Let’s Talk About Mental Health in Health Care

Carrie Cunningham, MD, MPH, is a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. She also suffers from depression.

“I’m a doctor, but I’m also human—one with lifelong depression, anxiety and a substance use disorder,” she said. 

But Dr. Cunningham is by no means an outlier. In fact, it is estimated that over a quarter of all physicians struggle with depression, while one in seven have a substance use disorder. More so, every year in the U.S., between 300 to 400 physicians die by suicide, with the suicide rate for female physicians being double that of the general population.  

“Mental health is health and, while we place our patient’s health front and center, doctors don’t openly talk about our own well-being, which only exacerbates the problem,” Dr. Cunningham said. 
To help change this, Dr. Cunningham decided to share her own story. 

From the Tennis Court to the Surgical Theater

Dr. Cunningham’s story starts on the tennis court, where she quickly established herself as one of the sport’s most promising stars. At age 16, World Tennis Magazine named her the top junior female player of the year and, one year later, she made her professional debut against Steffi Graf. 

“From an early age I was coached to never show your struggles, so I became a master of disguising my emotions—hiding my anxiety behind a wall of determination,” she explained. 

She carried this mentality off the court and into adulthood.

While recovering from an injury, Dr. Cunningham decided to take university courses, where she found herself drawn to medicine. 

After getting married to one of her med school classmates, she completed her residency training at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City before moving to Massachusetts General Hospital to do a fellowship. She eventually became an associate professor of surgery and rose to numerous leadership positions both at her institution and within national surgical organizations. 

“My career continued to soar, but the depression always lingered,” Dr. Cunningham said. 

The Road to Recovery 

Then the pandemic hit, her 20-year marriage ended, and the panic attacks intensified. 

“After work I’d open a bottle of wine to keep the things that hurt at bay,” she said. 

Eventually, Dr. Cunningham opened up to some colleagues about feeling suicidal and found them to be immediately supportive. She also voluntarily took a professional evaluation, but the results sent her into a spiral: she was deemed unfit to practice medicine. 

Although shocked and angry, she also became more determined than ever to recover. 

“The rehabilitation and recovery process was the hardest thing I’ve ever done—and am still doing—but I’m ultimately a better doctor because of it,” Dr. Cunningham said. 

Take Care of Each Other

Dr. Cunningham is now committed to helping other doctors learn how to put their own health first. “My goal is to provide a voice to those who suffer in silence and make it a little less hard to ask for the help they need,” she added.

She noted that, with loneliness being at the heart of many mental health issues, radiologists need to take particular care of each other. 

“Radiologists frequently practice alone or in small groups and are removed from patient interaction, so be sure to take care of each other, talk to each other, and support each other,” Dr. Cunningham said.

She encouraged everyone to familiarize themselves with available resources, including their local physician health programs. She also recommended surrounding oneself with supportive people, developing healthy coping methods, practicing meditation and doing the things that bring one joy.

“Most importantly, remember that you are not alone,” she concluded.

Access the plenary session, “Removing the Mask 2.0,” (T4-PL04) on demand at at RSNA.org/MeetingCentral