Mental health professionals with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs call Elon Musk's "what did you do last week?" emails a form of psychological warfare.
The tech billionaire demanded that federal workers justify their jobs to him, as the apparent head of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency tasked with rooting out fraud and slashing the budget, and mental health providers told NPR about the impact his campaign has had on them and others.
"Many of us feel like we are being bullied to justify our existence and worth," said one licensed clinical psychologist, who said the VA has long kept a record of everything she does, from the number of patients she sees, how long those appointments last, to the topics they discuss and the pamphlets she hands out.
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Musk told Cabinet members last week that his emails were intended to learn which workers were "real" and "have a pulse and two neurons," which Donald Trump's appointees laughed at appreciatively, but the psychologist said those emails, and all of the other DOGE-related disruptions throughout the government, are taking a toll.
"I have to keep it together and placate OPM emails, or get terminated, while also answering veterans' concerns about whether I will be there for them the next week or month," she said. "Instead of being able to do good work to address their depression, PTSD, sexual trauma, combat trauma, etc., I have to spend time calming their nerves."
Another psychiatrist told NPR she was in a grocery store parking lot when she saw the first "What did you do last week?" email, which was sent on a Saturday as she was off work and trying to relax with her family – and she's certain Musk did that on purpose.
"As someone who specializes in mental health, I can say with confidence that this weekend emailing is meant to psychologically upset federal workers," she said.
Musk's blitz attack worked.
"I am anxious and irritable at home," she said. "I find myself doomscrolling for the first time ever, which is negatively impacting my mental health and something I tell my veterans to not do."
The psychiatrist said colleagues are cautious about their online communications and in meetings out of paranoia about potential monitoring by DOGE staffers, and she assumes the responses to Musk's emails are being analyzed using artificial intelligence for reasons she doesn't trust.
"I truly believe this is a nefarious process," she also said.
A VA memo shared this week by the American Federation of Government Employees showed a plan to cut more than 80,000 positions across the department, and mental health professionals who spoke with NPR said they're not sure whether they'll be laid off from the jobs they love, and they don't want to forced to leave behind the veterans they're helping.
"In the private sector, I could be working with 'easier' or less complicated patients," the psychologist said. "The reality is that those of us that opt to come to work for the VA do so because of our call to duty to serve those that served us."