The “worried well”
This is a new phrase I learned yesterday and now I have a new goal of something not to be. A coworker of mine is moving to a new state and his wife is a psychiatrist. She is looking for a new job in their new place and doesn’t want to work in private practice because in her perception, the patients you get in psychiatric private practice are just “the worried well,” or people who don’t really need psychiatric care and have RPP (rich people’s problems). The expectation was obviously that I should snicker at these undeserving patients whose suffering was perceived as invalid, but I felt a bit stung by this, as I see a psychiatrist in private practice twice a week. I fully recognize that I have material advantages over many—I have a full time professional job, I have a nice place to sleep, I have a wife and two cats who love me, I don’t have substance use issues, etc. But I do suffer from long term persistent depression, ADHD with periods of near total task paralysis, and very intense periods of suicidal ideation that I’ve had on and off for 30 years. I have a detailed suicide plan and a farewell note saved in my Google documents and an unordered shopping cart full of medical supplies that’s been sitting there for over a year. Most people I know would be shocked if they knew this, as I can present very articulately and seem well-put-together.
Am I in the class of people that psychiatrists would judge negatively for seeking their services? Where is the line?