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Photo source yahoo lifestyle<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Being a veterinarian is the stuff of childhood fantasies, right? It may be for some, but there\u2019s a dark side to the profession, too: disproportionately high rates of suicide, depression and work-related burnout. And that\u2019s something worth talking about during\u00a0Mental Health Awareness Month<\/a>, considering how much anyone with a beloved pet relies on their vet.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s still this perception that, for people who love animals and become vets, it’s like, wow, that must be your dream job, you love animals and you get to work with them,\u201d Nadine Hamilton, an Australia-based psychologist who specializes in the wellbeing of veterinarians through research and a virtual practice, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just playing with puppies and kittens all day.\u201d Her new book,\u00a0Coping with Stress and Burnout as a Veterinarian<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> gets into the nitty-gritty of the profession\u2019s risks, and offers guidance for vets who may be having a hard time.<\/p>\n According to a large study looking at three decades worth of data and\u00a0published in the\u00a0Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association<\/em><\/a>\u00a0earlier this year, veterinarians are up to 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population \u2014 2.1 times more likely for male veterinarians and 3.5 times more likely for their female counterparts.<\/p>\n The findings only bolster those from the past, the researchers said, noting, \u201cA higher-than-expected number of deaths from suicide among veterinarians has been described in multiple studies \u2014 from Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom.\u201d Among the risk factors, they said, included \u201clong work hours, work overload, practice management responsibilities, client expectations and complaints, euthanasia procedures, and poor work-life balance.\u201d<\/p>\n In her book, Hamilton touches on many examples of why so many vets contemplate suicide, drawing from various research findings. They include: experiencing both professional and social isolation, being a perfectionist, having knowledge of and access to drugs that can cause death, acceptance of euthanasia as a philosophical way out, facing high levels of debt from vet school, working long hours, and fearing stigma when it comes to wanting to seek help.<\/p>\n Photo source yahoo lifestyle<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI’ve had vets say to me that they go into [the field] because they don’t want to deal with the people. They love the animals,\u201d says Hamilton. \u201cBut then once they get into practice, they realize they have to deal with the owners of these animals. So that’s where a lot of that conflict comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody likes dealing with conflict, she adds, but when you go into a field to specifically avoid it \u2014\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0you wind up having to deal with other people\u2019s extreme emotions, including worry, anger and grief \u2014 you become very susceptible to burnout.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re sometimes listening to horrific stories \u2014 if animals are being abused or not getting the treatment that could help them, it can become a real struggle,\u201d Hamilton says.<\/p>\n Another very real struggle, she adds, is that of financial realities, one reason being that the typical profit margin for a vet practice is just five to seven percent. \u201cThey have to purchase so much equipment \u2014 if they\u2019ve got a CT scan, it\u2019s the same one we buy for humans \u2014 there are loans, and the interest is astronomical\u2026 and they\u2019ve got to maintain the equipment\u2026 They\u2019re not in control of how much the pharmaceutical companies are charging them, but they still get the snide remarks [about the expense].\u201d<\/p>\n And the average veterinarian salary is about $80,000 \u2014 well below what physicians treating humans make, despite commonly held beliefs, Hamilton notes, that vets are raking it in.<\/p>\n Another source of stress, according to Hamilton\u2019s research, are the \u201cunrealistic expectations that are placed on vets.\u201d For example, she says, a person could bring a pet to the vet to have a lump removed \u2014 only to have the growth return five years later, which can be startling to the pet owner. \u201cThere\u2019s an expectation that, well, you’ve gotten rid of it, so it shouldn’t come back!\u201d she says. \u201cWhereas, in human medicine, we\u2019re more aware cognitively\u2026 You know there is still a risk that [cancer or a growth] could come back again.\u201d That\u2019s because there\u2019s a more nuanced understanding of human medicine, and a process, she says, while at the vet, we just want our pet fixed and saved.<\/p>\n That black-and-white thinking has even led to bullying and threats of violence among vets she\u2019s talked to for research, Hamilton says. \u201cOne vet had a gun pulled on him, with a threat along the lines of, \u2018well, if my dog doesn\u2019t wake up from the anesthetic, I\u2019m going to shoot you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton has some advice for pet owners who want to show be more empathetic towards their veterinarians.<\/p>\n \u201cJust stopping and thinking about what might be going on for that vet. Because it’s very easy [not to], as a pet owner taking that pet to the vet, particularly if it’s in a traumatic or an emergency situation,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re worked up, you know, and we\u2019re flustered and have stress\u2026 and we’re not necessarily thinking about anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n Even at a routine checkup, she says, \u201cWe don’t know what that vet has been through or what they’re about to go through at other consultations.\u201d Long waits that have you sitting there with your animals, long past your appointment time, could be due to a multitude of factors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just don’t think about what else is going on for them. They can come and put their happy face on for you, but they may have just euthanized someone’s 16-year-old baby,\u201d she says.\u201cIt’s sort of like being in an emergency room in the hospital. They can have their appointments and their surgeries booked, but they never know what is going to come through the door.<\/p>\n So next time you\u2019re tempted to make a sarcastic remark about waiting a long time or having to pay a big bill, Hamilton notes, know that \u201cthose words can really hurt.\u201d She adds, \u201cIt’s just about trying to be a bit more compassionate and empathic and thinking, what has this person just gone through today?\u201d<\/p>\n For Original source please click <\/span>here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For more industry news please check out our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Find us on Social Media –\u00a0Facebook, <\/a>Instagram<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Twitter.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nadine](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Z2Y5DA27ONN9XJpG1oXECA--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NDQ1O2g9NjY3\/https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5cdf10a6210000c106d0d582.jpeg\")