Re: "Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide?"

September 5, 2014

To the editor:



Pranay Sinha (9/5/14, Why do doctors commit suicide?) downplays the role of stigma towards mental illness as an impediment for a physician pursuing psychiatric treatment.

The vast majority of people who die by suicide suffer from a diagnosable mental illness with clinical depression being most frequent. Reassurance, which was helpful for the author, is of limited value for most patients with clinical depression and suicidal thinking.

A resident may feel insecure about his capacities to heal due to lack of experience as he moves into a role of increased responsibility. But insecurity may also be a realistic reaction to being impaired by mental illness. Being ill while developing one’s healing capacities and identity can feel like an impossible bind. Acknowledging that one is ill - to colleagues and to oneself – can feel terrifying and dangerous.

Sensitivity to this conflict may make it easier for physicians to pursue treatment while assessing the physician's competence during a period of illness. This makes more likely a positive outcome will prevail - doing no harm to one's patients nor oneself.

Respectfully,

Larry S. Sandberg