Most
lawyers
can
attest
that
being
an
attorney
is
a
stressful
occupation
due
to
the
conflict
and
human
drama
that
lawyers
experience
daily. In
addition,
many
lawyers
work
long
hours,
which
only
compounds
the
stress
and
adverse
health
effects. Perhaps
owing
to
this
stress,
some
lawyers
are
more
likely
to
suffer
substance
abuse
and
mental
help
problems. Due
to
all
of
these
compounding
factors,
lawyers
might
have
worse
health
outcomes
than
people
who
work
in
other
professions.
Over
the
past
few
years,
I
personally
knew
four
lawyers
who
died
of
heart
attacks
in
their
50s. People
suffer
heart
attacks
at
relatively
young
ages
for
many
reasons.
I
was
not
particularly
close
to
any
of
these
lawyers,
and
it
has
been
years
since
I
worked
with
any
of
them
closely. However,
I
could
see
that
the
stress
of
the
legal
profession
was
impacting
at
least
a
few
of
them,
and
I
wonder
if
years
of
practicing
law
had
an
adverse
health
effect
on
them.
I
also
personally
know
many
lawyers
who
seek
mental
health
help,
possibly
due
to
the
stress
experienced
in
the
legal
profession. Let
me
be
clear:
I
think
it
is
great
for
lawyers
(and
anyone
else)
to
see
therapy
and
other
methods
for
dealing
with
mental
health
issues. I
am
happy
that
many
state
bars
have
deemphasized
mental
health
issues
on
bar
applications
since
there
should
not
be
a
stigma
associated
with
people
who
suffer
from
depression,
anxiety,
or
other
similar
issues
and
accordingly
seek
help.
However,
it
is
extremely
likely
that
being
a
lawyer
contributes
to
mental
health
issues. Dealing
with
human
drama
and
needing
to
square
off
against
adversaries
and
other
stakeholders
to
the
legal
profession
can
exacerbate
depression. In
addition,
tight
deadlines
and
the
fear
of
messing
up
can
add
to
a
lawyer’s
anxiety.
Attorneys
routinely
need
to
make
arguments
that
run
counter
to
their
deep-seated
beliefs
and
engage
in
other
conduct
that
can
be
difficult
to
bear. This
can
all
have
an
adverse
impact
on
the
mental
health
of
legal
practitioners.
The
legal
industry
is
not
healthy
at
baseline,
even
if
practitioners
do
not
have
jobs
in
the
more
stressful
branches
of
the
profession. Being
a
lawyer
is
mostly
a
sedentary
pursuit
since
attorneys
usually
sit
behind
desks
and
apply
their
trade
behind
computers. I
like
going
to
court
as
it
requires
walking
and
movement,
but
more
and
more
court
appearances
and
depositions
have
gone
virtual
after
the
pandemic,
and
these
opportunities
to
get
exercise
throughout
the
workday
have
almost
vanished.
The
office
environment
in
many
legal
workplaces
is
no
picnic
either. Lawyers
are
not
always
the
best
people
to
work
with,
and
the
many
opportunities
for
conflict,
office
politics,
and
intrigue
can
also
impact
the
mental
well-being
of
practitioners. Many
lawyers
do
not
need
to
work
from
the
office
five
days
a
week
like
in
earlier
years,
but
there
are
still
stressful
moments
caused
by
working
in
a
legal
workplace
that
are
not
connected
to
the
work
lawyers
perform
for
clients.
I
am
not
a
physician,
and
I
have
not
conducted
any
research
on
the
topic
of
health
outcomes
for
lawyers. I
have
just
anecdotally
witnessed
many
lawyers
suffer
adverse
health
outcomes
at
relatively
young
ages,
which
may
or
may
not
be
associated
with
their
work. I’d
love
any
feedback
readers
may
have,
especially
if
you
too
have
seen
lawyers
suffer
adverse
health
effects
at
ages
or
in
quantities
that
seem
unusual. Perhaps
if
there
was
an
acknowledgement
of
the
health
issues
that
lawyers
face
it
might
be
easier
to
propose
solutions
to
this
possible
problem.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.