Doctors Are Dying of Suicide
They Are Among the Highest Rates of Suicide. Why?
“Lately, Joe had begun to change. Our family noticed it, and his work family noticed it. The past year had been very difficult for Joe,” said Omaha Mayor, Jean Stothert at a March 2021 press conference. She held this event to discuss her husband, Dr. Joseph Stothert’s suicide. The doctor had been a lauded, experienced professional, beloved by his peers at Univ. Nebraska Medical Center, itself a nationally recognized health care and research facility.
“Lately, Joe had begun to change. Our family noticed it, and his work family noticed it. The past year had been very difficult for Joe.”
When death comes suddenly, it shocks and chills. People go into denial. They struggle to come to terms with this traumatic change to reality. When a respected figure dies, especially by suicide, it triggers deep questions people struggle to answer. There is a strong social stigma around suicide, as I have written previously. Death itself is a hard topic to grapple with, and when death happens by one’s own hand, so much shame and pain surfaces it feels like a deluge.
It is particularly difficult for people to talk about death and doctors. Doctors hold a unique and special position in society. They are…
