And if you are foolish enough to expect that the legal system will be fair to you, that lawyers have a sworn duty to always fight for justice and uphold the truth, or that the litigation process is designed to result in fair, honorable, and just settlements to most disputes, you're going to become angry and suffer major disappointments. Hopefully, the O.J. fiasco cured you of any such naive misconceptions about the legal system which you might have had. While numerous forces are converging in our society to cause physicians increased levels of stress, not the least among these are our own outdated expectations. I had a long discussion about this topic, and he shared with me a preliminary draft of an article he was preparing about the current revolution in health care and how it is changing and effecting the medical profession. When traditional expectations clash with changing reality, however, most people feel stressed.
Physicians are no exception.
Of course there are many other ways in which expectations lead to stress in physicians and other professional groups, but we don't have space to enumerate them here. The holiday season is not a happy time for everyone. Yet we all tend to feel compelled to look and feel merry during this time. The mass media and Madison Avenue fuel these expectations. If you are single, alone, or recently divorced or separated, the social pressures at this time of year can be quite stressful.