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Lawyers Prone To Depression, Alcoholism

February 4, 2016

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Nearly one in four practicing attorneys qualify as problem drinkers, about three times higher than the adult population as a whole, according to a study conducted by the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and the American Bar Association. The cause is a mix of the job’s intense pressure, which regularly exposes them to trauma, and a culture where clients and peers network over drinks and happy hours. Pressures are particularly acute for young lawyers, who face student debt and dwindling job prospects in a rapidly changing industry. Attorneys in the first 10 years of practice exhibit the highest incidence of the problem behaviors, the study found. About 28 percent of lawyers struggle with some degree of depression as well, with 19 percent exhibiting signs of anxiety.

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