Doctors and Depression
Doctor and writer Jocelyn Lowinger wrote a great article for the Medical Republic a few weeks ago about doctors and depression. (If you missed the article here’s a link to it http://thinkfeelact.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/TMR_240216_034_037.pdf)
It reminded me of what a great role e-mental health resources can have in the lives of doctors as well as their patients.
Many of us have spent much of our lives being totally on top of things or burying ourselves so deep in work we don’t have time to consider our own mental health needs. For a lot of doctors the “tipping point” in our load of stress comes eventually (and sometimes sooner rather than later).
We need to learn to help our patients, but we also need to learn to help ourselves. You may not want to do formal mental health training just to help yourself and, like many doctors, you may feel reluctant to seek face to face help. eMH programs and resources can relieve the stress of knowing how to get help for others and they can also teach us skills to use in our own lives.
If you are feeling the effects of stress or even wanting to deny the devil his payment for the life and work stress you’ve endured already, you might like to look at the stress management and relaxation sections of myCompass (www.myCompass.org.au) for example.
If you are managing your stress by drinking too much (or you have patients who are) have a look at the alcohol program in OnTrack (www.ontrack.org.au) or if you are looking for ways to manage your natural tendency to anxiety and worry, online programs like Mental Health Online (www.mentalhealthonline.org.au) and e-couch (www.ecouch.anu.edu.au) may provide you with a healthy starting point.
Online therapy is not a substitute for face to face therapy, especially if you are really unwell, but it is a place to learn some skills to prevent problems in the future and to help improve the present.
If you need to don’t hesitate to call Lifeline on 13 11 14
Gerhard is a full professor of Clinical Psychology at Linköping University, Sweden since 2003, an
d affiliated researcher at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Professor Andersson is an internationally recognized researcher in the field of CBT delivered through information and communication technology, as well as the author of the book “The Internet and CBT: a clinical guide”.
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