Stigma of Psychiatrists

We always talk about the stigma associated with psychiatric diseases. But we rarely talk about the stigma associated with the psychiatry profession itself. As if one stigma (that of diseases) was not enough for psychiatrists to try to extinguish, the fire has spilled onto the professionals themselves. Most of what we hear is society and media deeming psychiatrists and psychologists 'as crazy as their patients'.

But why?

Why do people view psychiatrists that way? When in the history of this profession did people start this ridiculous ideology? Since its birth? Or was there a certain event or set of events that triggered it? Has the stigma of diseases spilled onto psychiatrists? In other words, is the stigma of diseases associated with that of the profession - will the stigma of psychiatrists disappear only once we eradicate that associated with psychiatric diseases? 

To me, it seems the reason why psychologists and psychiatrists are viewed as ‘eccentric’ is because of how they interact with people. Psychologists understand the working psyche of humans and deal with people based on what psychology has proven to be effective. Till now, I have met only two psychologists and both of them are not well accepted by the students. Why? Because they treat us in a way they think would foster our manners and will nourish our personalities. I happen to understand that and appreciate that. But many do not. And most of the world revolves around the ‘many’.

On the other hand, could the history of abuse psychiatrists and psychiatric institutions have inflicted upon their patients have anything to do with the image of the profession? What psychiatry in the Nazi era had done to its patients is not alone in a history of shameful acts against the mentally ill. The psychiatry realm nowadays is unquestionably different from its ancestor. But history could taint the present, no?

My psychiatry professor told me a story once: they had just opened a psychiatry wing in one of the hospitals here and hired him among the new psychiatrists. They were not very welcomed by other physicians in the hospital and were referred to as the crazy unit of the hospital. As time passed, the psychiatrists obviously interacted with the other physicians. They treated the physicians with kindness and any insult or comment their way would be taken with humor. By time, the psychiatrists became known as the most friendly and fun physicians in that hospital.

Even though studying psychiatry brings me the most joy, when people ask me what I want to specialize in, I do not reply "psychiatry". Maybe I don't want to hear people say "she must be crazy herself?" or "why is she wasting all those years of medical training?" behind my back or in front of me. This is a real problem that not only I encountered. I have spoken with a few other students I know who face the same concern. 

Maybe that makes us cowards, but society is harsh. Maybe our remaining time in med school will teach us to disregard misconceptions of society as the most trivial thing we will face in life. Maybe when the time comes for me to choose a specialization, I will without hesitation choose psychiatry and prove to the ignorant people and media that psychiatrists are "nothing but another doctor".

The question is: how are we going to exterminate this stigma if we are afraid of it?

*Note: Psychiatrists and psychologists are not one and the same. In this post, I grouped them under the same umbrella as they both face the stigma.