Dr Caroline Walker - &me anti stigma campaign
- by Caroline Walker
- •
- 29 Mar, 2017
- •
&me
is our joint campaign, with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Mind Matters
Initiative, to encourage senior, currently well healthcare professionals including doctors, vets, dentists and pharmacists to informally self identify as having experienced a mental health condition in order to reduce the stigma of mental health in the healthcare professions.
Find out more about our campaign and how you might get involved here
Read on to learn about our volunteer Caroline's inspiring story:
Find out more about our campaign and how you might get involved here
Read on to learn about our volunteer Caroline's inspiring story:
Dr Caroline Walker - psychiatrist and psychotherapist
Caroline Walker is a senior trainee psychiatrist and psychotherapist working in South West London. She had recurrent episodes of depression throughout her twenties and when she experienced periods of high mood in her early thirties she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her mental illness hasn't stopped her from getting her dream job and has fuelled her passion for working in the field of doctors' health. Caroline is involved in running the Facebook 'Tea and Empathy' group facilitating informal peer to peer support for NHS staff.
Caroline says 'The worst stigma I've experienced over the years was the stigma I put on myself. Speaking out about my illness has helped me to feel less ashamed - I now feel incredibly proud of my experiences and the way I manage my mental health. I am open with everyone about my illness - it helps me and it helps them. From individual private conversations to speaking to a room of over 300 trainee doctors.. I'm passionate about encouraging all doctors to talk more openly about our day-to-day struggles. Sharing really does kill stigma.'
Seeking help?
Our wonderful &Me ambassadors share their inspiring stories to provide general encouragement and to help breakdown stigma, but if you need support, please seek it from your healthcare provider or a specialist service, rather than contacting our ambassadors in person. See our 'Support for Doctors' page for listings of various services and organisations specialising in supporting medics with mental ill health.
Dr Louise Freeman addresses barriers to access to work faced by medics with mental ill health needing reasonable adjustments.
Dr Louise Freeman is the co-chair of the Doctors' Support Network. Here, she talks about why prioritising your own health can feel difficult in times of crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Serena Haywood on talking about her experience of mental ill health: 'The fear and isolation ... led me to take the risky decision to start talking about my mental health as much as I could to as many people as would listen. I was advised not to but did it anyway. And my life changed from there.'
Psychologist Caroline Elton discusses the difficult issue of talking about our own mental ill health. 'I don’t want to collude with the fantasy that depression, or any other mental illness, only happens to other people. It has certainly happened to me. '
CLANGERS, keeping well for medics, specialist support and creativity were all on the programme at our recent conference in Bristol.
Dr Cathy Wield discusses how and when to talk about our recovery from mental ill health.
DSN co-chairs, Dr Louise Freeman and Dr Angelika Luehrs, discuss how and why we are talking about our own mental health as doctors, including an explanation of our AndMe anti stigma campaign with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Mind Matters Initiative.
Dr Cathy Wield discusses how we often shy away from naming physician mental health by using the term 'physician health'.
BBC Radio Five Live discussion about Prof. Steve Robson's article recounting his experience of attempting suicide as a trainee doctor with comment from his colleague Dr Kate Tree and an interview with Dr Laura McGregor, consultant in emergency medicine
Clare Gerada: ' We can't keep photographing the problem (physician health) - we need to do something about it.'
