Occupational Hazards

Did you know that that only 8-9% of law students are depressed prior to matriculation, but this rises to 27% after one year and 43% after three years? Or that lawyers are the most frequently depressed occupational group?

What law students and lawyers too often downplay as “feeling stressed out” is often anxiety and early depression. If unaddressed, it can take a heavy toll on the lawyer, their family, and their clients.

Given that reality, I believe we all have the professional responsibility to learn to recognize the early signs of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse... in ourselves, our classmates, our colleagues, and our clients.

CAPS offers some great self-assessment tools that I encourage you to visit at least twice a semester for an anonymous check-up: https://studentaffairs.iupui.edu/health/counseling-psychological/self-screening-tools.html.

Taking Care of Yourself

The prevention and cure for law school and lawyer burnout is "self-care" in the form of: exercise, hanging out with friends and pets, good food, pleasure reading, hobbies, time outdoors, spiritual practices, etc.

Self-care isn't selfish. Or lazy. It's professional. And being refreshed actually helps you. get your work done more efficiently. Self-care is part of working smarter, not harder.

If you've been burning the candle at both ends for a couple of years... it's probably. time for some professional health care to address the consequences.

Welcome to the Club!

Trauma, dyslexia, ADHD and other learning disabilities are often undiagnosed in very bright, highly successful students... like the ones that make it to law school.

Having one of these traits without knowing it greatly increases the stress of law school and legal practice. Scientists have recently discovered that having untreated ADHD reduces your life expectancy by about ten years!!!

On the other hand, these traits can also make you a stronger lawyer... if you recognize them, get appropriate treatment, and figure out how to leverage their positive sides.

A timely diagnosis can also qualify you for extra time on law school exams and the bar exam. This gets harder if you wait until the end of law school or your second time taking the bar exam. You have to establish it earlier.

Educate yourself with online self-assessment tools for trauma, dyslexia and ADHD. If you (or a friend of yours) show the signs, don't delay in getting evaluated. Psychology Today is the easiest way to find someone to do this.

If you don't have health insurance, McKinney Student Affairs and/or IUPUI CAPS can help you set up an assessment and next steps.

ADDITUDE magazine

Utilizing Therapy

Seeing a therapist, having a mental health or substance diagnosis, and/or taking medication does NOT impact your "fitness" for bar admission.

A lot of people are resistant to therapy. But, they are professionals. You are professionals. What would you think if a therapist tried to solve their legal problems on their own because they felt embarrassed to talk to a lawyer?

Insurance policies are now legally required to cover mental health services. You can the number on your insurance card to find out if they have any special pre-certification rules or limits on the number of therapy sessions.

Any psychologist, counselor, therapist, clinician, or clinical social worker can diagnose anxiety, depression, and alcohol and substance misuse. Then they. can educate you, advise you on lifestyle changes and self-care practices, and offer talk-based treatments.

To find one that's a good fit for you, I recommend using the search tools at Psychology Today. It's never been easier to work professional counseling into a student schedule, now that everyone is offering teletherapy.

Getting Good Medical Care

Research consistently shows the most effective treatment is the combination of therapy AND medication at the same time. It's like going to class AND doing the reading.

There are some great options today to help manage depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, substance abuse, and other occupational hazards of law school and legal practice.

But your psychologist, counselor, therapist, clinician, or clinical social worker. probably can't prescribe these. You'll need to see an MD or psychiatrist to access medication.

Bad news: it can be really hard in Indianapolis to find a prescribing psychiatrist who accepts insurance. And expensive to do out of pocket. If your parents have money, great.

If not, talk to your doctor (MD) or nurse practitioner about how much experience they have managing these medicines, and maybe switch to a doctor who has more.

It also really pays to do your own research and show up to your doctor's appointment with a shortlist of medications you think are most likely to help you.

Talk to friends and family, and consult websites like MayoClinic.org and WebMD.com and issue-specific resources like the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.