My nervous breakdown as a doctor made me doubt my patients' depression

My nervous breakdown as a doctor made me doubt my patients' depression Going through a major depressive episode made me more resilient but less empathic, and I began to resent patients’ mental health problems

I was 23-years old when I qualified as a doctor, and 26 when I had a nervous breakdown.

The terminology is archaic; nowadays it would be labelled a major depressive episode, but it feels like an appropriate description. This was more than feeling low in mood – I had my backbone torn out from me, and no longer recognised the person I’d become.

I reminded myself continuously that I was a failure, and fantasised over and over about dying

Depression can rip apart your identity and make you dismiss your worth Continue reading... The Guardian