In the hit HBO show The Pitt, which follows a city emergency department, a major storyline of the second season is one doctor trying to get back to work after substance treatment. ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️ At the end of The Pitt’s first season, we learn that Dr. Frank Langdon has been sneaking medications from the hospital supply and using them himself. It’s a shocking moment: Up until this point, he’s been the most reliable right hand for the protagonist, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. Dr. Langdon has been a valuable mentor to some of the medical residents who make up much of the rest of the show’s cast — and clashed with at least one, Trinity Santos, whose abrasive personality had turned some audience members against her. Nobody questions Dr. Langdon, because he seems to be on top of his game. And the show’s lessons about substance use start there: Somebody can be highly effective at work while still living with addiction. That makes even identifying the problem particularly challenging within the medical field. They may also believe that they can continue to meet the high standards of their job despite misusing alcohol or other drugs. “It is very difficult to treat a physician. Physicians just, in general, have a lot of ego,” Dr. Jason Kirby, chief medical officer at Recovery Centers of America, said. “A lot of the treatment of anybody with substance use disorders, you have to break down that cognitive distortion. You break down that ego. And it can be very difficult for physicians to get to that point.” As Kirby told Vox’s Dylan Scott, most doctors who go into rehab are directed there because of an issue raised by a colleague, or superior, or patient. They don’t tend to seek out treatment themselves until the issue is forced upon them. Read more about how even though alcohol use has hit historic lows in the US, there are still pockets of the population that suffer from disproportionately high rates of alcohol misuse at the link in our bio. 📸: Dr. Frank Langdon of HBO’s The Pitt treats a patient in the second season, the finale of which airs on Thursday. Courtesy of HBO #ThePitt #Addiction #addictionrecovery #alcoholism #thepitthbo