As someone who is a medical student and has had a passion about the brain since childhood, what do you think makes a successful psychiatrist versus one that has a bad reputation?
I would appreciate an honest insight from psychiatrists who love their job and are content despite obvious emotional, financial, and mental challenges from all angles (including insurance companies and all the gray areas of medicine plus litigation)
What would be important challenges I will go through regardless of where I would go for a psychiatry residency and regardless of where I would practice?
I have a huge passion for mental health having gone through undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome (was midiagnosed as ADD) and the undiagnosed mental health issues that came with it for 24 years (it was worst starting in 10th grade).
I never had behavior problems or academic problems. I dreamed of being a physician since i was little. But outside of that, being able to live a content and peaceful life was a monumental struggle. Growing up in an alcoholic family environment (dad was violent alcoholic) and having a mother and brother (who cared about me but never understood my mental illness and the things that come from asperger's syndrome) made this worse on top of what I went through.
I learned I had entrenched depression as a consequence of not being able to enjoy life much and from not being able to make friends (explains a lot of the psychosis and hallucinations I have had until recently). I had sleeping disorders and a deathly phobia of thunderstorms plus anxiety in general. I was hypersensitive to things that made sudden loud noises like balloons and firecrackers. I could not fit with my peers because I was too serious and did not understand my "peers social cues/norms". I did not know what was normal vs not normal. I was a very picky eater and struggled with forgetfulness and organization.
I am doing really well now and my mental health is strengthening ever since I realized what was happening. It has been relieving and I have made tons of friends in medical school. I am able to finally live life for a change. I have made it this far in medical school ( am now a 2nd year)
I really can relate to what a lot of mentally sick people go through (and all other marginalized good people of all stripes and colors both socioeconomically and psychologically). it makes me angry that people "still" don't understand what mental illness does to people. It makes them suffer in silence and sucks the soul of them. Mental illness is breaking down our society thanks to the corporate interests and hate groups. For numerous years, my identity was stuck by vampire's teeth. Not anymore.
I really believe I can help other people battle their vampires and finally start to be respected for who they really are (sweet awesome human beings who do not deserve to be treated like dirt).
What do you think? is psychiatry something i should strongly pursue?
Or would neurology be just as good?
I am not ruling out other specialities and I will thoroughly weigh my decision as clinicals progress. But I am leaning more toward psychiatry or neurology.