A reality check nobody asked for, but every resident needs to hear.
You've cracked one of the toughest medical entrances in the country. You're smart. You're driven. You're grinding through 36-hour shifts, handling emergencies at 3 AM, and somehow expected to study for theory exams on top of it all.
So when Friday night rolls around, you think you've earned it. The drinks. The cigarettes. The "stress relief" that comes in various forms. You call it decompression. You call it balance.
I call it a slow-motion car crash.
The "Work Hard, Party Hard" Lie
Your body at 26 is not invincible. It just feels that way because you haven't seen the invoice yet. The bill always comes later — and it comes with compound interest.
The Cognitive Dissonance of Medical Training
You know exactly what smoking does. You've counselled patients to quit. You've seen the chest X-rays, the COPD patients gasping for air, the lung cancer cases.
Yet somehow, you light up between OTs because "it's just stress relief."
You know the science. You just think it doesn't apply to you.
The Numbers You Already Know (But Ignore)
- →50% of smokers die from smoking-related diseases. Not some abstract population — half of everyone who smokes.
- →10 years of life — that's what the British Doctors Study (50 years of data) found smoking costs you.
- →10-15% of healthcare professionals develop substance abuse problems during their careers.
- →76.3% of medical license actions are due to substance abuse. Career over.
You've probably taught these statistics to patients. Now read them again, slowly, as if they apply to you. Because they do.
Ask Your Parents One Question This Week
"If you could go back to your 20s and 30s, what would you do differently about your health?"
Listen carefully. The answers are remarkably consistent:
- • "I wish I hadn't smoked. It seemed harmless then."
- • "I should have exercised when my body could still handle it."
- • "I thought I'd have time to fix things later. There is no later."
- • "The drinking culture at work... I regret every glass."
- • "I ignored warning signs because I was busy building my career."
These are people who love you. Who watched their own bodies betray them. Why are you determined to repeat their mistakes?
The Retired Teacher's Wisdom
"When you're young, you trade health for money.
When you're old, you trade money for health.
I wish I'd seen that trade sooner."
The Consequences Nobody Talks About
Career Destruction
- • License suspension or revocation — years of NEET prep, MBBS, DNB... gone
- • Frequent job changes — employers talk, reputation follows
- • Malpractice lawsuits — one error while impaired ends everything
- • Criminal charges — drug diversion, DUI, prescribing violations
- • Academic career destroyed — no research, no teaching positions, no legacy
Personal Destruction
- • Marriages destroyed — addiction strains every relationship
- • Children alienated — they remember the absent, irritable parent
- • Financial ruin — addiction costs + job loss + legal fees + treatment
- • 10-20 years of chronic disease — modern medicine keeps you alive, but miserable
- • Suicide risk — female surgeons are 76% more likely than general population to consider it
The Indian Doctor Reality
What the surveys found:
- • 40.3% of Indian medical students/residents use some substance
- • 27.1% alcohol use among medical students
- • 31.5% alcohol use among resident doctors (higher than students)
- • 54% of doctors surveyed were overweight or obese
- • Doctors have HIGHER rates of hypertension (35.6% vs 27%) and metabolic syndrome than general population
You're supposed to be healthier than your patients. Instead, you're sicker.
The Math Nobody Does
You're sacrificing 45+ years of quality life for 3 years of "stress relief."
That's a 15:1 ratio of consequences to pleasure. Would you advise a patient to take that deal?
Two Versions of You at 45
Version A: The Invoice Arrived
- • Fatty liver from "social drinking"
- • COPD from "occasional smoking"
- • Type 2 diabetes from metabolic abuse
- • Chronic back pain from never exercising
- • Anxiety, depression from unaddressed mental health
- • Relationship patterns built on emptiness
- • Career limited by health issues
Version B: The Investment Paid Off
- • Running 5K on weekends
- • Playing with kids without getting breathless
- • Sharp, focused, energetic
- • Sleeping well, eating well, living well
- • Proud of choices made when it was hard
- • Career thriving, reputation intact
- • Actually enjoying the money you earned
Both people started their journey during DNB. Which one do you want to be?
What Actually Works (Without Being a Monk)
- Sleep:Protect it like your career depends on it. Because it does.
- Movement:15-minute walk. Stairs instead of elevators. Something. Anything.
- Food:One proper meal a day minimum. Not Maggi. Not biscuits. Actual food.
- Connection:Real ones. Not drunk ones. People who know your name beyond your badge.
- Stress release:Music. Gaming. Reading. Prayer. Whatever doesn't come with a hangover.
- Check-ups:For yourself. The cobbler's children go barefoot, but they shouldn't.
The Final Word
I'm not here to judge you. Residency is genuinely brutal, and everyone copes differently.
But your body is keeping score. Every cigarette. Every binge. Every sleepless night you could have avoided. Every meal you skipped. Every warning sign you ignored.
It's all being recorded. And one day, the recording will play back.
You've worked too hard to get here. You're going to work even harder to build something meaningful after this.
Don't let 3 years of "stress relief" cost you 30 years of quality life.
Your future self is watching. Your future patients need you healthy. Your future family needs you present.
Treat your body like the temple it is. Because unlike exams, unlike careers, unlike relationships — you only get one.
What changes are you willing to make this week?
Sometimes the smallest step is the hardest — but it's the one that matters most.
Sources:
- • British Doctors Study (50-year follow-up) - BMJ/PMC
- • Substance use among Indian Physicians - PMC 2025
- • Medscape Physician Lifestyle Reports 2022-2024
- • JAMA Network Open: Problematic Alcohol Use Among Physicians
- • BMC Medical Education: Burnout among medical residents
- • American Addiction Centers: Substance Abuse in Medical Professionals
- • Glimpse into the Lifestyle of Doctors - PMC 2022