The mental health benefits of storytelling for health care workers | Laurel Braitman

Translator: Noelia Collazo Boullosa Reviewer: Xosé María Moreno

For the last few years,

Dende hai uns anos,

I've been a writer in residence at the Stanford Medical School.

son escritora residente na Escola de Medicina de Stanford.

I was hired by an incredible woman,

Contratoume unha muller incrible,

she's a poet and an anesthesiologist,

unha poeta e anestesióloga

named Audrey Shafer,

chamada Audrey Shafer,

and she started the Medicine and the Muse Program

que iniciou o programa Medicine and the Muse

to reintroduce humanities back into medical education and training.

para volver a introducir as humanidades na educación e formación médica.

My job was to teach writing, storytelling

O meu traballo consistía en ensinar escritura, narración

and general communication skills

e habilidades xerais de comunicación

to physicians, nurses, medical students

a doutores, enfermeiros, estudantes de medicina

and other health care workers.

e outros traballadores sanitarios.

And I thought I'd get a ton of great student essays

Supuxen que os meus estudantes me entregarían miles de ensaios

about dissecting cadavers and poems about the spleen.

sobre disección de cadáveres e poemas sobre o bazo.

And I did.

E así foi.

But almost immediately,

Pero case inmediatamente,

I started getting more essays that made me really anxious

comecei a recibir máis ensaios que me fixeron sentir inqueda

and really worried.

e moi preocupada.

My students were writing about their crushing anxiety,

Os meus estudantes escribían sobre a súa demoledora ansiedade,

the unbearable pressure on them to succeed,

a presión insoportable por alcanzar o éxito,

their mental health diagnoses,

as súas diagnoses de saúde mental,

their suicide attempts,

os seus intentos de suicidio,

how alone and isolated they felt

sobre o sós e illados que se sentían

and wondered if they'd gone into the right profession,

e as dúbidas sobre se escolleran a profesión axeitada,

and they weren't even doctors yet.

cando nin sequera eran doutores aínda.

This is my student Uriel Sanchez.

Esta é a miña estudante Uriel Sánchez.

(Audio) Uriel Sanchez: The choice you are given through medicine,

(Audio) Uriel Sánchez: As opcións que che dan en medicina,

from a lot of your mentors even, is like,

incluso por parte de moitos mentores,

you have to choose,

son ter que escoller

like, being a really good person or a really good doctor.

entre ser unha moi boa persoa ou un moi bo doutor ou doutora.

(Music)

(Música)

Laurel Braitman: Physicians' own humanity and emotional well-being

Laurel Braitman: A humanidade e o benestar emocional dos médicos

are almost never made a core part of their training

case nunca son unha parte principal da súa formación,

or even acknowledged.

ou nin sequera se ten en conta.

And real vulnerability,

Unha vulnerabilidade real,

like sharing certain mental health diagnoses, for example,

como compartir certas diagnoses de problemas mentais,

can be absolutely career-ending.

podería causar a fin da súa carreira.

But nearly 30 percent of American medical students are depressed,

Case o 30 % dos estudantes de medicina estadounidenses están deprimidos,

and one in 10 have thought about suicide.

e 1 de cada 10 pensou no suicidio.

And it's actually even worse for practicing physicians.

E a situación é aínda peor no caso dos médicos que xa exercen.

There's really widespread job dissatisfaction,

Existe un descontento xeneralizado no traballo,

high rates of depression,

un alto índice de depresións

and doctors have one of the highest suicide rates

e os doutores teñen unha taxa de suicidio máis alta

of any profession in the United Sates.

que calquera outra profesión nos EEUU.

This is scary.

É aterrador.

Not just for them but for us, too.

Non só para eles, senón que tamén para nós.

I really think doctors have the most important job.

Eu penso que os doutores teñen o traballo máis importante.

And if their lives are at stake,

E se as súas vidas están en xogo,

ours are, too.

as nosas tamén.

Now, I am absolutely not a mental health professional,

Por suposto, eu non son unha profesional da saúde mental,

I'm a writer,

eu son escritora,

which most days is absolutely the complete and total opposite.

que basicamente é totalmente o contrario.

But I can tell you that the more opportunities

Pero podo afirmar que grazas ás oportunidades

that I give health care workers

que lles dou aos sanitarios

to share their daily frustrations, their fears, their joys,

de compartir as súas frustracións, os seus medos, as súas alegrías,

what surprises them, what they resent,

o que lles sorprende, o que lles molesta;

the better they seem to feel.

mellor parecen sentirse.

So at Medicine and the Muse, we offer evening, weekend

Así que en Medicine and the Muse ofrecemos obradoiros de narración

and day-long storytelling workshops

de tarde, de fin de semana ou de todo o día

at farms and other places with really good food.

en granxas ou outros lugares con comida moi rica.

I invite other journalists, writers, producers,

Invito a outros xornalistas, escritores, produtores,

podcasters and poets,

podcasters e poetas

and they teach writing,

a que lles ensinen a escribir,

communication and storytelling skills to our participants.

a comunicarse e a narrar historias aos nosos participantes.

And those participants practice being vulnerable

E que esos participantes se volvan vulnerables

by sharing their stories out loud with one another.

ao contar as súas historias en alto uns aos outros.

And in doing so,

Facendo iso,

they reconnect with what drew them to medicine in the first place.

reconectaranse co que os involucrou na medicina dende un principio.

These are the skills they'll draw on

Estas habilidades son ás que recurrirán

when they realize and are confronted with the stressful, messy reality

cando se decaten e se enfronten coa complexa e estresante realidade

of the work they've chosen.

do traballo que escolleron.

This is how they realize it's a calling.

Así é como se decatarán de que é a súa vocación.

So I have a prescription here for you today.

Polo tanto, hoxe teño unha receta para vostedes.

It's not from physicians, it's for them,

Non é de parte dos médicos, senón que para beneficio deles.

and I asked my students for help.

Para isto pedín a axuda dos meus estudantes.

And before I start, let me just say I work with doctors,

E antes de comezar, permítanme dicir que pese a traballar con doutores

but I'm absolutely convinced

estou totalmente convencida

that this applies to almost any profession,

de que se pode aplicar a case calquera profesión,

especially those of us who are so committed to our work,

sobre todo para todos os que estamos tan comprometidos co traballo

and it can be so intense and overwhelming,

que pode chegar a ser tan intenso e abafante,

that sometimes we forget why we chose to do it in the first place.

que ás veces esquecemos por que o escollemos dende o principio.

To me, sharing a true vulnerable story

Para min, compartir unha auténtica historia de vulnerabilidade

is a lot like raising a flag up a flagpole.

parécese moito a alzar unha bandeira nun mastro.

Other people see it,

Outra xente pode vela,

if they agree with it and it resonates with them,

se está de acordo e se sente identificada

they come and stand under it with you.

pode acercarse e acompañarte baixo ela.

That's what my student Maite Van Hentenryck did.

Iso foi o que fixo a miña estudante Maite Van Hentenryck.

(Audio) Maite Van Hentenryck: I mean, it was super anxiety-inducing,

(Audio) Maite Van Hentenryck: A min provocábame moitísima ansiedade,

and I shared parts of myself

e compartín cousas de min mesma

that I really have probably told five classmates.

que probablemente só lle contara a cinco compañeiros de clase.

LB: When Maite was a baby, she had to have her leg amputated.

LB: Cando Maite era un bebé, tiveron que amputarlle unha perna.

When she got to medical school,

Ao chegar á escola de medicina

she was taking just a standard class quiz,

tivo que facer un test estándar na clase

and she got asked the question,

no que lle preguntaban:

"Please tell us about the first time

"Por favor, fálanos da primeira vez

you encountered someone with a disability."

que te atopaches con alguén cunha minusvalía".

She wondered if her supervisors had ever considered

Preguntábase se os seus supervisores consideraran

that the person with the disability was her, the doctor.

que a persoa coa minusvalía era ela, a propia doutora.

So she talked about it in front of about 100 of her friends, peers,

Así que falou sobre isto diante duns 100 amigos e compañeiros;

which is a big deal, because, you know, she's really shy.

palabras maiores, tendo en conta o tímida que é.

And afterwards, what happened,

E o que ocorreu despois

is a number of students with disabilities,

foi que algúns estudantes con minusvalías,

that she didn't know,

aos que ela non coñecía,

came up to her and asked her to colead a group on campus

pedíronlle que coliderase un grupo no campus

that's now advocating for more visibility and inclusion in medical training.

que defende a visibilidade e a inclusión na formación médica.

In English, we tend to call people creatives

Cando falamos tendemos a considerar que a xente é creativa

if they have a certain job.

se posúen certos traballos.

Like, designer or architect or artist.

Por exemplo un deseñador, un arquitecto ou un artista.

I hate that term.

Eu odio ese concepto.

I think it's offensive and exclusionary.

Penso que é ofensivo e restritivo.

Creativity doesn't belong to a certain group of people.

A creatividade non pertence a un grupo concreto de xente.

A lot of my work with physicians and medical students

Gran parte do meu traballo con médicos e estudantes

is just reminding them that no matter what profession we choose,

é lembrarlles que, independientemente da profesión que escollamos,

we can make meaning,

podemos facer algo significativo,

find beauty in the hard stuff and create.

atopar a beleza nas cousas complicadas e crear.

This is medical student Pablo Romano.

Este é o estudante de medicina Pablo Romano.

(Audio) Pablo Romano: My parents immigrated here from Mexico

(Audio) Pablo Romano: Os meus pais inmigraron dende México

many years ago,

hai moitos anos,

and when I was in college, they passed away.

e cando eu estaba na universidade, faleceron.

I was 18 when my dad died and then 20 when my mom died.

Tiña 18 años cando morreu meu pai, e 20 cando morreu miña nai.

LB: Not only has Pablo been talking publicly for the first time

LB: Pablo non só falou por primeira vez publicamente

about being an orphan,

sobre a súa orfandade,

but together, we started a live storytelling series we're calling Talk Rx,

senón que xuntos comezamos unha serie sobre historias en vivo chamada Talk Rx

and it's become a really popular place for his peers

que se converteu nun lugar no que os seus compañeiros

to show their most vulnerable and powerful thoughts and feelings.

poden amosar as súas emocións e sentimentos máis vulnerables e profundos.

(Audio) PR: Vou a unha escola

(Audio) PR: I go to a school

that cares so much about data and research and numbers.

na que os datos, a investigación e os números importan moito.

At the end of the day, what moves people is stories.

Pero ao final o que conmove ás persoas son as historias.

LB: Arifeen Rahman is a second-year medical student.

LB: Arifeen Rahman é unha estudante de medicina de segundo ano.

And before she was born,

Antes de que ela nacera,

her parents immigrated from Bangladesh to the United States.

os seu pais inmigraron dende Bangladesh cara os Estados Unidos.

She grew up in a really beautiful home in Northern California,

Creceu nunha casa preciosa no norte de California,

very safe and stable,

moi segura e estable,

her parents are still together,

os seus pais seguen xuntos,

she never went hungry, and she graduated from Harvard.

nunca pasou fame e graduouse en Harvard.

(Audio) Arifeen Rahman: I didn't feel like the stories I had

(Audio) Arifeen Rahman: Nunca crin que as miñas historias

were worth telling or that they mattered.

fosen dignas de contar ou importasen.

LB: Arifeen did have stories, though.

LB: Porén, Arifeen si que tiña historias.

Recently, she gave a talk about being maybe

Hai pouco deu unha charla sobre ser quizais

the only Bangladeshi American girl

a única rapaza bangladesa - estadounidense

to win an essay contest

que gañou un concurso de ensaios

from the Daughters of the American Revolution --

para a Daughters of American Revolution

(Laughter)

(Laughter)

and then dress up for Halloween as the Declaration of Independence.

e despois disfrazouse en Halloween da Declaración da Independencia.

And I love Arifeen's story so much,

A min encántame a historia de Arifeen

because to me it represents all that is good and bad

porque para min representa todo o bo e malo,

and hard and exhausting

o duro e o agotador

about representing the new American dream.

de representar o novo soño americano.

(Audio) AR: The hardest thing was coming up against that voice

(Audio) AR: O máis difícil foi lidar con esa voz que me dicía

that was telling me no one wants to hear my stories,

que ninguén querería escoitar as miñas historias,

like, why invest the time in this thing

de por que invertir tempo nunha cousa

that doesn't really mean anything in the grand scale of life.

que non ten ningún significado na gran escala da vida.

Maybe the biggest thing is, like, maybe it does.

Quizais o mellor diso é que en realidade si o ten.

LB: Life is so short.

LB: A vida é moi curta.

For me, the only thing, really, that matters with my time here

Para min, a única cousa que importa mentres estea aquí

is feeling like I can connect with other people

é sentir que podo conectar con outra xente

and maybe make them feel slightly less alone.

e quizais conseguir que se sintan un pouco menos sós.

And in my experience,

E segundo a miña experiencia,

that's what stories do absolutely the best.

as historias son as que máis o conseguen.

So, my student and a collaborator in a lot of these endeavors

Bueno, a miña estudante e colaboradora en gran parte deste empeño

is Candice Kim.

é Candice Kim.

She's an MD-PhD student in medical education.

Ela é doutoranda en Educación Médica.

She's written about #MeToo in medicine,

Escribiu sobre o #MeToo en medicina,

navigating her queer identity in a conservative field

abríndolle camiño á súa identidade "queer" nun ámbito conservador

and her mom's metastatic cancer diagnosis.

e a súa nai foi diagnosticada con cáncer metastásico.

And recently, she started also doing some really interesting research

Recentemente, tamén iniciou unha interesante investigación

about our work.

sobre o noso traballo.

(Audio) Candace Kim: We've seen that students

(Audio) Candace Kim: Podemos ver que os estudantes

who participate in our storytelling opportunity

que participaron na opotunidade de contar historias

show between a 36 and 51 percent decrease in distress.

amosan entre un 36 e un 51 por cento de disminución da súa angustia.

LB: If this was a mental health drug,

LB: Se fose un medicamento para a saúde mental

it would be an absolute blockbuster.

sería un auténtico éxito de vendas.

Results seem to last up to a month.

Parece que os resultados duran ata un mes.

It might be longer,

Pode que incluso máis.

a month is just when Candice stopped measuring.

Ao chegar o mes, Candice deixou de facer evaluacións.

So we don't even know.

Así que quen sabe.

Not only that, but 100 percent of our participants

E non só iso, senón que o 100 por cento dos nosos participantes

recommend these opportunities to a friend.

recomendou esta oportunidade a un amigo.

For me, though, the most important thing that our work has done

Porén, para min o máis imporante que conseguiu o noso traballo

is create a culture of vulnerability

foi crear unha cultura de vulnerabilidade

in a place [where] there was absolutely none before.

nun lugar no que nunca antes existira.

I think what this does

Penso que o que isto fai

is that it allows doctors and other folks

é permitir que tanto doutores coma outros compañeiros

an opportunity to envision a different kind of future for themselves

teñan unha oportunidade de concibir un futuro diferentes para eles

and their patients.

e para os seus pacientes.

This is Maite again.

Esta é Maite de novo.

(Audio) MVH: Quero ser unha doutora que recorde o día do teu aniversario

(Audio) MVH: I want to be the doctor that remembers when your birthday is

without having to look at the chart.

sen ter que miralo no historial.

And I want to be the doctor who knows

E quero ser a doutora que sabe

what my patient's favorite color is

cal é a cor preferida dos meus pacientes

and what TV shows they like to watch.

e que programas de televisión lles gustan ver.

I want to be the doctor that's remembered for listening to people

Quero ser a doutora que sexa recordada por saber escoitar á xente

and making sure I take care of all of them

e asegurarme de coidar dela

and not just treating their disease.

e non só de tratar as súas enfermidades.

LB: Being human is a terminal condition.

LB: Ser humanos é un estado terminal.

We all have it, and we are all going to die.

Todos o padecemos e todos imos terminar morrendo.

Helping health care professionals communicate more meaningfully

Axudar aos profesionais da saúde a comunicarse significativamente

with each other,

entre eles,

with their patients and with themselves

cos seus pacientes e con eles mesmos

is certainly not going to magically change

é obvio que non vai cambiar por arte de maxia

everything that is wrong with the contemporary health care system,

todo o que non funciona no sistema sanitario actual,

nin vai liberar a enorme carga que poñemos sobre os nosos médicos,

and it's not going to live to the immense burdens we place on our physicians,

but it is absolutely key

pero si que é a clave

in making sure that our healers are healthy enough

para asegurarnos de que os nosos coidadores estean sanos

to heal the rest of us.

para poder coidar de todos nós.

Communicating with each other with vulnerability,

Comunicarse uns cos outros con vulnerabilidade,

listening with compassion,

escoitar con compaixón,

is, I believe, the absolute best medicine that we have.

é, á miña forma de ver, a mellor medicina que temos.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)