In the high-pressure world of healthcare, where life-and-death decisions are made daily, the mental well-being of those who heal is often overlooked. Psychiatrist Dr Tarun Sehgal emphasises the urgent need to address this often-overlooked aspect of medical practice. He advocates a systemic change in how we support those who care for others.
Dr Tarun Sehgal, founder of Solh Wellness, shares his thoughts on ‘Behind the Mask: When the Healers Need Healing Too’.
They stand at the edge of life and death, holding the line with trembling steadiness. White coats, tired eyes behind surgical masks, voices calm in chaos. The world calls them heroes. But beneath that armour of competence lies a quiet crisis — not of medicine, but of the mind. “Behind the Mask: Caring for Caregivers” urges us to confront an uncomfortable truth: Doctors are not unbreakable. They’re just not allowed to break.
The global crisis of healer burnout
Across every time zone, in every hospital ward, clinic corridor, rural outpost, and urban tower, a silent epidemic is burning through the medical community. A 2023 AMA study found that 45.2% of US physicians experienced burnout. Among medical residents, a JAMA meta-analysis involving over 17,000 participants revealed that nearly 29% reported symptoms of depression. In a 2024 study focused on family medicine residents, 36.4% reported experiencing burnout.
Widening the lens further, a comprehensive systematic review published in JAMA examined data from over 109,000 physicians across 182 studies, finding burnout prevalence ranging anywhere from 0% to a staggering 80.5%. These aren’t just clinical figures. They are silent screams behind steady hands.
The weight of incomplete understanding
Medicine has always been about solving problems. But what happens when the issue is invisible? Doctors routinely make life-altering decisions without access to the whole emotional landscape of their patients. A child’s fever might carry a mother’s panic. A stomach ache may be rooted in grief. But when the diagnosis is clinical and the clock is relentless, the emotional narrative is often missed.
That gap between physical symptoms and unseen suffering plants the seed of stress. “Did I miss something?” “Could I have done more?” These questions linger long after the shift ends. This is not just pressure. It’s psychological erosion. And in today’s reality, it has become one of the deadliest occupational hazards in healthcare.
The need for scientific clarity
Medicine has evolved to monitor nearly every aspect of the human body — blood sugar, brain activity, and heart rhythms. Yet, there remains no standardised way to track the one organ doctors are quietly losing control over: the mind. Currently, stress in the medical profession is often monitored through self-reporting, assumptions, or, worse still, silence. It is inadequate. It is dangerous.
We need a shift—a revolution where stress biomarkers become as routine as ECGs. Where early detection occurs not through confession but through science, emerging tools — such as AI-powered facial expression analysis, galvanic skin response monitoring, and behavioural pattern detection — offer new hope. They help decode the early language of distress, not to judge, but to intervene. Not to expose, but to protect.
Healing the healers
Must do more than post gratitude hashtags. It must ignite a movement. It’s time to build stress management systems within the very institutions doctors serve — built not on resilience workshops alone but on data, empathy, and timely care. It’s time we see doctors not just as pillars of health but as humans carrying the emotional weight of thousands.
Because medicine is not just about a scalpel and science, it is about bearing witness to trauma, grief, and hope — repeatedly. Look behind the mask. See the person who heals — and may be quietly breaking. Healing the healers is not a luxury. It is urgent. It is overdue.