The Truth About Your Veterinarian Stress
JoAnn is a veterinarian who’s been practicing for almost 10 years. She loves her job but has fallen into a trap…
She’s always loved animals, and helping them is her passion. But now she’s feeling exhausted and irritable.
JoAnn is experiencing COMPASSION FATIGUE.
Every day, she would arrive at her clinic early, ready to care for the dogs and cats who came through her doors.
She loves what she does, but it’s hard to meet the needs of all the animals AND their owners.
One day, JoAnn noticed that she was feeling more tired than usual. She had been working long hours and had seen some difficult cases lately, but she brushed it off as just being run down.
She continued to work with the same dedication — but then things began to change.
As JoAnn saw more and more sick and injured animals, she started to feel overwhelmed. She found herself getting emotional after seeing each animal and started to struggle to keep up with the demands of her job.
She would try to leave her work and all of the emotion at the clinic — but she couldn’t stop thinking about the animals she had seen that day. The emotional weight of her job was taking a toll.
One day, a dog was brought in that had been hit by a car. The dog was in bad shape, and JoAnn had to perform emergency surgery to save its life.
The dog’s family waited anxiously in the waiting room while JoAnn worked tirelessly to save the dog. After hours of surgery, the dog pulled through, and JoAnn collapsed on the floor in exhaustion and relief. It was a moment that stayed with her for a long time.
The surgery was successful, but JoAnn was emotionally drained. She started to experience crying spells and found it hard to get out of bed in the morning.
Her colleagues noticed that something was wrong, but JoAnn was in denial. She thought that she could push through her exhaustion and that things would just get better on their own.
It Got Worse
However, things only got worse for JoAnn. She started to experience physical health issues — headaches, lower back aches and fatigue.
As JoAnn continued to struggle with compassion fatigue, she found herself becoming more withdrawn from her colleagues and patients. The once bubbly and friendly veterinarian was now barely speaking to anyone and was just going through the motions.
However, there were moments throughout her day where her love for animals would shine through.
She would often have a big smile on her face when playing with the dogs and cats who came into her clinic. One time, a tiny kitten who had been abandoned by its mother was brought in. JoAnn took the kitten in and bottle-fed it herself, and it became a regular patient at the clinic. Seeing the kitten thrive brought JoAnn so much joy and reminded her why she had become a veterinarian in the first place.
Through it all, JoAnn continued to work hard and care for her patients, but the exhaustion was starting to become too much. She knew she needed help and finally reached out to me for support.
She reached out to me as I specialize in working with veterinarians and animal care professionals. and had done a workshop at her clinic.
Mind-Body Tools and Self Care
So I started working with JoAnn. I empowered her with mind-body stress reduction and trauma healing strategies and tools.
We worked together to identify the causes of her compassion fatigue and to develop healthy and effective coping mechanisms that could help her manage her stress levels.
JoAnn was struggling with trapped energy and unresolved trauma — which was causing her symptoms similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
As we worked together, JoAnn began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She started to take care of herself outside of work, going on long walks and spending time with loved ones. She found ways to manage her stress and started to feel like herself again.
Now, JoAnn is back to being the bubbly and friendly veterinarian she once was, and her love for animals shines through. Every. Single. Day.
If you’re a veterinarian or other animal care professional, you can become more aware of and help yourself with COMPASSION FATIGUE.
Train your brain.
Don’t let your negative thinking hold you back any longer.
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