Psychiatric News is running a series on Physician Burnout, part of an initiative by APA President Dr. Anita Everett. They asked me to write about medical licensing for the series, and in the course of writing the article, I spent a while talking to Dr. Luther Philaya, an Emergency Room doc who lost his license for his addiction to alcohol and opiates. Dr. Philaya sought help and things did not go smoothly. Instead of writing about licensing, I ended up writing about Luther, and I'll invite you to read, "System Changes Needed to Support Physician Seeking Help."
Dr. Philaya had more to say about the stigma of being a physician in recovery and wrote his own Op-ed piece for the Star Tribune. Reprinted below, with his permission
Recovery from addiction doesn't get the community support it needs
It's no small achievement, but, surprisingly, it's greeted as an ongoing social stigma.
In
the fall of 2012, I entered treatment for addiction as a broken
physician and man. Opioids were one of my drugs of choice, as they are
for so many in today’s society. After weeks of intensive therapy, I was
able to let go of the demons that had haunted me for decades, ones that I
had medicated away with drugs and alcohol. More than 100 days later, I
left the treatment facility with a renewed vigor for life — physically,
mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I was eager to return to my
medical practice with a completely different perspective, including a
heightened sense of compassion and empathy for patients struggling with
mental illness and addiction.
I looked
forward to being welcomed back at my place of work as well as in my
community. As with a cancer patient enduring grueling treatment and
receiving compassion and empathy from family, friends and co-workers,
surely there would be those eager to help with my transition. Maybe a
casserole or two would be waiting, or a few get-well cards. Without a
doubt, my workplace would help with my reintegration back into practice.
Sadly, I
quickly realized that recovery from substance-use disorder is not
celebrated by those outside of the recovery community. To the contrary,
recovery — like active addiction — is stigmatized in our society. Rather
than welcoming me back, I became a pariah among my co-workers of 22
years. Former friends were, for the most part, gone. What support there
was came from the recovery community, but even there I fought shame. I
learned to quickly — quietly and with furtive glances — enter and exit
church basements or recovery clubs.
“Anonymous”
became my mantra. The guilt and shame I experienced while in active
addiction were there to welcome me into the recovery world as well. I
began meetings by proclaiming, “Hi, I’m Luther and I’m an addict. I’m
powerless over my addiction.” I learned to fear that I was one small
step away from relapse.
Recovery
organizations such as AA have done incredible things in the battle
against substance-use disorder. I have benefited from their program. But
as a person in recovery, now that I have a clear mind, I believe I’m
quite powerful against returning to my addiction as long as I maintain a
disciplined recovery lifestyle. My rational brain is able to make the
choice not to return to that life. Being reminded that I am an addict
only perpetuates my shame, while trapping me in a toxic thought process,
including ongoing shame about my own recovery.
A while
back, I decided that I couldn’t survive my own recovery this way. I am
proud of that decision; it is the crux of all aspects of my health. I’m
done hiding my recovery. I will let the public know I’m not ashamed.
I admire
the tenacity and persistence of those involved in changing the public
stigmatization toward the AIDS epidemic. Through hard work by activists,
the public perception of HIV as a gay man’s disease brought on by poor
moral choices has changed. Where once HIV was feared and the sufferers
stigmatized, it has become one of the many diseases that afflict
humankind. Today, HIV sufferers no longer need to hide in closets of
shame.
Recovery
needs to be treated in a similar manner. There are movements afloat that
celebrate recovery. The message is getting out that recovery need not
be shameful. But the public needs to embrace those on this journey as
well. Communities, not just recovery organizations, need to become
recovery-friendly.
Imagine a
sign reading: “Welcome to Minnesotaville, a recovery-friendly community”
or “Welcome to our coffee shop, a recovery-friendly establishment.”
Imagine a bumper sticker that reads: “Proud parent of a child in
recovery.” Imagine communities making recovery fashionable, trendy and
celebrated. Rather than wringing our hands over the depth and breadth of
the current drug epidemic, communities can offer warm, welcoming
environments.
I’ve
changed my perspective. Rather than proclaiming that I’m an addict, I
will proudly introduce myself as “a person in long-term recovery, which
means I haven’t had a drink or used a drug since Oct. 11, 2012.”
Now that’s recovery.
Luther Paul Philaya, of Woodbury, is a physician.
Link to the original: http://www.startribune.com/recovery-from-addiction-doesn-t-get-the-community-support-it-needs/468386213/
2 comments:
Please do not legitimize the term "burnout" which has never been validated as a mental disorder, but is a blatant euphemism intended to blame physicians for abuse of physicians by bureaucrats, administrators and others.
The solution is not "treatment," but rather for physicians to push back, fight back, and remove themselves from the abusive situation.
Nice post here, nice column at Psych News, and a tremendous shame that physicians, while held to legitimate higher standards when found to be impaired from using substances or other behaviors disrupting the ability to practice, continue to be ostracized and marginalized even after they legitimately, responsibly achieve recovery. Why are we as physicians putting up with this hideous double standard?!
Yours above and Dr Philaya's accounting in separate writings only reinforce at the end of the day that silence and avoidance has more benefits than risks, as long as State Boards and other Federal oversight organizations show little if any ability to recognize that recovery deserves a return of trust.
Oh, and what is even more heinous and inconsistent is how many colleagues get free passes for inappropriate, disruptive behaviors because of characterological disorders outside of substance or other dependency issues. Treating colleagues and other ancillary care associates like crap because of horrendous, persistent narcissistic, antisocial, or histrionic traits or frank disorders needs not only accountability, but at times professional liability by license suspension if not frank revocation per the acts of harm and disruption that go on in offices, hospitals, and even within the community in general.
I know the latter personally after being ostracized and forced to leave my community over 15 years ago because having witnessed repetitively a Harvey Weinstein-esque type of pervasive undermining of the mental health community in an Eastern Shore town and then trying to have it identified and managed by State Regulatory Agencies.
We are in times of profoundly disabling hypocrisy and enabling, for several reasons but the most disgusting just for sheer motivation to maintain standing and influence by these dysfunctional and crass "leaders" and "pillars of influence", be it politically, professionally, academically, and other elements throughout communities in the country.
Silence breeds evil and contempt for justice and accountability, and a shame when those who do take risks to to what is right and respectful are just slapped down further. I hope Dr Philaya gains much success and respect in his future travels.
Doubtful he will experience it with professional colleagues for the most part, and isn't that a disgusting shame for both me to write and readers to consider?!
Joel Hassman, MD
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