It takes 'great courage' to support colleagues’ mental health during pandemic
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The pandemic has heightened the stress and burnout that health care providers experience, such that it is imperative to seek mental health care and, when needed, take difficult steps to protect colleagues’ well-being, according to a speaker.
“What’s different is the magnitude of it. It’s not just us, it’s everyone. Everyone in your hospital system or in your practice, and if you’re in private practice, it’s even worse if you’re a solo private practice,” Saul Levin, MD, MPA, FRCP-E, FRCPsych, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association and clinical professor at the George Washington School of Medicine, said at the opening session of the virtual American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. “But it’s also gone on a lot longer than anyone expected. We should have expected it. The warning signs were there.”
The pandemic has heightened anxiety across the board. An APA opinion poll found that 62% of Americans have more anxiety now than they did a year ago, Levin said.
“Average people are rightly worried about their health and safety and that of their loved ones,” Levin said. “Physicians have to contend with those issues while putting themselves at risk every day.”
As a result, physicians must safeguard their own well-being.
“As physicians, we’re responsible for the health of our patients, but we need to remember, we’re also responsible for ours,” Levin said. “This is the time to really open a little, our hearts and minds, if one is beginning to feel that stress, that one needs to get help.”
Maintaining social connections can help mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on mental health. One safe way to maintain social distance while connecting with colleagues are digital social hours in association meetings, Levin said.
Levin said he was hesitant to participate at first, but “when I do it, I leave feeling a lot more uplifted that I’m not alone.”
Physicians must also be able to recognize symptoms of burnout and depression in themselves and their colleagues. Levin said there is a significant overlap between the two, and both must be taken seriously.
“You’ve got to look within yourself and say, ‘Am I just getting tired of the work, or is it that when I get up in the morning or home at night, I just feel as if I just want to be left alone?’” Levin said.
When physicians recognize burnout or depression in themselves, they should reach out for help.
“You cannot get off that phone” if a colleague expresses feelings of burnout, depression or thoughts of suicide, and must be prepared to connect colleagues with help, Levin said.
“It’s hard because in some ways we’re not used to seeing our colleagues become a sudden patient,” Levin said.
If immediate help is needed for a colleague who expresses active suicidal ideation, physicians must be prepared to contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or emergency services, Levin said.
“You’ve got to make the call sometimes that is really tough to make to the spouse or to the police to say, ‘I think you need to go and look at this person,’” Levin said. “It takes great courage.”
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Opening session. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting; Nov. 13-15, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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