Doctors in Desperate Need of a Doctor Themselves.

So, we are in the midst of the COVID Pandemic right now.

I reached out to a person who leads a financial group I am part of and many of the members are Physicians. I asked if the frontline Doctors and Nurses dealing with all the Critical and Vented Patients where getting Trauma Counseling due to the large numbers of fatalities they where being forced to endure as well as the endless waves of patients. I was told I should watch a new documentary which is in prerelease and screening right now called DoNoHarm about the hidden plight of Doctors. I have watched the Trailer and read some on the site https://www.donoharmfilm.com/ .

As I have written before, unfortunately have lots of experience with PTSD. I’ve been exposed and victim of and seen others who lost the struggle in both Law Enforcement and the Military. I truly believe no one is immune to this condition. Some have stronger coping mechanisms but at some point with continuous bombardment and often with lack of decompression time or some break in operational tempo the ability of many people to compartmentalize or justify what has been seen or experienced simply becomes too much. A personal observation from my issues or memories was when I looked back on all the crazy situations I was in the ones which keep coming back weren’t gunfights or events where I could actually have some impact on the outcome. The events which are seared into memory and which seem to provide the most negative memories where the ones where even though I was there, no matter what I did or what efforts where made the outcome seemed to be a tragedy with a ending everyone knew was coming but one for which none of us especially myself could do anything to alter. When this happened it was usually the loss of innocence; a child, a mother, a family or one of the people by your side. I think that was on of the things which made me question if these Doctors where getting the help they where going to need.

Your brain is a even more resilient than a computer hard drive when it comes to storing the information you have gathered and things you have seen. And at some point, at least for me, the more chaotic and crazy the situation was when the event happened the deeper the memory seemed to be burned in. I didn’t even realize how things where effecting me until long after leaving the work I had done.

Many people I know dealing with it now however have brought up some issues explaining how difficult it is when it effects them while they are still working. You see, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, employers often are more of a debilitating factor than a source of assistance in this arena. In fact, several people I tell me when they have reached out or asked for reassignment due to the effects they are often met with and adversarial if not a threatening vibe.

You see, employers are machines. All they truly care about in my opinion is keeping the machine running. Employees, no matter how important they are to the functioning of that company are a part within the machine. If the company sees someone who is possibly looking at a work related injury all the company sees are dollar signs flying out the door.

With how I have seen people being treated it comes across more as if the company would rather burn you out and have you quit or fore you to go seek help and treatment on your own. It comes down to a simple concept, is it cheaper to through you away like a used oil filter from a engine and put an new one in your place? Many things in life are repairable, there are filters that can be taken apart cleaned then put back together and used again and again forever but they are often expensive and people don’t think they are worth the added time and money to fix. I think this is how many companies feel and treat their employees.

When I mentioned intimidation or threatening workers to avoid seeking treatment I have observed it in a few different ways. There are always the vague threats of loosing your license or ability to do your job. In Law Enforcement it could be something as simple as stories being told in the presence of people about a “Person” loosing the ability to possess a firearm if they sought mental health counseling. Of course that isn’t what the laws where meant to be used for as many people have anxiety and get counseling for things like relationships, drinking and countless other things which in no way present a imminent danger to self which is needed to remove someone’s ability to possess a firearm. I could easily see the same leverage applied to Medical Professionals who need Clearances to maintain the ability to prescribe and administer medicine.

In many of these cases the purpose is pure evil. It is choosing to do whatever is necessary, even if it is immoral and possibly illegal so they can save a buck. If you are seen as a oil filter which is a single part of a large machine it is easy for administrators to simply look at the spreadsheet value of the employee. If that employee becomes a expense instead of commodity an immoral administrator would try finding a way to get rid of the burden as they see it.

Part of my talking about everything openly is to take the stigma about everything away. It becomes easier to get help and to even realize you have a problem when you see others and maybe even someone you know getting help.

There are many ways to be there for each other and I truly hope these Doctors begin to bring the issue to light which will break the stigma and possibly lead to systemic changes.