Does Having A Mental Illness Mean I Can't Be A Doctor?

Hi, my name is Joy and I am a 4th year medical student at Hull York Medical School. I have struggled with anxiety and depression whilst studying medicine and I am passionate about sharing that suffering from mental illness does not mean you cannot become a health professional.

I have struggled with my mental health and used to be so scared about speaking out about my struggles and the fact that I needed to take medication. As a medical student, I had concerns that it would impact my career. But this is completely false! Mental illness in no way means you can’t be a doctor. Of course, there are examples where mental illness may affect your safety practicing but this is incredibly rare. It is more damaging to have this stigma where health professionals don’t want to talk about their mental health as it means they don’t get the right support they need to do their job the best they can. I actually think having my experiences with mental health helps me as I can relate more to the things patients share with me.

So a bit about my mental health story:

I have always been an anxious person as long as I can remember. When I moved to medical school, my anxiety became the worst it has ever been; completely overwhelming and consuming me. This lead to my mood becoming very low. I felt like the world was just going too fast for me, leaving me constantly zoned out. I was constantly at the point of tears. At the time, I felt like it would never get better and that it would feel like this forever.

I felt like such a failure. I had worked so hard to be at medical school and this was where I wanted to be more than anything so this was supposed to be perfect. Eventually, I went to my GP, but when I went there, I had a terrible experience. If the first professional you talk to dismisses you try another GP or healthcare professional! I have now had amazing experiences with doctors who have really listened to me. A bad experience doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve help or aren’t ill enough! You know yourself best and if you feel you need support for your mental health then you deserve to get help!

This made me feel that there was no problem and that I was just making it up. After another few weeks where things were just continuously getting worse, I saw another GP and was given antidepressants. This medication helped me get to a point where I could do therapy, as previously when I tried to talk I would just cry, which wasn’t productive or useful. We are all unique so different therapies, therapists or medications work for different people.

After two different therapists and medication I am now loving life. Of course, there are wobbles and I’m not saying I’m never anxious or low but I can now cope with these feelings so much better. I am always so scared of becoming how unwell I was in first year but I don’t think it ever will happen as I have learnt so much from my experience. One of the key things I’ve learnt is the signs that my mental health is deteriorating and getting help early.

At the time when I was suffering with depression:

I felt like I was totally alone and that no one understood. I seriously believed I was the only person in my year struggling, which now looking back definitely wasn’t true. What has perhaps surprised me the most is the sheer amount of people around me (including a lot of medical students and doctors I have now met) who have opened up about their struggles with their mental health.
I believed it could never get better, but this is my promise to you that things can and will improve with the right support.
I thought having a mental illness meant I couldn’t be a doctor and I would be kicked out as soon as I said I had a mental illness. This is absolutely false!

My key things to remember:
🌻 Your brain may tell you it will never get better but with the right help it will get better!
🌻 You are not a failure!
🌻 Your thoughts are thoughts not facts!
🌻 Mental illness isn’t weakness. You are strong and amazing!
🌻 You deserve help!
🌻 It’s okay not to be okay!
🌻 You are not alone!
🌻 Mental Illness doesn’t mean you can't be a doctor or a healthcare professional!