Rachel Spearing reports on “courting the blues” & the risks facing the current profession
Recent studies in the USA, Australia and Canada suggest a rising phenomena of distress amongst lawyers and disillusionment leading to health risks for the profession. Many barristers, both employed and self-employed in the UK have experienced changes to their working practices and environment leading to further pressures in addition to the challenges of their work. Most barristers are aware of colleagues who have struggled with the weight of their practices, and at times buckled when managing the intrinsic and extrinsic stressors of their lives. With research in the UK indicating that one in four in any given year will experience mental distress, lawyers by analogy will not be immune from those statistics. It is also widely known that mental health in the legal profession is rarely spoken about, and the stigma attached to declaring such disability, whether temporary or permanent has led to many fearfully hiding their illness or failing to acknowledge the issue at all until serious or fatal consequences
