Medscape Psychiatrist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2023: Contentment Amid Stress

Mary Lyn Koval | February 24, 2023

Psychiatrists are finding that their happiness level and work-life balance are not springing back easily even as COVID-19's effects on the workplace wane. Many doctors are struggling to find the same level of contentment that they enjoyed before the pandemic, to feel like they are healthy people with enough time for their families. Meanwhile, the impact of persistent burnout and depression continues to build among psychiatrists. Frustration, sadness, and anger are widespread. Medscape surveyed more than 9100 physicians across more than 29 specialties. Their responses give insights into how choices surrounding their marriages, family relationships, personal habits, and lifestyles influence their happiness. Psychiatrists also told poignant stories of how burnout and depression affect them, how these challenges can harm personal and patient relationships, and how they are trying to deal with them. (Note: Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% because of rounding.)

Compare psychiatrists against other specialists in the percentage who said they were either "very happy" or "happy" with their lives away from work before the COVID-19 pande