'Mental Health Matters' Grieving Room featuring Dr. Meghan Breedlove.

Tails from a Vet Tech

Content Warning: This episode does include a discussion of mental illness, depression, self harm, and suicide.
Disclaimer: Discussions about mental health are personal and unique. In this podcast, Meghan is not acting as a therapist or providing therapy in any capacity. This podcast covers broad discussions of topics related to mental health and is not intended to serve as therapy or a replacement for therapy. Views and experiences expressed by Meghan are her own and do not represent the field of counseling.

It’s important to educate, advocate and support people with mental illness and their families. This includes breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide. Suicide is something that affects many of us in the animal welfare field and although, this was a very emotional and challenging podcast for me to record, it is important to talk about. I am joined by my friend and licensed professional counselor, Dr. Meghan Breedlove and we discuss my recent experience with grieving for friends and colleagues I have lost to suicide, address some common myths, and share tips on how to start the conversation with others regarding suicide.

If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available 24/7 across the United States.

Resources:

• Crisis Text line: Text “HOME” to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 988 or online chat
• https://nami.org/Home
• https://www.cigna.com/knowledge-center/suicide-warning-signs-what-to-say
• Hope for the Day (HFTD.ORG) - https://www.hftd.org/geteducated
• Hope for the day (HFTD.ORG) (Downloadable Resources)
• Not One More Vet https://www.nomv.org/

• Suicide in veterinary medicine: Let’s talk about it article by Debbie L. Stoewen from the NCBI's National Library of Medicine

• TikTok: @behaviorvettech
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