This is such terrible news........
Being a veterinarian is the stuff of childhood fantasies, right? It may be for some, but there’s a dark side to the profession, too: disproportionately high rates of suicide, depression and work-related burnout. And that’s something worth talking about during Mental Health Awareness Month, considering how much anyone with a beloved pet relies on their vet.
According to a large study looking at three decades worth of data and published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association earlier this year, veterinarians are up to 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population — 2.1 times more likely for male veterinarians and 3.5 times more likely for their female counterparts.
3.5x higher, yeesh.
Until I read this, I had no idea that the veterinarian profession had such struggles. We've dealt with primarily just 1 vet over the last 20 years, and she's such a joyful person.
Here's the full story:
And I found a slightly older one (December 2018) from TIME as well: