Legal professionals are often subject to jokes by the general public but men and women in this profession are actually known for their intelligence and hard work in dealing with complicated legal matters.
With the high-stress levels and short deadlines routinely associated with their day to day work, legal professionals often push themselves beyond their physical and mental limits. This trend is in line with other similar high-stress careers including police officers, doctors, emergency first responders. Attorneys and lawyers are also known to choose unhealthy habits to cope with the pressures, stress, and anxiety that come with their profession.
More specifically, alcohol abuse in combination with depression and anxiety are known to be relatively more common among legal professionals than in others.
An additional point to take into consideration is that lawyers and attorneys also suffer from extremely high levels of mental health problems. It has been reported that as high as 40% of law students suffer from depression right after their first year in law school. This unfortunate problem seems to continue all through their law school into their careers.
A study by the American Bar Association studies the frequency and quantities of alcohol consumption in 12,825 licensed and employed lawyers in 19 states around the US.
Based on anonymous responses to a questionnaire provided by study participants, results indicate that more than a quarter (28 percent) suffer from depression while 19 percent exhibited symptoms of anxiety.
Considering the functioning of the legal system, it is a common understanding that attorneys who argue cases in courts find that they have to compromise their ethical and moral values. They may also have to take positions that are contrary to their belief system and defend people they think are guilty. This is likely to generate an inner conflict depending on the personality and personal convictions of the lawyer.
Addiction to alcohol and drugs in the legal profession is a big problem that unfortunately put an end to many promising careers and lives.
Taking steps to addressing mental health and stress related triggers early on in the law school is an important consideration.
It appears that finding a good work-life balance is difficult for lawyers and attorneys. This is especially true in the case of junior lawyers who generally will not have control over their schedules and workload.
An indirect factor for some of the stress experienced by men and women in legal profession is said to be high levels of debt that gets accumulated when studying in the law school. This huge burden could create a lot of pressure when the graduating young lawyers make their career decisions. It is important that these young professionals with a promising career need to keep in mind that their well-being is tied to keeping themselves physically and mentally healthy.
Fortunately, several treatment options in a private and confidential environment are available. It is important to seek help as soon as they recognize signs of addiction or substance abuse.