Author Archives: Laura Woodward

  1. The nature of Impermanence, attachment, and positive psychology.

    Comments Off on The nature of Impermanence, attachment, and positive psychology.

    “Nothing is permanent— not even our troubles.”

    –  Charlie Chaplin

    Impermanence is constant change, and it’s woven into the very fabric of our existence. Moments come and they go. Years go by. Kids grow up too fast. Holidays take ages to arrive and seemingly minutes to pass. Time flies when you’re having fun. The breath you took five minutes ago is long gone.

    Intellectually, we understand that our pet will be born, age, and die, that a car will break down, that the traffic jam will eventually move. Our work is to move that understanding from our intellect and nestle it deep in our hearts. But how does that benefit us? Sounds miserable, right?

    There’s a beauty to impermanence. You know, in Japan, people flock to the hillsides to see the spring blossoming of cherry blossoms. The festival is over after a few days as are the blooms. Tiny blue flax flowers in North America last for just a day. Glastonbury is amazing. But it has to end because it’s impossible to party that ardij

    Impermanence isn’t a good or a bad thing. It’s just a fact. We rely on constant change; we rely on impermanence.

    Ancient trees will burn in great forests so new ones can be born. Evil dictatorships crumble. 

    Winter days can be cold, wet, and dark. Some people love winter. Others of us prefer sunshine, long warm evenings and swimming in the sea. How many Winters have you seen pass and give way to Spring and Summer? We need Winters to be impermanent

    So how does really understanding impermanence benefit our wellbeing?

    If you’re having a great day, enjoy it to its fullest, it won’t last.

    And if your day is feeling like a disaster, hang in there, it won’t last.

    No matter how long that ops list is. It will eventually all get done. That’s also the nature of impermanence.

    If you’re dreading the root canal treatment you’re having next week, have faith that that day will come. And it will go. And the root canal procedure will be done.

    So, how can I claim that Impermanence is a path to fulfillment and an antidote to regret? Accepting the nature of impermanence is a key Buddhist teaching. It also leads neatly into relinquishing attachments which, according to Buddhist teachings, are one cause of suffering.

    Impermanence versus attachment

    So, if I can accept that I am impermanent, as is my cat, my job, this good or bad day, my holiday, then I can hold myself back from becoming so attached to the necessity of it being permanent that I can relax a little. Instead of fearing and dreading the end of my holiday, I can enjoy it even more mindfully and embrace every tiny joyous thing about it even though I know that it will pass.

    With time, I can accept that everything, even all humans on earth including me are fleeting in some way. That is acceptance and letting go of my attachment and desperate need. And that’s ok.

    Attachment :

    According to Buddhism, attachment is the root of suffering, and it is usually the reason why impermanence is difficult to fathom for many people. Rationally accepting that everyone and everything is temporary is a refreshing concept, and whether you want to believe it or not, it’s true.

    Positive Psychology :

    While clinical psychology has largely focused on diagnosing and treating mental illness and diseases, positive psychology is concerned with cultivating positive well-being, which is very different from merely eliminating negative mental states.

    We already know that external factors don’t determine one’s happiness. Certainly, positive external factors compound and complement one’s overall contentment, but internal factors are required to achieve an authentically joyous life. True happiness comes from within.

    So, although a fortnight in the Maldives would be fantastic right now, it would come, and then it would be over. i.e., impermanent. Then you are still the same person (although a bit more rested), left with your mental state which only you can cultivate

    It is also important to understand that grasping for positive thoughts, emotions, and occurrences in life is not what positive psychology suggests. If you accept the notion of impermanence but still attempt to force happiness and joy into your life, you are missing the point.

    This quote from Paul T.P. Wong (2007), a positive psychologist sums up the concept of impermanence and attachment :

    “Craving for happiness necessarily causes us to fear or reject anything that causes unhappiness or pain.

    Attachment to possession and achievement invariably leads to disappointment and disillusionment because everything is impermanent.

    Thus, the positive psychology of pursuing positive experiences and avoiding negative experiences is counterproductive, because the very focus on happiness contains the seed of unhappiness and suffering.

    Failure to embrace life’s experience in its entirety is at the root of suffering.” References: Wong, Paul T.P. (2007). Chinese Positive Psychology. International Network on Personal Meaning. Retrieved from http://www.meaning.ca/archives/archive/art_Chinese-PP_P_Wong.htm

  2. Staying mindful in a pandemic

    Comments Off on Staying mindful in a pandemic

    What can we learn from our patients and our pets during the pandemic?

    Have you noticed how so many people have got a new puppy, a kitten, or a pair of guinea pigs since the pandemic started? While this raises many questions about morals and ethics, it also shows how the human-animal bond can be a lifeline during difficult times.

    Looking at the ever-increasing number of puppy-poodle crosses among my friends and coming through the door at work, I can be either judgemental about pet breeding, grumpy about the fact that work is busier than ever and I’m suffocating behind this mask-visor combo, or I can choose to celebrate the human-animal bond which has helped me as a pet owner and many others to cope with potentially over­whelming emotions related to the pandemic. It’s a choice.

    During mindfulness meditations, we can consciously train our brain to notice things, such as how a puppy has brought joy to a locked-down family, how the lack of traffic noise gives us a chance to hear more birdsongs than ever, or how concentrating on a good coffee makes its aroma, taste, and temperature so much more prominent than normal.

    You can choose to rejoice in the good things about increas­ing pet ownership while also being aware of the drawbacks. It is about noticing both, and then choosing which one has the most influence on you. I can see how pets can have a pro­foundly positive effect on us during difficult times. With that in mind, what can we learn from our patients and our pets?

    The importance of a good routine

    When we were kids, most of us had routines provided for us. We had a wake-up time, school time, dinner time, and bedtime. These routines kept us on a productive path.

    The pandemic has caused us to have amounts of time to fill that we probably aren’t used to having.

    The pandemic has caused us to have amounts of time to fill that we probably aren’t used to having. And yet, for a lot of it, we are running on autopilot like news-jaded zombies. At the other extreme are very productive people learning new jam-making skills while teaching their kids to crochet their own wall hangings in five different languages. But this is a global pandemic, not a productivity contest. Somewhere in the middle are the dogs and cats: super chilled bundles of joy who love a routine of walkies – food – nap – repeat.

    We can learn from our pets in many ways, and one way is by having an easy routine to add a bit of structure to the days when our default mode is to doom scroll endlessly through the news and social media. A simple routine (eg mindful meditation – mindful shower – slow coffee) can bring some normality to an incredibly abnormal situation.

    Feel what I need to feel when I need to feel it

    This pandemic is impacting more than just our physical health, it is taxing our mental health as well. Fear is at an extremely high level. The non-stop media coverage and pro­longed uncertainty can lead to intense feelings of stress, anx­iety, and depression. Now more than ever, it’s essential for us to create awareness of our feelings and to learn to manage them. With animals it’s easy: hunger, eat, done. Separation anxiety, owner returns, done. We, however, need to put a lot more effort into “notice, feel, let go” of difficult emotions.

    We need to take time out to sit, breathe, and allow our­selves to feel what we feel. It’s hard to know what we’re feeling when it’s jumbled up in our minds like a bundle of intertwined wires behind the TV. The very simple act of untangling those wires and sorting them out is so satisfying. As is the act of identifying our feelings, one at a time, and giving each one a name. By naming them, we are identifying each feeling and allowing ourselves to feel it. It’s not weak to feel overwhelmed. It’s not selfish to feel sad when others may be worse off. It’s not shameful to feel joy mid pandemic. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t stop you from feeling happy to stroke the guinea pigs, play with the kittens or walk the dog.

    You are allowed to feel all of those emotions. You need to give yourself permission to feel each of those feelings, all the while recognizing each individual feeling and emotion separately, rather than as a plethora of intertwined emo­tions causing anxiety.

    How to truly be present

    Just as animals can teach us to let go of difficult emotions, they can also show us how to be truly present. What dog is yearning for life to return to the way it was pre-COVID while they’re out for a walk? The simplicity of their minds allows them to notice the present moment wholeheartedly.

    When times are hard, it’s impossible to be anywhere else other than totally consumed in the moment of awful grief and desolation. So, when times are pleasant enough, or even really gorgeous, why does it take such effort to remain in that moment and glean all the happiness possible out of it to provide future resilience? It just does. Because we have hard-wired ourselves to ignore things that don’t need “fixing”. It takes training to change. It takes practice. And it’s so incredibly rewarding.

    So, if we are going to achieve anything during this pan­demic, maybe it could be to (1) develop a simple routine; (2) allow ourselves the time to feel what we feel, and (3) be totally present in the moment we’re in. Because the past has passed and cannot be changed or undone, and the future is overwhelmingly uncertain.

  3. Coping with anxiety during the pandemic

    Comments Off on Coping with anxiety during the pandemic

    Acceptance of the anxiety we feel, rather than trying to push it away, goes a long way to defusing it and reducing its hold over you.

    The uncertainty and fear are palpable on the way to work, at work, traveling home from work, even in the (possible) safety of our own homes.

    We have to socially distance ourselves while examining a patient being held by a colleague, manage our clients’ fears and anxieties and manage our own fears and anxieties about our families while being professional at all times.

    It’s crowded where some of our work, and so difficult to stay 2m apart.

    The shame we feel for using public transport to get to work adds to the anxiety, clutching onto a letter stating that we work as a vet in an emergency hospital as if it were the only thing keeping us safe.

    The moral dilemma adds to the stress. Each and every one of us has to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. But here we are getting public transport to work feeling like we alone are responsible for this pandemic perpetuating.

    And when we get to work, circumstances such as a lack of surgical disinfectant, shortage of face masks and gloves, postponement of prophylactic treatments, and the inability to help our clients with their concerns all add to the “moral injury”.

    Moral injury is what can leave us with long-term psychological scars if we allow it to.

    The feeling that we cannot perform as well as we should and that our patients and clients will inevitably suffer is hard to come to terms with.

    We have handed our ventilators over to the NHS. Whether you think that’s morally right or wrong, it follows that some of our patients may die as a result and we won’t be able to feel or to say that we did everything we could do.

    These moral injuries, injuries to our ethics, can have long-lasting negative psychological effects. Sir Simon Wessely, professor of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, says the moral injury is “where you know you didn’t do everything you could have done”. It makes us feel angry, it makes us feel guilty and it makes us feel ashamed.

    Sir Simon Wessely, professor of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, says moral injury is “where you know you didn’t do everything you could have done”

    Fear of the unknown causes more anxiety and we constantly have to improvise. Then the advice changes again.

    Previously, many of us learned to leave work at work. Then we would leave the hospital and manage to have a life outside of work and in our homes where we would recharge. This pandemic changes all of that. It’s everywhere. There is no life outside of work that is free from COVID-19. And home is where we may be spreading the virus we picked up on the tube.

    So what can we do?

    We’re already washing our hands, social distancing, and self-isolating.

    We’re clapping on our doorsteps and sending the NHS hospitals enough sweets through Amazon to make sure the dental profession flourishes after the pandemic.

    Clear leadership, communication, and an acceptance that the situation may result in decisions that would not normally be best practices are needed.

    We can draw up new and temporary protocols for this time. These protocols need to be agreed upon by us as a team otherwise they will harm our mental well-being further. When you’re tired and anxious and afraid, it’s nearly impossible to implement protocols you don’t agree with. So, more than ever, we need to be team-leading from within.

    The emotionally intelligent team leader will facilitate this, coordinate the decision-making processes and produce clear instructions for the team made by the team.

    Good leadership enables teams to support each other.

    We’ve talked before about the three types of empathy and how highly functioning teams have all three running at full throttle. So, we need each other. We need the social interactions we normally take for granted. We need the hugs which are banned. We need to be with each other in the moment when cases are going well and when cases are failing.

    Acceptance of anxiety

    This is not the time to flood the practice with professional counselors. To be anxious is normal. To be afraid is a given. To feel shame is expected. Where else can we find cognitive empathy other than among our colleagues? From there, the emotional empathy will grow, and we can truly be there in the moment accepting the fact that although this pandemic will pass, for now, it’s not OK.

  4. Talking techniques to cope with stress

    Comments Off on Talking techniques to cope with stress

    20 Feb 2019

    THE 2017 VETERINARY EDUCATION FOR TOMORROW (VET) Festival celebrated a record turnout this year, opening its gates to over 1,400 delegates. The 36 speakers, chosen by Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, educated and enthused delegates in the themed tents for two days at Loseley Park, Guildford. On Friday, the CPD tents were full to the brim with delegates all through the day, not just by people seeking refuge during the morning’s torrential rain. Wellness was the theme for this third event and a whole stream was dedicated to the topic. Dr. Laura Woodward, a veterinary surgeon, and therapeutic counselor attracted a large crowd to her talks on mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and coping with stress in the veterinary workplace. Dr. Woodward opened by explaining the need for counseling in the veterinary profession – a profession where the suicide rate is four times that of the general public, and a high percentage of individuals often seriously consider quitting for good.

    Mindfulness

    Dr. Woodward reiterated that we need to get rid of the “blame culture” and work more as a team; we need to be more open about the issues we face, and more support must be made available to veterinary professionals. She highlighted the benefits of mindfulness, a stress-reducing exercise described by its father, Jon Kabat- Zinn, as “paying attention on purpose in the present moment, as if your life depends on it”. Mindfulness can be practiced in several different ways to help you work more efficiently and save time in the long term. The first means is through formal meditation; for example, meditating for an hour, movement meditations (like yoga), or group exchanges. Dr. Woodward is more of an advocate for informal meditation. “Any activity can be mindful if you focus on it in a mindful way,” she said. Suggestions included playing mindful tennis, doing mindful poem-reading, or even trying your hand at mindful tooth-brushing.
    The point is that you take a few minutes out of your day to remove all work distractions and focus wholly on the activity at hand. These shorter, simpler mindfulness exercises are more realistic for people in the veterinary profession; they can be performed in just a few minutes, or even achieved while undertaking necessary tasks like washing and cleaning. Mindfulness takes practice and staying focused even for five minutes is harder than you might think;
    Dr. Woodward suggests starting with shorter periods – a minute or two – and working your way up to longer, more regular mindful practice. 

    Emotional intelligence

    Being emotionally intelligent in the workplace can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety on a personal level as well as helping to maintain a relaxed work environment for those around you. Dr. Woodward quoted the pioneering endocrinologist Hans Selye:
    “It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it.” She described five key components to emotional intelligence:

    1. Self-awareness – being aware of how you feel in a particular moment and knowing how you would feel in different situations; knowing your strengths and your limitations.
    2. Self-regulation – controlling your emotions and not allowing yourself to be reactionary.
    3. Motivation – thinking about what you can achieve from a situation and how you can achieve it.
    4. Empathy – seeing things from another person’s perspective.
    5. Social skills – tolerating your own weaknesses and those of other people; being compassionate, resilient, and actively listening to others. 

    CBT to cope 

    Dr. Woodward’s final talk focused on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – another method to cope with stress in the workplace. This technique is about changing the way you view a situation so you can change the way you feel about it and react to it. CBT isn’t about suppressing your feelings, Dr. Woodward says, but is about stopping you from “awfulizing” them. Using CBT should help a person to put things in proportion; it can be used to rationalize anxieties and work to overcome them. There are several steps to
    overcoming anxiety (like a fear of failure in performing a certain surgical procedure). Firstly, Dr. Woodward recommends disputing the irrational belief by “doing your homework” – in other words, looking to see how likely it really is that the bad situation
    you’re envisaging is going to be the outcome. It is also suggested that you change your language to put a positive spin on your thoughts (think “I will do it, but I’ll do it with a more experienced surgeon on call in case of any problems”). Roleplay, Dr. Woodward says, is a great exercise for reducing anxiety; take yourself to a quiet place and work through the whole situation, from start
    to finish, in your head. Think about what you would do if the worse were to happen and make sure that when you enter the real situation, you have everything to hand to deal with it efficiently.
    Perform shame-attacking exercises – know that you are not a terrible person and it’s OK to be cautious; the very fact that you’re thinking about these CBT methods means that you are being proactive and trying to tackle the issue. Again, think about your motivation – why do you want to overcome the anxiety? What benefits will you get from being able to perform that procedure confidently? Try to desensitize yourself to the situation – don’t just do it once, keep agreeing to do the activity you are anxious about, perhaps with somebody on hand to help. Skills training and assertiveness training can also be beneficial. Dr. Woodward recommends signing up to some relevant CPD to help you better understand the situation and strengthen your knowledge. Once you
    have successfully come through the situation, think that you can deal with it and you have overcome the anxieties. The more you practice these exercises, the more efficient you will be at tackling your ever-growing to-do list. Paradoxically, taking the time to
    not think about work will help you to function more efficiently and work through the list more swiftly, leading ultimately to a less stressful workday and a happier workplace.

  5. MINDFULNESS FOR BUSY PEOPLE

    Comments Off on MINDFULNESS FOR BUSY PEOPLE

    Can you spare a minute?
    Can you spare 5 minutes?
    If I said you could change your life if you could spare 5 minutes every day would you do it?
    5-minute mini meditations are for people who genuinely are too busy for anything more. We have ridiculously busy lives. As vets we multitask in our sleep.
    Maybe we go to yoga once a week which is a formal way to practice mindfulness and that’s great. However, what about the other days?
    Everyone’s talking about mindfulness for a reason. The benefits are immediate and multiple. It costs nothing. You can do it anywhere, in any clothes, at any time.

    What is it?
    John Kabat-Zinn says, mindfulness is “Paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment, non- judgementally, as if your life depended on it”.
    The simple (note, I never said “easy”) act of pinpoint concentrating on the here and now, can have such profound effects on our psyche that it can be a very powerful tool for each of us, whether distressed or having the time of our lives.

    How do I do it?
    Mindfulness can be anything from taking a moment to appreciate a beautiful view, to taking a few deep breaths, to mini meditations, to full meditation in cross-legged posture for an hour or more every day.
    No act is better or worse than the others. What matters is that you choose what works for you.
    Have you ever felt a bit overwhelmed to such a degree that you wish you could step off the rapidly revolving world for a few moments for a break and then step back on?
    Yoga, Pilates even tennis can be “escapism” from the rollercoaster of life where we concentrate on our bodies, posture, breathing etc. This can be a form of escapism, and, is useful for those of us who find it difficult to concentrate on “nothingness”. We may need a “thing” to concentrate on to keep us in the present moment.

    But while mindfulness is another way of freeing oneself from automatic and unhelpful ways of thinking, it is NOT a method of avoiding our emotions or escapism.

    Mini meditations are a calming, anxiety-relieving strategy which we can do at any time of the day.
    While mini meditations are a good place to start, they are essentially “fire brigade treatment” for those of us who are experiencing a difficult time in our lives; a “band aid” until we make the time to use mindfulness more deeply.
    There are literally thousands of meditation apps out there to download, however proceed with caution. I would suggest instead disappearing to a place for 5 minutes without your phone, sit and focus on nothing other than your breathing for 5 minutes. Toilet cubicles are an obvious place in a busy veterinary hospital. Closing your eyes while on the tube is another. Walking to work concentrating on only your feet is another. It’s much harder than you would think to maintain this clarity of concentration for a full 5 minutes.

    Deeper meditation is easier than you would think. Start with “Guided mindfulness “sitting meditation” by Kabat-Zinn from You Tube where you can learn how to get into that deeper state of consciousness.

    Then learn to do it by yourself. Posture is important.
    Focus entirely on the present moment, your breathing, clear your mind of all thoughts which are trying to get your attention. Gently push them to one side. Push the past to the left and the future to your right and concentrate fully on the here and now.
    Once your mind is clear, then reintroduce and observe your emotions, in a direct and open manner one at a time. Face it, give it a description and a name. Be non- judgemental. No thought or emotion is right or wrong. Just accept it as the emotion it is. This is difficult. Once analysed, decide how much you want to hang onto or let go of that emotion. Then gently push that emotion aside. This is where you are powerful. Because you can literally choose the degree to which you feel that emotion from now on. If it is anger, you may wish to feel it less. If it is joy, you may wish to grow it so that it fills your mind for the day and makes you the person your colleagues want to work with.
    Enjoy. All feedback welcome www.laurawoodward.co.uk

  6. The 5 competencies of Emotional Intelligence (EI)

    Leave a Comment

    •Self-Awareness – ability to recognise and understand your moods, emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others
    •Self-Regulation – ability to control impulses and moods
    •Motivation – passion to pursue goals with energy
    •Empathy – Awareness of others’ feelings
    •Social Skills– proficiency in managing relationships

  7. Cognitive behavioural therapy for stress in the veterinary profession

    Leave a Comment

    Small group workshops with 2 to 8 people are short enough to incorporate into the working week. Here we can deal with grievances, discuss issues relative to the group as a whole, improve communication, work on our charisma, learn new talents. By using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), we can change the way we think and therefore change the way we feel and behave. With CBT, you will learn to think about people in a more positive and realistic way.

  8. Veterinary surgeons and suicide: a structured review of possible influences on increased risk

    Leave a Comment

    Veterinary surgeons are known to be at a higher risk of suicide compared with the general population. There has been much speculation regarding possible mechanisms underlying the increased suicide risk in the profession, but little empirical research. A computerised search of published literature on the suicide risk and influences on suicide among veterinarians, with comparison to the risk and influences in other occupational groups and in the general population, was used to develop a structured review. Veterinary surgeons have a proportional mortality ratio (PMR) for suicide approximately four times that of the general population and around twice that of other healthcare professions. A complex interaction of possible mechanisms may occur across the course of a veterinary career to increase the risk of suicide. Possible factors include the characteristics of individuals entering the profession, negative effects during undergraduate training, work-related stressors, ready access to and knowledge of means, stigma associated with mental illness, professional and social isolation, and alcohol or drug misuse (mainly prescription drugs to which the profession has ready access). Contextual effects such as attitudes to death and euthanasia, formed through the profession’s routine involvement with euthanasia of companion animals and slaughter of farm animals, and suicide ‘contagion’ due to direct or indirect exposure to suicide of peers within this small profession are other possible influences.

    Who is talking about this article? See more details

    Source: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/166/13/388

  9. High Suicide Rate Among Vets – Wake-up Call for the Profession

    Leave a Comment

    Findings published in the Veterinary Record have drawn attention to the high suicide rate among members of the veterinary profession in the UK. Vets are nearly four times as likely to commit suicide as other members of the public, and twice as likely as doctors or dentists – lethal injections being the most common method of suicide.

    Professor Richard Halliwell, a former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, speaking about the possible reasons for suicide among vets, told the BBC’s Farming Today: “When they are suffering themselves from emotional problems due to the stress, they may more readily decide to take their own life because they are used to euthanising animals who are suffering. You are dealing not only with life and death of animals, but you are dealing with people who either have significant commercial or financial involvement with those animals or, alternatively, are very emotionally attached to them. So you have a dual problem of coping with the animals and coping with the people, which can be very stressful.” He described being a vet as “extremely stressful”and also added that the training was demanding, but does not really prepare people for the communication neither it provides helping skills that vets need.
    Various support groups also highlighted the lack of support for vets working in small, often isolated practices and they called for better training among veterinary students to cope with the pressures of the job.

    Richard Mellanby, a veterinarian and researcher at Cambridge University, found that male vets in England and Wales had a suicide rate of 3.6 times the national average between 1979 and 1990, and 3.7 between 1991 and 2000. Similar data have not been analysed in Scotland, but the researchers expected a similar picture.

    Mr Mellanby hopes that the results published in the Veterinary Record will act as a wake-up call for the profession to provide urgent help. He said: “It would be good if it led to an increased recognition of the problems within the profession and helped reduce the stigmatization of mental health problems and made it easier for people to get help. There also needs to be greater research so the profession can see what problems it needs to address.”
    Austin Kirwin, chair of the Veterinary Help Line, which gives advice and support to as many as 200 vets a year, said problems ranged from financial hardship to family breakdowns, career issues, mental health problems and addictions. However, several factors distinguished vets from other professionals working in stressful environments, including their familiarity with the process of euthanasia and the means to commit suicide. “The stresses involved in working in an environment where you are dealing day-to-day with euthanasia and advising clients who are having their own animals put down are very great,” said Mr Kirwin. “It was found that veterinary surgeons are working within a culture of death. If an animal is in a hopeless situation, it is destroyed, so when a vet is depressed and feels their situation is hopeless, they are more likely to commit suicide. The culture shock of emerging from university and going to work in a small practice – unlike doctors who go to work within the NHS with thousands of others – exacerbated the problem. Vets usually find themselves working in a small practice, possibly on their own with one or two other support staff,” he added.

    Dr Virginia Richmond of the Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme said that “there does not seem to be an awareness that there is help out there for vets.” She also said that there was a “stigma” attached to mental health issues. Consequently, vets mainly turned to alcohol and drugs, including injecting horse tranquiliser ketamine, which they have ready access to, sad Dr Richmond.

    The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is considering setting up an advice and support system for trainees that would be used to help aspiring vets and warn them of the stress that they may face at practice. To improve the situation, vet schools need to teach more about work-life balance and coping skills from the beginning and support after graduation should also be offered.

    Source: http://www.cabi.org/animalscience/news/14802

  10. Vet suicides outstrip UK average

    Leave a Comment

    The suicide rate among vets is nearly four times the national average and double that of doctors or dentists, according to new research.

    Findings published in the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) journal suggested lethal injections were the most common method of suicide.

    Professor Richard Halliwell, of the BVA, said the suicides could be related to the stress of putting down animals.

    The BVA is considering setting up an advice and support system for trainees.

    The approach would be used to help aspiring vets and warn them of the stress they may face while at work.

    Speaking about the possible reasons for suicide among vets, Professor Halliwell told the BBC’s Farming Today: “When they are suffering themselves from emotional problems due to the stress, they may more readily decide to take their own life because they are used to euthanising animals who are suffering.”

    He described being a vet as “extremely stressful”.

    “You’re dealing not only with life and death of animals, but you’re dealing with people who either have significant commercial or financial involvement with those animals or, alternatively, are very emotionally attached to them.

    “So you have a dual problem of coping with the animals and coping with the people, which can be very stressful.”

    Coping skills

    He also said that the training was demanding, and “doesn’t really prepare people for the communication and helping skills that they need”.

    Prof Halliwell, a former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, said support after graduation was also lacking.

    He said that, to improve the situation, vet schools needed to teach more about work-life balance and coping skills from the beginning and that support after graduation should be offered.

    Dr Virginia Richmond of the Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme said vets of varying ages were asking for help.

    “We’re getting calls from vets who are feeling isolated, they don’t feel supported, there seems to be a lot of stress involved in the work that they are doing.

    “They don’t know where they can go to with these problems they have.

    Drug-taking

    “There doesn’t seem to be an awareness that there is help out there for them.”

    She also said that there was a “stigma” attached to mental health issues.

    To cope with the stresses, Dr Richmond said vets mainly turned to alcohol and drugs – including injecting horse tranquiliser ketamine, which they have ready access to.

    “That’s part of the problem – they are not having to go out and find it in any devious or dishonest way.

    “It’s sitting there on the shelves looking at them.”

    What’s your reaction to the BVA’s findings? Are you surprised that the suicide rate amongst vets is so high?

    Vets like nurses, doctors carers have no access to emotional support nor do they have counselling training in order to help those affected by the death of loved ones. No wonder they are suicidally depressed.
    Michael Taylor, Peterborough UK

    We have an excellent and balanced, husband and wife, vet team here in this sheep farming upland area. However I noted that UK vets over the past 20 years made no comment about their farming customers suffering from sheep-dip poisoning.
    Dr Lewis Moncrieff, Alston, Cumbria

    Surely the fact that vets have a higher suicide rate than anyone else is because they have the means (lethal injections) ready to hand. How about running a clinical trial to make lethal injections available to a cross-section of other professions (tax-collectors and lawyers especially)? I bet the suicide rate would go up across the board.
    Howard Almond, Dawlish, Devon

    I visited our local surgery the other day and a lady came running out of the consulting room after leaving her dog there, it was obvious from her tears that the dog had been left for despatch, she was devastated, what about the poor vet who had the job of putting the dog down? I felt for them as well, they do wonderful work and should get all the support they need.
    Maria Adlam, Suffolk

    Vets are vets because they care. They get to know owners and their pets over many years and try to keep the pet healthy for as long as possible. To have the power to “do the best thing” must be the worst dichotomy. You know the owner will in most cases be very upset, yet for the sake of the animal you have to end its life. The mechanics of that may be simple but the emotional impact has to be soaked up somewhere, so it is hardly surprising it overflows into tragedy for too many vets.
    Susan Fleming, Basingstoke, UK

    This is no surprise. A very close friend of mine graduated from vet school and went straight into a job where she was expected to work 7 days a week including nights as she was a newly qualified, she became exhausted and depressed and was offered no support. She was an excellent vet who had always wanted to be a vet and after a year of working under these conditions she has left the vetinary profession as she was struggling to cope – what a waste.
    Jo Gray, Warwickshire

    I am surprised, as a second year vet undergraduate, so far veterinary doesn’t seem like a depressing job. We go into the job wanting to help animals, and are too aware that putting down animals is part of the job. The case where i could see a window for vets becoming depressed with their job, however, is vets who were involved in the foot and mouth outbreak; knowingly putting down hundreds to thousands of healthy animals and the horrific way that it was handled. Vets have access to the drugs very readily, even more so than doctors, so maybe that’s why the vet rate is higher than that of doctors??
    Gina Harrison, Cambridge, UK

    I’m both surprised and saddened to know the suicide rate is so high amongst vets. Having had animals all my life I’ve had regular contact with many vets life and always admired the dedication and empathy they are able to show both pet and owner. I’d be interested to know if this is a growing trend. Maybe, like lots of us, vets are under increasing commercial and financial pressure these days. Whatever it is, we need to identify it and reverse the trend because the job vets do is such a valuable one in so many ways.
    Lizette, Lewes

    Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4310596.stm