My girlfriend is a psychiatrist who has a lot of mental health issues... any advice?
I'm a 33M investment banker and have been in a LTR with my 30F girlfriend who is a PGY3 psychiatry resident. Our relationship is generally very good and we love each other a lot. But a lot of times my girlfriend will experience intense bouts of depression and have some flare-ups of what we both think may be borderline personality disorder. These episodes don't usually cause fights, but they do seem to put her in this "shelled up" state where she doesn't feel up to anything and doesn't eat much.
I've talked to her a lot about it and have tried my hardest to comfort her, but it's really hard. When I ask why she feels bad, most of the time it's related to her career in one way or another. She tells me she feels extremely trapped in the medical field and the hefty work hours when she's on long call or inpatient duty are breaking her. She has not been on a real vacation since 2018 when she finished college. She's been working nonstop for 7 years and it's only more work on the horizon. Her residency program does give her some days off, but she has used several as sick days, and the remaining ones she basically just sleeps and eats, never feeling up to traveling or doing anything outside of home.
I personally have enough money to support both of us for a long time, so I've mentioned to her that she can quit or maybe take a break after residency and I would be happy to support her. But she says that any breaks are frowned upon and it will make it harder to find opportunities afterward. She's very worried that if she quits, everything will have been in vain.
After a long while, I'm usually able to get her out of these episodes, by just holding her in my arms and making her food and so forth. And I try to be as comforting as possible. And she's terrified of seeking any help from the outside because she's a psychiatrist and she's afraid it will wreck her professional reputation if she even shows the slightest hint that she's mentally unwell. I love her a lot and want her to be happy, but it's hard.
How can I help her get through this?