
The article is entitled, Sleeping problems can affect mental health says scientists.  It says that sleep difficulties could be the cause of some mental health issues.

That wasn't the bit that was relevant to your post though.  Here's an excerpt:
In 1987, Patricia Chang and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reported a study of 1053 male medical students who had been followed for an average of 34 years after graduation.  During that time, 101 of them developed clinical depression and 13 of these committed suicide.  Students who had reported from suffering from insomnia were twice as likely to develop depression as those with no trouble sleeping.

It's a few stats for you.  Just thought you might be interested.

The paper was, The New Zealand Herald.  Our date, Friday, February 20, 2009.
nzherald.co.nz

The article was on page A9.

J

[Jaquta]

I'm ambivalent about the stats.  Most countries have national data bases.  I don't know that that information would be made available to the general public.  Just from a practical point of view it could undermine the confidence people have in its health care providers and also, shouldn't that information be confidential?  To protect you?

Does it really matter what profession you belong too?

Another way to look at this is to look up the prevalence rates for each disorder.  If x% many people are depressed then that could correspond to x many people in your workplace.
One in every five people in our country are said to have mental health issues at some time in their life.

Knowing that others have issues only normalizes it.

I believe stigma is a difficult subject.
From personal experience I feel torn between my need for honesty and my need for privacy.
Self-disclosure and being strong help reduce the degree of misinformation and perceptions around mental illness.

Can you ask your supervisor or T for further information?

Just thinking.  You are a part of a system projecting things onto patients.  I expect someone within the system would have a better chance at influencing the system.

J

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I don't know where to tell you to look, but I am absolutely sure there are such groups and you can find them online, or through  the national mental health groups. I know also that there are many organizations fighting the stigma, one being the Didi Hirsch Mental Health center in los angeles, so contacting them may help you learn about what you can do directly.