My Life as an Anxious Doctor
I might be just as scared as you are.
In this Covid-19 world, I get to keep my mask and face shield on all day long. It’s a blessing in disguise for people like me, who are tired of wearing a poker face to hide their inner struggle. I’m alright now, but how I wished I could have had a plexiglass wall to protect me these past few years.
My name is Adriana, I’ll soon turn 35 years old, and I’ve suffered from sudden, unexplained, and debilitating anxiety for the past 3 years. As I’m recovering, and 90% better now, I can talk about it from a place of acceptance.
In my late 20’s, I never would have expected this to happen to me. After all, I had survived 6 years of med school and 3 years of residency, shared a dorm room with 3 other people, and experienced such a flawed teaching system during residency that I basically had to be self-taught. Having to learn an entire specialty all by myself was such a stressful experience that it nearly deterred me from practicing it all together. But at least I still had my sanity, and despite my self-doubt, I considered myself to be a strong and resilient person.
At 32 I got married to a wonderful man who supported me in all my endeavors and continues to do so. I gave up dentistry, which I had been practicing for a while, to pursue orthodontics full time, and…
