This journey to becoming a doctor can be very stressful and mentally draining. No matter what stage you are at whether that’s pre-med, in medical school, or residency and beyond, it’s important to pay attention to your mental health. You are not alone in this journey and it’s vital that you tap into your support system (family, church family, colleagues, friends, mentors, spouses/partners etc), religious beliefs/faith and things that make you happy and you enjoy doing outside of medicine.
It’s even more important to know when you need to seek help outside of those resources mentioned. Check out the mental health and counseling services available to students on your campus and at your medical school, many of them are free of charge or you already paid for it in your tuition and fees so take advantage of it! You don’t want to wait until it’s too late. Understand that it’s okay to ask for help, it doesn’t make you weak, incompetent, less smart, a burden and any other negative connotation that you may heard or believe. The journey to medicine can be completed because so many others before you have conquered the journey and so can you! Remember self –care is key. In order to perform at your very best you must be healthy emotionally, mentally and physically!
Feel free to leave questions and comments about this topic, I will do my best to answer!!
Mahogany & Medicine 