Veterinary Mental Health
TURNING THE STETHOSCOPE AROUND - A podcast that dives deeper than compassion fatigue to explore the full complexity of mental health and wellness in the veterinary profession. In each episode you will be invited to examine your thoughts, habits, behaviors, and environment. Together we will identify patterns and create opportunities to improve your everyday quality-of-life and overall mental health. To increase your access to wellness information and resources, I invite you to sign up for my twice monthly newsletter. To explore the full range of my available material, please visit my website at thoughtfullifecounseling.com. At any time I welcome feedback and would be delighted to hear your suggestions or requests for future episodes. Feel free to contact me through any one of my social media platforms, or else write to me directly at thoughtfullifecounseling@gmail.com. Be Well.
Episodes
24 episodes
24. Bereaved by Suicide
The World Health Organization estimates that roughly 22% of individuals will be bereaved by suicide in their lifetime. In our veterinary community, with its elevated rate of suicide compared to the general population, I expect that number is mu...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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41:24
23. The Imposter Phenomenon
The imposter phenomenon (sometimes called the imposter syndrome) describes how an objectively successful individual can fail to internalize their accomplishments. This leaves them feeling as though their position or achievements are the result ...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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22:24
22. Our Negativity Bias
We would like to think we view the world objectively, but under stress we are actually more likely to interpret the neutral expressions of others as negative. This episode discusses how this occurs, its implications for your mental health as we...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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22:14
21. Politics, COVID, and Mental Health
Managing one's mental health can be challenging in the best of times, and whatever your individual views, I think we can agree that we are a ways off from ideal. Conversation is key to our ability to feel connected to and supported by those who...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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18:50
20. Stress and Burnout
Protecting yourself from stress and burnout is critical for quality of life. This podcast explores the different categories of stress we experience on a day-to-day basis, how stress can contribute to burnout, and how to approach stress manageme...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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22:54
19. A Consumer's Guide to Counseling
Even if you have reached the conclusion that counseling may be beneficial in your life, the prospect of finding a counselor may be daunting. This podcast breaks down the steps of finding the best mental health professional for you as well as wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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19:48
18. Procrastination
Procrastination is the voluntary avoidance of a task DESPITE the anticipation of negative consequences. Maybe your task is completed by the deadline, but if you are staying up all night to make that happen, you are still suffering from the cons...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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22:36
17. Time Management
Time management may feel like an abstract or an overly formal concept that shouldn't require explanation. However, as our most precious and finite resource, we should think carefully about how our time is being spent. Restructuring our time oft...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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20:29
16. What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is part of the normal human experience. It is even an essential mechanism by which we are able to keep ourselves out of the way of danger and anticipate challenges. Unfortunately, anxiety doesn't always confine itself to helpful levels ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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22:51
15. Perfectionism and Mental Health
Maladaptive perfectionism can contribute to a number of wellbeing challenges, including depression, anxiety, and stress. It is not necessarily the act of setting high standards, but more the attitude with which you approach the standards you ar...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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21:50
14. The Art of Setting Goals
Time and resources are finite and precious. To ensure maximal return on the investment of each, it is important to craft realistic goals that specifically impact your wellbeing. This episode will guide you through the process of creating though...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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22:35
13. Clarifying your Values
Our personal and professional values guide our decision making and greatly influence the degree to which value based situations affect us. As we improve our understanding of our own guiding principles, we gain valuable insight as well as an opp...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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19:59
12. Change: Are you Ready, Willing, and Able?
Wanting to change is often not enough. For change to occur we need to be authentically convinced of its importance, we must believe that change is possible, and we must prioritize that change. Read Blog Post: PendingAccess Hand...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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20:33
11. A Roadmap to Wellbeing
This podcast serves as an outline for the wellness topics to follow. It reviews the components of wellbeing that we must address if we are to live our best possible life. Read Blog Post: PendingAccess Handout: Pending<...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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22:16
10. The Science of Willpower Part Two
The second of a two part series that explores the power and necessity of willpower in our lives, particularly as it pertains to reaching the goals that make life meaningful. The information presented is primarily drawn from the fantastic book <...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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21:28
9. The Science of Willpower Part One
The first of a two part series that explores the power and necessity of willpower in our lives, particularly as it pertains to reaching the goals that make life meaningful. The information presented is primarily drawn from the fantastic book: <...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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22:57
8. An Introduction to Mindfulness
Mindfulness is awareness of the present experience with acceptance. Just as an exercise routine is designed to improve your body, a mindfulness practice improves your mind. As it develops, a habit of mindfulness yields a myriad of downstream be...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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20:02
7. The Science of Habit Formation
Understanding how habits are formed, sustained, and changed within the brain offers us a powerful tool for examining the daily habits that impact our wellbeing. "You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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21:01
6. When will it be ok?
When will it be OK again? What will OK feel like? What am I putting off while I wait for OK?Planning for the future is always complicated by the unknown, but COVID-19 has made planning feel virtually impossible. As a result, we are suspended in...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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20:20
5. Navigating Negative Emotions
Negative emotions are just as common if not more common than positive emotions. Despite this fact, they are often deemed socially unacceptable. This means we spend a considerable amount of energy internalizing negative emotions or masking them....
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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21:09
4. Salvaging Self-Care
We discuss self-care as if it had a straight-forward definition. Yet we each have a very different idea of what constitutes self-care and how much of it we are allowed. Without considering the internal rules our self-care strategies conform to,...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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22:13
3. Revising your Routines
Routines, habits, and rituals offer us mental space, security, and have a significant impact on our mood and energy. Current events mean most, if not all of our routines have been altered or lost entirely. As a result we are spending tremendous...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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20:16
2. Overcoming Overwhelm
Overwhelm is a state of discrepancy between our brain's processing power and the sheer volume of novel information it is being asked to evaluate. When our brain is unable to keep up with novel information, we often feel a sense of vague threat ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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23:51
