Removing the Armor: Breaking Stigmas & Building Unity

In the episode Removing the Armor: Breaking Stigmas & Building Unity, we interview Dr. Budhrani. He has been practicing clinically for over 20 years as an emergency room (ER) physician, is the CEO of Innovation Health, whose goal is to unify the health care system making the patient experience more fluid and affordable, and is a professor at George Washington (GW) School of Medicine. We are grateful he was able to make the time to speak with us about the impact that COVID-19 is having on the medical system as a whole, and the mental and physical health of frontline health workers, their families, and what resources are available to them.

Dr. Budhrani explains how it is critical for health care providers to have a seat at the table when discussing what the ‘new’ world will look like when we think about going back to school, back to work, etc. He also explains how coordination of care is key. That healthcare industries need to share data and manage populations in a coordinated fashion to prevent the virus from spreading, and to inform the public health response for future pandemics, or a second wave. He says thinking of COVID-19 as ‘going away’ is a dangerous assumption, but rather thinking about how to manage and prevent the spread are going to be the keys to our success going forward. Not simply rolling the dice and hoping it will go away.

“Working on the frontline these days is like going to war, and a lot of these folks are built to contain these feelings and thoughts in order to do their jobs.” He explains how he and other frontline health staff often internalize their stress and anxiety because they think people will not understand. And that the longer this goes on, the more it collects and builds inside. Dr. Budhrani stresses the importance of finding an outlet to explore these feelings. He says there are two main things we need to do in order to support frontline health workers’ mental health:

1. Break the stigma. It is okay to feel stressed out or anxious, it’s okay to talk about these feelings, it's okay to ask for help. He says, “We don’t treat our physical health with a stigma, so why do we treat our mental health this way?” 
2. He suggests beginning by using existing channels of support from friends or family. And then if further help is needed, he urges people to look into their Employee Assistance Plans which offer services for dealing with stress, and to remember that virtual telehealth therapy is available right now. That even with so much shut down therapists, social workers, and primary care doctors are still available through video chat or phone. 

Read more about Dr. Budhrani's story and suggested self care activities from the Playing to Live clinical team inspired by his story on our blog.

Do you know someone working on the front lines of the COVID-19 response? We want to hear from them. Please connect us with them by emailing us at info@playingtolive.org. And finally, please subscribe to our podcast, give us a rating, leave a comment, and share the podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. We need your help to share this important story.

A special thanks to Dr. Budhrani for his time. Thanks to Josh Carter for the theme music, find more at https://prettylittlegoat.com, and to Lindsay Bingaman for writing our blog.