HEALTH - Veterinarians High Risk of Suicide #BellLetsTalk

With veterinarians experiencing high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and death by suicide, initiatives like #BellLetsTalk take on a special importance to the animal industry.

                   

The rate of suicide in the veterinary profession has been estimated as close to twice that of the dental profession, more than twice that of the medical profession, and four times the rate of the general population.

The veterinary industry has recently started to take actions to address this issue.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan has a social worker on staff to assist students and the Ontario Veterinary College has launched the AWAR2E group – Advancement of Wellness and Resilience in Research and Education.

A variety of organizations have resources available specifically for veterinarians and the AVMA recently offered free suicide prevention training.

                   

Debbie L. Stoewen authored Suicide in veterinary medicine: Let’s talk about it, in Veterinary Wellness for the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.

Covering myths, risk factors, personality factors, warning signs and more, her paper is not only a detailed examination of the issue but a great resource to the veterinary industry.

Read the entire article.

HEALTH - Talking Mental Health on #BellLetsTalk Day

In 2010, Bell Let’s Talk began a new conversation about Canada’s mental health.

At that time, most people were just not talking about it.

But since its inception millions of Canadians, including popular personalities, have engaged in an open discussion about mental illness.

Bell Let’s Talk focuses on four areas: fighting the stigma, improving access to care, supporting world-class research, and leading by example in workplace mental health.

Not only is mental health a societal concern on its own, there is a link between mental health and physical health.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario’s website:

“Nowhere is the relationship between mental and physical health more evident than in the area of chronic conditions. The associations between mental and physical health are:

1. Poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions.
2. People with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of experiencing chronic physical conditions.
3. People with chronic physical conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health.”

To expand the connection even further, the One Health Initiative recognizes the link between human physical and mental health with animal and ecosystem health.

Everything and everyone is connected - human health can impact animals and the ecosystem, animals can impact human health.

It is estimated that one in three Canadians experience problems with their mental health each year.

There are coping strategies for people who are struggling and organizations to provide help and support - many funded by Bell Let’s Talk Community Fund.

Bell's total donation to mental health programs now stands at $79,919,178.55 and it is anticipated they will donate at least $100 million through 2020.

For every text, call, tweet, Instagram post, Facebook video view and Snapchat geofilter used on Bell Let’s Talk Day on January 25th, Bell will donate 5¢ more to mental health initiatives across Canada.

So commit to the health of all Canadians and start texting, tweeting, calling and viewing!

RESEARCH - Pets Help People With Serious Mental Illness

Pets are good for people’s stress and physical health, can provide therapy at airports, in courtrooms and hospitals, and a new study suggests they can also have a significant impact on people with serious mental illness.

Helen Brooks, a mental health researcher at University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and her team interviewed 54 people with long-term, serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The scientists asked who they went to when they needed help or advice, where they gained emotional support and encouragement and how they spent their days. Twenty-five of them identified having a pet in their social network.

Participants were given a diagram with three consecutive circles radiating out from a square representing the participant.

They were asked ‘Who or what do you think is most important to you in managing your mental health?’ and wrote the places, people and things that gave them support in the circles, with the circles closest to the center being the most important.

Sixty percent of the people who considered pets to be a part of their social networks placed them in the central, most important circle. 20 percent placed pets in the second circle.

"Many felt deep emotional connections with their pet that weren't available from friends and family," Brooks told NPR.

(Example network diagram, Brooks)

The interviews revealed more about why the pets are so important.

"[Pets] don't look at the scars on your arms," one participant said. "They don't question where you've been."

"They force me, the cats force me to sort of still be involved," said another.

These research results echo a study done in 2009 which also found pets provide empathy and therapy, connections to the outside world, family, and an increase is self-efficacy/self-worth.

However that study also pointed out “the responsibility of caring for pets, while often empowering, can sometimes exacerbate symptoms for already stressed and vulnerable individuals.”

Both studies agree pets should be part of the intake and treatment plan for individuals with mental health issues.

Pets can be included in risk assessments because patients with animals often say they help keep them from following through on suicidal thinking.

Aftercare planning can involve walking and grooming pets as part of a routine.

Brooks hopes her study results will encourage more health workers to consider incorporating pets into care plans for people with serious mental illness.

HEALTH - AVMA Offers Free Suicide Prevention Training

This weekend the AVMA is launching a training program to help members identify and aid individuals who may be at risk for suicide.

While the underlying causes are still unknown, veterinarians experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, as well as death by suicide.

The program is not intended to replace professional assistance but is designed based on the QPR - question, persuade and refer - method that can be used to recognize the warning signs of someone in crisis.

This 90-minute, self-guided online program, will teach individuals how to establish a dialogue and assist those in crisis to seek professional help.

The program officially launches tomorrow, November 19th, which coincides with International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.

In partnership with the AVMA PLIT and AVMA Life, the Association is opening up a limited number of free registrations for AVMA and Student AVMA members.

“This pilot program demonstrates the AVMA’s commitment to moving forward in helping our profession become more healthy,” said Dr. Marci Kirk, assistant director for recent graduate initiatives at the AVMA.

This suicide prevention training is part of a larger movement to offer more support to veterinarians.

As reported in InfoStream, the Ontario Veterinary College launched AWAR2E group to provide a multi-pronged approach to mental wellness, and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine is the first vet school in Canada to have a trained social worker available for students.

HEALTH - Doing More to Support Veterinarians' Mental Health

Although the underlying causes are still unknown, veterinarians experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, as well as death by suicide.

(pexels.com)

In the United States, veterinarians are the occupation third most-likely to die by suicide, after podiatrists and dentists.

In Britain, the percentage is even higher, and British veterinarians are four times as likely as the general population, and twice as likely as other health professionals, to die by suicide.

Some vet schools are taking the risk to their students’ mental health seriously.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, was the first vet school in Canada to have a trained social worker available for students.

The Ontario Veterinary College has launched the AWAR2E group – Advancement of Wellness and Resilience in Research and Education – to provide a multi-pronged approach to mental wellness, focusing on veterinarians, vet students, and agricultural producers.

The group will be following up their initial Ontario-based research with a Canada-wide survey next year.

Jean Wallace, PhD, at the University of Calgary undertook comprehensive research into the ups and downs of working as a veterinarian or technician in Alberta, and her report includes suggestions for how to cope with work-related stress as a vet or vet tech.

Other organizations have compiled mental and emotional health resource lists, such as this one from Veterinary News and the DVM360 magazine.

All of these resources are necessary, and will make a difference in the lives of vets and other animal-care professionals.

But what are the underlying causes of the high rates of mental and emotional distress, and of completed suicides, among veterinarians?

One suggestion that comes up again and again is the impact of euthanasia on veterinarians.

This is a complex issue. One study conducted in 2014 suggests that comfort and familiarity with euthanasia leads to a fearlessness about death, and other researchers have theorized that this fearlessness makes following through on suicidal ideation more likely among vets than among other high risk groups, such as other health care providers.

Euthanasia is also a factor for veterinarians because of the high emotional cost associated not only with ending a companion animal’s life, but with comforting the human.

In some cases, the emotional toll comes from seeing companion animals who were abused, mistreated, or abandoned, and receiving requests for convenience euthanasia or for other reasons that are not medically necessary.

The introduction of BSL in Montreal, and the potential spike in euthanasia of pitbulls, poses a risk to the mental health of shelter workers and veterinarians in that city.

The Montreal SPCA has already launched a lawsuit challenging the new law and been granted a two day stay, and Montreal vets, veterinary technicians, and shelter workers will all require extra mental health support during this process.

Although the rates of suicide and serious mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety are high in veterinarians in many countries, this is not universally the case.

Danish veterinarians do not experience the same increased risk that veterinarians in other areas do.

Learning more about how Denmark veterinarians build and maintain their mental health may offer insights and ideas to incorporate into North American programs.

By Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

Mental Health & Pets #BellLetsTalk

Today is the sixth annual Bell Let’s Talk Day, when everyone is encouraged to talk, text and tweet about mental health to create a stigma-free Canada. Thanks to the commitment of George Cope, Bell has committed $73,623,413.80 to Canadian mental health through Bell Let’s Talk to date.

People with pets know their companions make them feel good, and research published by the American Psychological Association supports this - showing that pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support for “everyday people”, not just those going through significant health challenges.

“The present work presents considerable evidence that pets benefit the lives of their owners, both psychologically and physically, by serving as an important source of social support,” the researchers wrote.

Non-profit organization Dogs for Depression, formed in 2009 based on its founder’s personal experience overcoming depression, provides online information to prospective emotional support dog owners about the healing benefits a dog can offer sufferers of depression as well as practical advice about selecting and training a suitable dog.

Animal assisted therapy, dating back to the 1940's, uses trained animals to enhance an individual's physical, emotional and social well-being, thus improving self-esteem, reducing anxiety and facilitating healing.

Pets offer companionship, an unconditional love, and can reduce tension and improve mood. As #BellLetsTalk texts and tweets fly across social media today, remember to give your pet a snuggle of thanks for the mental health support they provide every day.

Canadian National Standards for Service Dogs

Erin O’Toole from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs announced that national standards will be created for service dogs that assist Veterans with mental health conditions. The Honourable O’Toole said, “We expect this work will confirm what Veterans have been telling us about the benefits of psychiatric service dogs—how these dogs have improved their quality of life. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting research to achieve better outcomes for Veterans with PTSD and other mental health conditions.” O’Toole also wants people to be aware of the network of mental health clinics and service points at which Veterans may seek help. A 24-hour hotline is also available that provides support to Veterans and their families.

National standards will help ensure consistency for psychiatric service dogs serving Veterans. The Canadian General Standards Board, Veterans’ groups, and psychiatric service dog training providers will work together to create the national standards.

The Canadian Government provides the following facts about psychiatric service dogs:

• Psychiatric service dogs are trained to help a person with a mental health condition by performing tasks in response to a cue.
• A constant companion, these dogs can help their owner manage many common symptoms of PTSD, and guide them away from stressful situations. They can also provide physical support if their owner loses his or her balance.
• Up to $340,000 in funding has been approved to set national standards for service dogs.
• The pilot research, which will include up to 50 Canadian Veterans with service dogs, is being funded with $500,000 and is expected to be first class and ground-breaking. The research could help set standards of Veteran service dogs and their certification in allied countries.

READ THE ARTICLE