Via the American Bar Association Law Student Division
What do doctors, attorneys, and CEOs have in common? No, this isn’t a joke… These are all occupations that have the highest rates of stress and depression among all occupations. Attorneys across the U.S. have begun to realize how prevalent the problem is. Currently, eight of the fifty state bar associations have realized how stressful is to be an attorney and requiring mandatory mental health components as CLE credits.
Unfortunately it isn’t much better for us as students; by the time we graduate, we are nearly four times more likely to develop depression or other mental health issues. Law school attracts a lot of type A personalities, everybody wants to be the top 10%, but just simple math shows 90% of students won’t meet their expectations. When we finally become attorneys, we enter this adversarial system where there’s always a winner and a loser and we can’t always be the winner. Because of this competition, this sink or swim attitude, it creates this atmosphere of stress and anxiety that looms over every law school and stays with us throughout our entire career.
Thankfully, there is help available. Take for example, the Dave Nee Foundation, which was founded in memory of a promising law school student who took his own life after losing his fight against depression. Since 2006, they have hosted their Uncommon Counsel program at nearly fifty different law schools across the country and helped thousands of students. The program not only raises awareness of prevalent mental health issues within the legal community, but also equips law school students with the necessary skills and resources to assist them with mental health concerns throughout their career.
The American Bar Association has its own program tailored specifically to law school students: The Mental Health Initiative. With the growing concern of mental health issues on law school campuses across the country, this program confronts some of the major problems by providing a toolkit to the person most capable of creating change: You. Read more HERE .
- Download the Mental Health Day Planning Toolkit
- Browse Other Essential Mental Health & Wellness Resources
Help is also available here in campus:
Starting this month the director if the Missouri Lawyers Assistance Program (MOLAP), Anne Chambers will be available to talk with students confidentially. She will be available in the Office of Student Life on the following days:
- Monday, October 29 from 12:00-3:00
- Monday, November 19 from 12:00-3:00
- Monday, January 28 from 12:00-3:00
- Monday, February 25 from 12:00-3:00
- Monday, March 25 from 12:00-3:00
- Monday, April 22 from 12:00-3:00