Have you been looking after your mind?

Hey friends,

Last week was mental health awareness week, and of course I had a little meltdown. I wasn’t looking after my mental health at all. 😅 

I fell into a ‘comparison trap’ (where I compared myself to highlight reels of other people on social media and made myself feel so small), I had tightness in my chest and dreaded the tasks I had to complete. Obviously in hindsight, one can spot that falling into a ‘comparison trap’ is highly unproductive (not to mention highly unpleasant), yet it is so tempting to stay spiraling in a hole of self hate. As I was leaving work I felt that feeling of dread and unhappiness so I thought about calling Vetlife. But my friend group was online so we all jumped on a FB call together (I’m so grateful for them) and just talked it all out. I felt soooo much better after the call. They provided a safe space for me to be truly honest with myself, looked at it from a non-judgemental 3rd person point of view and gave me input on my situation. (It was very helpful that they pointed things out I personally had not noticed about myself, such as the stress I was going through adapting to a new workplace, new city, living situation, making time to learn new courses, creating content..) With the main solution being I should have more self compassion, be kinder to myself about how I’m adapting to a new phase of life.

To conclude, looking after our minds is so important. It can look different for everyone and I’d always advocate seeking professional help whenever possible first. But if it helps you, here are some personal reflection points and reminders that may be useful to you. The next time you’re in a negative headspace, consider

1. Speaking to trusted friends or Vetlife. No problem is too big once you talk it out with friends who understand your job and know how it feels. (It might be tricky for non-vets to relate to your job, so Vetlife is there for us all (luckily)) 

2. Deep breaths - specifically 4-7-8 technique and allocating space for mental resets (meditation with Headspace app, journaling) *There was a study that measured heart rate and salivary cortisol levels in students who did a 10 week deep breathing technique, supporting that deep breathing can improve mood and stress 🤯

3. Listening to slow piano music on the way to work. I’ve swapped from productivity podcasts to calming music when I feel like everything is a bit much. Gets me into a calm mood for work. 

4. When scrolling online, ask yourself, ‘what am I trying to achieve here, is this helping me?’, and if it’s a no, get offline and do some stretches, or watch Bridgerton to unwind after your day 😅

5. Eat more whole foods. Home cooked meals. Less takeout meals. Your body will thank you for it. 

New knowledge at work

1. The concept of stress bars on feathers when examining our avian species. During our session on wildlife triage and first aid for wild birds, checking for horizontal stress lines and poor quality feathers can help inform us about their prognosis, as the lines can form when they have stress/malnutrition/underlying disease. So the next time I am examining a wild bird on admit, besides the full health check, fractures (palpating all limb bones!), feathers is an important area to focus on as well.

2. New regulations for veterinary medicine prescriptions, a complete post here which took effect on 17th May 2024.. a number of changes so worth a full read, but one of the main points is that it is an illegal offense to ‘promote or facilitate’ the use of human medicines in your pet if there is a veterinary licensed product available. So, hopefully the public can be aware that this is the law and as vets we need to do our job legally and stick to it.

New video this week

Lastly, a colleague told me that I was ‘a speedy safety net’ on a busy Saturday shift, quite an interesting compliment I think 😆 

Have the best week,

May xx