Among all the pressures of being a medical student, the biggest challenge can be our own mental well-being.

Most of us probably thought wed finally made it when we secured a place at medical school, or at least I thought I had. However, its becoming more apparent that keeping our place can be even harder.

Friends and family begin assigning us with labels once weve achieved a place; were now the smart ones, the perfect and the elite. Its easy to talk about the benefits of medical school and were grateful to be on such a respected course, a course that many people unfortunately fail to get into every year.

So why is it that sometimes we are eager to brush the subject of mental health under the carpet?

While there is a lack of research into medical students suffering from mental health conditions, existing studies do suggest that medical students are occasionally more likely to suffer from depression compared to students on other degree courses.

But does this possibly suggest that medical students are less likely to come forward with any problems regarding their mental health? And why might this be the case?

The healthcare system is built on a cycle of competition. From the minute we click send on our UCAS applications, we willingly insert ourselves into a lifelong trajectory. It all starts with the race for a place at medical school. Eventually this evolves into a race for the best possible class ranking at the end of our five year degree. This only further progresses into the race for a spot at our desired hospitals to work as junior doctors. The competitive nature never ends. So is it therefore hard to seek support from our fellow classmates when in reality, theyre also competitors? Does revealing the most intimate parts of our lives only arm them with more ammunition against us?

Were now the smart ones, the perfect and the elite

Or do we keep our problems in the dark because of the constant striving for perfection? We might have left secondary school as the brightest and smartest. In a class of A/A* students however, it is incredibly easy to feel average. So we begin to compare ourselves to each other. We try to outdo each other with more revision and clocking more hours in the lab. The self-doubt inevitably starts to trickle in and we wonder whether weve made the right decision in picking a rigorous degree.

However, Tessa Davies, one of the pastoral tutors within the faculty, reiterates that this is perfectly normal,

Original post:

Medical Students And The M Word