I survived three suicide attempts: my journey through burnout, mental illness and triumph

I am a doctor, a urologist, and a survivor of multiple suicide attempts.
This is my personal story — a story of burnout, mental illness and suicide, and the shame that accompanied these experiences.
I completed my urologic residency in 1987 at Stanford University and began practising in Riverside, California. My life, from the time after my residency until my retirement in 2003, can be divided into two distinct eras.
During the first era, I was happy, busy and, I believe, a successful urologist, husband and father.