worse yet, the cases repeated mention of headlights being off triggers recollections of my january 2015 dui, when the officer pulled me over in the darkness. i remember it well: alexis nab (admittedly the only person who might have been my lifeline) had severed contact just a week before. *-* =[drinking & thinking alone]= the legal profession has long been revered as the foundation of justice, yet it is increasingly marred by a mental health epidemic. as the aba underscores, 25% of law students are at risk for alcoholism, 17% suffer from depression, and 37% experience mild to severe anxiety. moreover, 6% of law students have reported suicidal thoughts within the past year. for practicing attorneys, the numbers are equally grim: 28% report depression, 19% severe anxiety, and 11.4% have contemplated suicide in the past year. (aba, december 2017). bree buchanan, of the national task force on lawyer well-being, notes:  > law students will not ask for help [they are] terrified of somebody finding out that they have a problem, which will result in their not being admitted to the bar or not being able to get a job. aba, december 2017. even with increased awareness campaigns, the crisis persists. the aba journal reports that  > 71% of lawyers reported anxiety in 2023, a 5% increase from the prior year, while 38% experienced depressiona staggering 35% rise from 2022. (aba journal, may 2023). and they say cigarettes are bad for you. if you want to know bad for you, enroll in law school. the culture of perfectionism, described as unrelenting, creates environments where lawyers feel unsafe accessing mental health services. laura mahr explains:  > there is a threat, whether real or imagined, that we might not get promoted, or we might lose our job or not get a bonus if we arent 100% on our game 100% of the time.  (aba journal, may 2023).
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