 Why do doctors commit suicide at a rate that is much much much higher than almost any of the profession including even dentists? Now in this video, I want to share an actual live in person unscripted podcast interview I did with a colleague who has a channel and a podcast on herbal medicine in the integrative medicine sphere So come on over check it out I'm going to show you that clip of this interview where we were talking about this very important topic and Our own opinions and observations on why that may be true Why do you think that is what what do you think is leading this suicide epidemic amongst physicians? I think it's it's also like a yin yang thing where it's one part internal one part external Where I think the inner part is just that like no one who's really fulfilled or really happy and content and has a Meaningful life kills himself obviously so I think whatever leads to those internal factors whether it is that Like you look at the profession of physician and in our modern world because this wasn't like this in ancient times in the modern world that's a very prestigious title that makes a lot of money and Prestige and money attract a lot of people including people not interested in a field So I think part of it is like a lot of physicians have family lineages of medicine And a lot of people go into it who don't actually really like medicine I think that's one piece of it and I think the other piece is just the external piece Which is just that you're working crushing hours. You have however many few minutes with a patient there's a ton of pressure and Frankly people can just be like really mean I mean if you look at the malpractice insurance for physician What is it like almost six figures a year or more especially for surgeons especially surgeons? Yeah, like you look at that That's like I'm paying this much to not be afraid right and like such a litigious society where you're afraid of You make an honest mistake and someone like sues you for all you have that's pretty scary, you know I mean those are my best guesses, but I think a lot of it is just that deep kind of a Lot of it is just I think the compassion fatigue to where you're helping people and you even just see like the same person come in Like the diabetic right like a case study the diabetic they come in you see the blood sugar numbers You see the a1c and then eventually What happens is let's let's make it extreme they need an amputation like their foot or below the knee But then nothing changes they don't change the diet They don't change anything despite that really serious consequence and it almost leads you to feel like Like why bother like a lot of these people are gonna do the same thing no matter what I say And so it's kind of like you're the pes dispenser You don't like what you're doing or even maybe what you're giving Maybe you know it doesn't even really work in the long term But that's kind of all you have and you are not even allowed to you because of the AMA and the system set up for you in medicine You can't even Do anything Different from that prescribed advice or else that's malpractice, right? So it's acting alongside regulations of insurance companies right what they'll reimburse it forces a certain kind of practice like the you know Physicians sees you know 10 patients an hour or something ridiculous that really no person can possibly handle and in in such a stressful position where What you decide has such a big impact on somebody's life, right? And then on top of that there's something you were alluding to the lack of fulfillment in the profession that Some physicians might feel like They're facing this this giant Conventional medical system insurance companies right they can't Overcome and they feel like their actions don't actually make that much of a difference right these life And I mean how much of a difference can you make in some of these life if you only see them for like two minutes? Yeah, right don't even know their first name right and then I think like I think all physicians Just like all humans want meaning and purpose in their work and their life And so it's almost like a system that they're forced to work in that makes them have this meaningless Surface meeting with every patient where it's just like alright I'm a pes dispenser even though I don't really want that and They don't have like an hour where they can just talk about life see what's really going on They can actually have the opportunity to do anything deeper So I think they're almost barred from having meaning unless they view the act of like let me just do this and that's like This is supposed to be like this is just my role that I play so I think I think a big piece is just that There's like the external system set up preventing them from doing what they want from any of them And there's also just the internal, you know Maybe a lot of them didn't go into the right profession because it was something that really intrigued them But it was just something that seemed like maybe a good decision or a family decision And that's that's partially one of the very hard-crushing things is a lot of Physicians MDs DO's They went into medicine with a very pure idea. Yeah really wanted to help people right But you know, then they practice for a couple of years and they become completely jaded in fact I hear very often from a lot of family practice doctors A lot of MDs that when a student comes to them, you know all excited and bushy-tailed about medicine And I want to help people and can you tell me how you heal and all this and These doctors are saying don't do it. Yeah, don't go into this field Right more than 50% of the last survey I saw more than 50% would not recommend like their own kid to go into medicine Wow That's saying something man. That's like if yeah, exactly. That's like the divorce rate, right? So it's like if What we're all doing collectively results in a 50% divorce rate Obviously the decision is just making process to get married is not correct. Something something something Right And then you look at the same with medicine we're like almost no one can recommend it And yet there are still the medical schools are getting more and more filled up the requirements are getting more and more stringent It's like what it's like almost like the marketing team for medicine is like really really strong But the product fulfillment is really really awful. So it's like you have all this marketing around the iPhone It's just a shit product. It's like that kind of weird weird complex with medicine not to get off to off topic But we were just complaining about how the new Apple products have all these ridiculous Exhibit a like I have this thing connected to my computer. It looks like it's giving birth to like a little machine baby And you basically can't use any connections to the you know laptop without that, right? Completely off topic, but it's an example of ridiculous moves by companies. Yeah So what do you think actually leads physicians to taking their own life? So there's obviously a difference between someone who is not fulfilled in their work and depressed Feels like they don't have meaning in life and somebody who actually Takes their life because of that, right? I guess that's like the big question Why do some people go through depression or difficulties and they decide to commit suicide? Versus people that just go into depression or people that are resilient that are like I'm gonna use this as the impetus To actually do something I guess ultimately we don't know but I think with a lot of suicide There's a feeling that whatever hole I'm in I can't get out of like this is just the holes too deep I can't get out of it and that sense of hopelessness and I think with physicians There's I don't know if we have stats on the average age of suicide But it'd be interesting to see because I think there's some aspect of well, I have prestige I probably also have money Maybe they have student loans still a lot and maybe they don't but there's maybe a feeling of well What else am I gonna do right or I'm a doctor like I'm like one of the most respected people in society Like what would it be like to kind of crawl back on my tail between my legs become like a nursery school teacher that like fulfills me But it's like an embarrassing job with no respect. You think there's some element of ego always placed in there I think all the people I mean this with all due respect I think everyone I know that's committed suicide. There's always an element of ego. There's always I mean cuz Shame is a big part of suicide Right, like the even if it's the shame or the discomfort with confronting people and being like no, I'm actually not number one I'm not doing well. I'm actually doing awful and number two Like I these choices I have to make in my life are so insurmountable and they're often ego-based reasons It just gave me a little bit of an insight Where do the healers go to get healed? Who does a doctor talk to they're supposed to know right why they're ill Mentally or otherwise right in fact, it's it's pretty common for psychiatrist psychologists to actually Become interested in that field of medicine right because they deal with their own mental issues And we know that at our own school a lot of people come in With all sorts of pre existing medical conditions They have chronic illnesses this and that yeah, and a lot of ways that inspires them to follow medicine, right? It's kind of that Archetypal myth of Chiron The wounded healer it's called it's an incredibly interesting story, but it's basically it's about the healer that themselves becomes Basically lethally poisoned by an arrow in the story and can't cure themselves And they have to always suffer with it and it's kind of like the idea that the healers Suffer for other people right isn't part of the Chiron story also that I forget whoever granted Chiron his powers, but that either his powers could be revoked So he would lose his powers, but he would die He was given but he maintained yeah, but he can maintain his powers, but be wounded forever So it's like this dual this dual like anima animus yin and yang archetype I just heard the story recently in China again from someone else and that was her Recounting of it, but that's a big question. I think that's why a lot of the indigenous Healers that were traditionally the physician slash spiritual advisor They all had their own tools for for like self physician heal Thyself right like that kind of thing that you don't see a lot of in modern medicine You know you actually don't really see a lot of even ethics like ethical training in modern medicine There's probably like one class in ethics in medical school, but like Individual like what are you really gonna do to take good care of yourself? Right. I mean most recently they've been adding in to the MCAT the medical admissions test before you go to medical school a Whole section on all the social studies social sciences that really stuff. Yeah, because Even the culture at large is realizing that there is a lack of a humanistic element right in medical schools And they're trying to actually test for now right People are gonna be studying out of a textbook how to be ethical right it seems kind of ridiculous Well, I think this is one of those things where it's just like in a company Medical school and any really professions that have high performers top top performers if you reward performance You don't reward integrity so you don't reward ethical decision-making So it's the same in a company if you say I'm gonna give you a bonus for getting this best you sell this package to this client You don't you don't reward honesty And so I think that's the problem also in medicine if you're saying we're the creme de la creme We're only taking the top 1% of students. Well, okay, you're gonna get the straight-A students But what do they have going on the rest of their life? And I think that's also why medical schools now highly value extracurriculars Alright guys, thanks for tuning in. I think of course it's always a big question Who heals the healer or who is the healer of the healer? And if we don't do a good job of taking care of ourselves and modeling What a healthy cultivated person looks like I don't think our patients are likely to do that either That's just my opinion Now, of course, if you'd like to stay in touch the first link in the description is for a free pdf On five daily rituals to help you add 10 years to your life with traditional chinese medicine So you can check it out the first link in the description and then check out my last related videos right there and right there