Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

We have overwhelmingly lost touch with the human aspect of medicine

Anonymous
Physician
March 22, 2022
274 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

The medical establishment has made wonderful strides in destigmatizing psychiatric disorders. However, we have helped to create a devastating stigmatization of emotional distress. Somehow, as it has become acceptable to suffer from a psychiatric illness, it has become increasingly unacceptable to suffer from emotional distress and the current medical practice has nurtured this change.

We have simply and overwhelmingly lost touch with the human aspect of medicine. When someone is in distress, no empathic conversation makes room for and supports an emotional experience. There is no listening ear that helps a patient identify their feelings and make sense of them. There is a medicalization of the experience as abnormal and a prescription given to essentially silence whatever emotional state we are confronted with.

When a patient comes in and complains of anxiety, this is the beginning of an important conversation. In our current climate, it’s the beginning and the end of the conversation. You are now identified as ill. We miss the young man who drinks ten beers at night, the woman who’s being abused, the teen that’s being bullied. We encourage that patient to view negative emotions as something to eliminate, not an essential and rich source of information. Now it’s not the alcohol that’s the problem, or the abuser or the bully, it’s the patient. I had a patient come in demanding medication to treat her “anxiety.” When pressed to clarify the context of her anxiety, she told me that she feels anxious when she leaves her young daughter alone with her questionable new boyfriend. This young woman has come to believe, with the help of medicine, among other factors, that her emotional state was pathological and not the wondrous and instinctual signal to protect her child.

We are nurturing an environment of emotional phobia where people can no longer identity and frankly fear their own emotions and the emotions of others. This lack of emotional connection impacts our personal emotional health and the emotional health of others because it affects our ability to function as parents, friends, and co-workers. In a world where we have become increasingly adversarial, unforgiving, and punitive, I can’t help but see the connection between emotional illiteracy and our “cancel culture.” The lack of ability to identify our own humanness and, in turn, recognize it and empathize with it in others is further reaching than we might imagine.

Patients seem to now chide when a diagnosis is not given. Having an emotional experience is felt to be unimportant, shameful, and weak. When in reality, what could be more common and important than the breadth of human emotional experience. Curiosity and compassion are sometimes met with anger or suspicion because it’s not normally experienced. Human explanations are no longer welcome and bring about feelings of shame.

We constantly hear about the “mental health crisis.” This is not a psychiatric crisis. This is a social and emotional crisis. Medicine is not the only culprit, but it’s a big player. Corporate greed has severely damaged the sacred patient-doctor relationship. There are things we can do though we may feel powerless. Start with our emotional health. Acknowledging our own humanness so we can accept it in our patients without turning away or attempting to turn it off. Learning to say no and acknowledge the limits and harm of medicine. Accepting the truth that feeling good is not a given and feeling bad is not an illness.

The author is an anonymous physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Changing how we think about "difficult" patients [PODCAST]

March 21, 2022 Kevin 0
…
Next

Celebrating my unique path in life and medicine: a delivery room diagnosis of Down syndrome

March 22, 2022 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Changing how we think about "difficult" patients [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Celebrating my unique path in life and medicine: a delivery room diagnosis of Down syndrome

More by Anonymous

  • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

    Anonymous
  • In the trenches of health care: Facing unbearable strain

    Anonymous
  • Iranian doctors’ bravery: Upholding medical ethics amidst oppression

    Anonymous

Related Posts

  • How social media can advance humanism in medicine

    Pooja Lakshmin, MD
  • The difference between learning medicine and doing medicine

    Steven Zhang, MD
  • KevinMD at the Richmond Academy of Medicine

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Medicine won’t keep you warm at night

    Anonymous
  • Delivering unpalatable truths in medicine

    Samantha Cheng
  • Merging the wisdom of pain medicine and addiction medicine to optimize outcomes

    Julie Craig, MD

More in Physician

  • Physicians have no autonomy. Here’s how to change that.

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • The erosion of patient care

    Laura de la Torre, MD
  • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

    Eleanor Menzin, MD
  • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

    Sarah Samaan, MD
  • Lively communication in the service industry

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Pediatricians grapple with guns in America, from Band-Aids to bullets

      Tasia Isbell, MD, MPH | Policy
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Doctors and disability insurance: Protecting your income

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • Emergency care nightmare: the urgent need for experienced nurses

      Rachel Basham, RN, CCRN | Conditions
    • Physicians have no autonomy. Here’s how to change that.

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Understanding intersex health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Medical Residents Receive 100+ Job Offer Contacts, Survey Shows
  • Spell Check-Up: Can You Spell These Words?
  • Mydriasis-Reversing Eye Drops Win FDA Approval
  • States Face Challenges With Medicaid and CHIP 'Redeterminations'
  • Spine Surgery Cover-Up? Legal Threats Chill Misinfo Research; The Longevity Industry

Meeting Coverage

  • New Schizophrenia Treatments Are Coming: Don't Panic
  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Pediatricians grapple with guns in America, from Band-Aids to bullets

      Tasia Isbell, MD, MPH | Policy
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Doctors and disability insurance: Protecting your income

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • Emergency care nightmare: the urgent need for experienced nurses

      Rachel Basham, RN, CCRN | Conditions
    • Physicians have no autonomy. Here’s how to change that.

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Understanding intersex health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

We have overwhelmingly lost touch with the human aspect of medicine
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...