Opinion: The two very different types of mental health stigma

Years ago, I was the only physician serving a small country town and its surroundings. While the local people were kind, I was new to the area and felt very much alone. I also had depression, so life was difficult. At least I recognized that I needed help and regularly left the town for treatment. Rather than go to the nearest city, I drove to one twice as far away, out of fear that the town would learn about my mental illness.

Now, I look back on my younger self and feel sympathy for him: isolated, depressed, and fearful. I also wish he had made a different choice. Why did I not seek treatment closer by, treatment I could access more often that would have made me happier and a better physician? A substantial minority of the town’s population must have had their own mental health issues — how many of them, if they knew that their own doctor understood their struggle in a very direct way, would have been more willing to present themselves for treatment? As it was, I had very few discussions about my patients’ mental health.

Read the rest…