I'm in the Unwellness Space

An open letter to people who are "passionate" about "mental health."

This is a newsletter. It is salty. Why? Because I am a psychiatrist. That is a kind of medical doctor. Doctors, in this context, are in turn a subspecialty of physician. That means I work with human suffering. I am not in the “mental health space.” I am not in the “wellness space.” I might plausibly be best understood as in the unwellness space…

Referring to the ardent but—frankly—less than glamorous world psychiatric illness as “a space” In which anyone can blithely assert their role? By virtue of their passion alone?

This is nonsense. It is exactly the sort of hucksterism—via vague wordplay—that people who are “passionate” about sucking the blood of the suffering tend to assert.

The “mental health space” isn't glamorous—it includes profound discomfort, honor, grim pride, sorrow, horror, loss, and so much more.

I am proud of the humans I serve. Those who seek help, and those who reject it, in my experience, are humans I admire. I like the people I am proud to call my pat…