Pre-med craze and mental health

[Anonymous]

Is it true that long years of high stress, rejection, admission, insecurity, hard work, cutthroat competitive environment, high debt, inability to have stable relationships during journey of entering and going through pre-med, medical schools, residency, fellowships and such, messes up mental health?

[Anonymous]

More so for students who are only into it dur to family's pressure or potential presty/income.

[Anonymous]

*prestige/income

[Anonymous]

Have several very happy, well adjusted MDs in our extended family. Not sure why. Maybe because they were all raised in the South ?

[Anonymous]

Not seeing it from my kid but only 1/2 thru med school so things may change. Misses home a lot though.

[Anonymous]

Kids who want to be doctors themselves tend to be happy because they want to be there. Kids who are there due to parental pressure tend to not be happy. I’ve seen it again and again. Two closest friends from school hate their lives as neurologist and hospitalist respectively because their parents basically forced them to go into medicine. They are miserable even with high incomes and what looks from the outside to be good lives.