Clare Gerada: Mindfulness is useful but not the only option

Our profession should be much impressed by the persistence of Clare Gerada in returning again to this so very important topic of the mental health of doctors. This chimes well with the way in which our Royal Family persists in drawing attention to this vital aspect of our personal and community health and well being.

When my own mental state disintegrated many years ago when I was an active newly qualified GP I found that medications such as anxiolytics and anti-depressants had little effect on my mental state and often made things worse with their unwanted side effects. What was of the greatest possible help was conversations with a drama teacher and some introductory drama training. This helped me to realize and understand that my body language, tone of voice, facial expressions and so on all gave the impression to my patients that I was, so to speak, "a soft touch", keen and willing to help patients with "all their problems and concerns".

My drama training taught me that the best way to help patients is to establish "boundaries" and to make it clear to NHS service users that, although as a GP I will offer a "friendly approach" and "help all I can", I cannot / could not be "their friend". This led me to experience many years of enjoyment and "job satisfaction" as a GP knowing that at the end of each GP session I had done what I could and whenever necessary shared useful websites with patients and carers for their further study or referred on to other health professionals able to help with their particular issue or problem.

Over the following years life became more bearable for me, antidepressants were no longer needed, and many patients expressed their gratitude for being treated as responsible adults capable of learning and making considered choices concerning their own treatment and care. I found that it is so true that "shared decision making is the pinnacle of patient centered care".