According to a recent report on "Physician Burnout & Depression", there has been a sharp increase in rates of burnout and depression among doctors. Physicians were invited to take part in a 10-minute online survey. More than 13,000 clinicians across 29 specialities revealed their mental health issues and how they are coping with burnout. For doctors, COVID-19 was a challenging situation. The doctors had to struggle to resume their regular workdays. Furthermore, they had to cope with COVID-19 stress, shortage of staff, and fear about sending kids to school amid the ongoing pandemic.

In 2022, physicians reported burnout at a rate of 47%. Among emergency clinicians, a sharp rise (from 43% to 60%) in burnout was reported. Burnout elevated for both males and females.  Regarding burnout cases, too many bureaucratic tasks topped the list. Regarding burnout, nearly 34% of doctors feel that their personality type is a significant contributing factor. The system's restrictions that prevent practitioners from providing their patients with the treatment they require (moral harm) are the main source of their pain.

Compared to doctors below the age of 35 (22%), fewer doctors aged 45-54 worry that others are managing burnout better (13%). About half of doctors believe they are dealing with burnout similar to others. This year, 48% of physicians in hospitals were reported to be burned out. Most elements of their life are affected by burnout and its ramifications. Several medical professionals find that exercising helps them to cope with stress. As found, 63% of doctors said that they exercise for maintainence of good mental health.

For many doctors, the quarantine months of COVID-19 were less stressful and overwhelming than now. The effect of back-to-work reopenings, including stress, decreased staff, and anxiety from concern of infecting family members triggered a greater burnout rate. This rate was much higher than 1st year of outbreak when quarantines temporarily shuttered clinics.

About 68% of doctors claim that their relationships are impacted by burnout. They claim that when they are stressed, tempers tend to more easily flare-up. There is less time for or interest in romance, and many parents feel bad about spending less time with their children. For alleviating burnout, both internal and external strategies were used by doctors: Trying to improve the circumstances that lead to overwork and trying to handle the condition within themselves in a new way.

Many doctors believe that other occupations have lower rates of burnout. Only 36% of doctors agree that teachers feel similar burnout, despite the fact that more than 41% of teachers quit their jobs during the first five years of employment because of burnout. One-fifth (21%) of doctors admitted that they are suffering from depression. One-fourth of them, or a rather significant percentage of doctors, claimed to be clinically depressed.

A third of the medical professionals who reported having depression also claimed that they had it in the past. Every person  has a distinct set of internal and external experiences that influence how well they can operate. Each of these factors affects doctor-patient relationships. However, about 53% of doctors reported that their depression does not impact their interaction with patients.

Additionally, a variety of non-genetic variables are thought to raise the likelihood of developing depression; for instance, relatives who grew up in an environment with unfavourable interactions might develop coping techniques. It's estimated that, on average, 65% of depression cases are related to lifestyle factors, and 35% of those cases have some hereditary component.

COVID-19 has adversely affected work-life happiness. Before COVID-19, there were probably more joyful days and fewer sad days for the majority of the nation. People are socializing less than previously, have lost many of their occupations or sources of money, and have lost family members and friends to the disease. The majority of doctors find joy and peace in their families, hobbies, and fitness. The single most significant safeguard for mental health is close and personal connections.

However, nearly 32% of respondents didn't agree that spending time with friends and family was beneficial for their mental health. This is because loneliness and isolation are major stresses and roughly 25% of physicians reported feeling lonely. Overall, 42% of doctors reported that their workplace offers a program to mitigate burnout and stress. Peer-to-peer support groups and development of team-based care may help to balance workload on  physicians who are experiencing burnout.

Nearly half of doctors believe that they are capable of handling emotional hardship on their own. There is still a stigma associated with mental health in society, and several doctors have suffered major professional setbacks when their mental health challenges were discovered. Since burnout can be elicited by several causes, there are multiple factors that may aid to ease the situation.

Notably, 39% of doctors stated that a more manageable work schedule would aid them to minimize their burnout. Many companies have sprung up around the idea of reducing burnout, and many doctors along with conventional mental health experts have employed the services of such coaches to explore ways to combat burnout.