Long work hours, overworked and stressed, many medical professionals are facing burnout and mental breakdowns, doctors give some insights
The next time you visit a hospital, be a little patient with your doctor and the supporting medical staff. Nearly one in every four doctors in India is experiencing burnout. Excessive workload, crushing work hours, little appreciation, violence and no time for self or family are driving many doctors to the brink of mental fatigue, burnout, and breakdowns. But where does the healer go for healing? Behind the white coat lies a quieter, often unspoken reality – many doctors are struggling with serious mental health issues, addiction and suffering in silence.
Burnouts & Breakdowns
“Mental health challenges among doctors are more common than people realise,” says Dr Pallavi Periwal, Consultant Pulmonologist and Critical Care Physician. Burnout, chronic stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression are increasingly reported across all stages of the profession—from medical students to senior consultants. She explains that the pressures are multifaceted: high patient loads, administrative responsibilities, emotionally draining conversations, and long working hours all contribute to the strain. While the conversation around physician well-being is more open today than it was a decade ago, she notes that the underlying stressors within the profession remain largely unchanged.
Dr Rishi V Lohiya, Senior Consultant, Interventional Cardiology, adds, “Prevalence of mental health episodes among doctors is far more than what’s reported in literature. It’s highly under-reported.” He opines that mental health breakdowns among healthcare professionals are rising sharply, driven by the evolving and increasingly demanding dynamics of clinical practice.
Unhealthy Contributors
Mental health breakdowns among doctors rarely stem from a single cause. They are usually the result of an accumulation of pressures that quietly build over time. Long working hours, relentless patient loads, emotionally difficult cases, administrative burdens, and the constant fear of medico-legal scrutiny all intersect in ways that are hard to disentangle.
Dr Rishi seconds this, “It’s difficult to pinpoint a single factor. It’s multifactorial.” Dr Rishi points out that the changing dynamics of day-to-day clinical practice, along with the gradual deterioration of trust within the doctor–patient relationship, have played a significant role in intensifying the pressures faced by healthcare professionals. Dr Ruchir Bhandari, Senior Oncologist & Head of Cyberknife Radiosurgery, says, “In medicine, the stakes are always high. Even routine decisions can carry significant consequences for patients.”
This constant sense of responsibility, he explains, can be mentally demanding, and over time, the cumulative weight of responsibility, heavy workloads, and repeated emotional exposure can become deeply taxing for doctors.
Invisible ‘Sick’ Symptoms
Part of the problem lies in the culture of medicine itself. The archetype of the tireless doctor: always available, always composed, leaves little room for human limits. When mistakes occur, the burden of guilt can be crushing. When patients die, grief often has nowhere to go. They move from one patient to the next, often suppressing grief, doubt, and exhaustion behind clinical composure. But silence has its limits—and the pressing question is: how long can a system that demands such quiet endurance from its healers truly sustain itself?
All Work, No Play
Dr Pallavi says, “One of the biggest barriers that stop a doctor from seeking help is stigma.” She shares that, despite being healthcare professionals, many doctors worry that admitting to psychological stress may be perceived as weakness and could affect their physical reputation. Another pressing issue is time. Many medical professionals are so overworked by relentless schedules and clinical demands that they are left with little room to pause, reflect, or care for themselves. The very structure of the profession often leaves doctors attending to everyone else while quietly neglecting their own well-being.
Dr Ruchir Bhandari points this out bluntly when he says, “Doctors are trained to be problem-solvers and caregivers, so it can feel uncomfortable to step into a position of seeking help from another.”
Addressing the mental health crisis among doctors requires more than individual resilience—it calls for structural and cultural change within the healthcare system. Dr Pallavi says that access to structured mental health support for doctors and medical students in India remains uneven across institutions.
She quips, “Many hospitals still lack dedicated counselling services that are confidential, easily accessible, and culturally accepted.” Preventive measures such as structured mentorship and reasonable duty hours are also not uniformly implemented, leaving significant gaps in supporting physician well-being. Dr Rishi opines that although several efforts are being made to ensure easily accessible psychological support in medical colleges, much more needs to be done to make seeking such help socially acceptable and free from stigma or taboo.
The Way Ahead
The conversation around doctors’ mental health has begun, but meaningful change will require more than just awareness. Institutions must move beyond symbolic gestures and build systems that actively support well-being through reasonable duty hours, accessible counselling services, mentorship, and a culture where seeking help is not seen as weakness but responsibility.
Dr Ruchir adds, “It’s important we understand that doctors are not separate from the society they serve.”
Quote: In medicine, the stakes are always high. Even routine decisions can carry significant consequences for patients.”
— Dr. Ruchir Bhandari,
Senior Oncologist & Head of Cyberknife Radiosurgery
Quote: Prevalence of mental health episodes among doctors is far more than what’s reported in the literature. It's highly under-reported.”
— Dr Rishi V Lohiya, Senior Consultant, Interventional cardiology
