Introduction

Emotional well-being includes an awareness, respect and acceptance for “self” that is rooted in optimism. This allows an individual to meet the demands of everyday life by the utilization of skills to effectively cope during life's ups and downs and to recover effectively from illness, change or misfortune. Emotional well-being involves identifying, building upon and operating from your strengths rather than a focus on fixing problems or weaknesses – or otherwise masking them.

Emotional health is enhanced by social well-being. Social well-being entails seeking positive, interdependent relationships by using healthy communication skills. Social wellness is defined by your interconnectedness with others and understanding how your “self” - your actions - affect other people and your communities.

 

Tools for Emotional and Social Wellness

AAEP Healthy Practice Member Assistance Program

An AAEP-sponsored benefit that offers the support and resources you need to address personal or work-related challenges and concerns. It’s confidential and free to you and your household family members. Two types of 24/7 services are provided: counseling and consultation sessions and online resources.

AVMA Assess Your Wellness Tool

This online assessment tool can help you measure how you are being affected in three areas that are critical to mental wellness – compassion satisfaction, compassion stress and compassion fatigue – and may help you identify areas where you want to focus your self care.

Assess-Support-Know (ASK) Program

While the veterinary industry is struggling with positive mental wellbeing, Banfield has designed ASK specifically for veterinary professionals to help them recognize and address emotional distress and suicidal thoughts in themselves and others. Free.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - Call 988. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress; prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones; and best practices for professionals.

QPR Suicide Prevention Training

This 60-minute training from the AVMA teaches participants to recognize the signs that someone may be considering suicide, establish a dialogue, and guide the person to seek professional help. Free.

After a Suicide: A Guide for Veterinary Workplaces -Developed by the AVMA. The suicide of an employee, teammate, student, or peer can be devastating, shocking, and stressful for everyone in the community. This resource provides guidance and tools for postvention—a term used to describe strategies that help people cope with the emotional distress from a suicide and prevent suicide contagion.

Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project

While the effects of compassion fatigue can cause pain and suffering, learning to recognize and manage its symptoms is the first step toward healing. The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project© is dedicated to educating caregivers about authentic, sustainable self-care and aiding organizations in their goal of providing healthy, compassionate care to those whom they serve.

 

Other Resources