Mental Fitness Coaching

                       Mental Fitness Coaching: A Path to Resilience and Balance

The Veterinary profession is waking up to another pandemic: the pandemic of workplace stress, burnout, and emotional fatigue. Our lives are constantly exposed to online social media reviews, and client expectations are higher than ever. Is it any wonder that the mental health and resilience of veterinarians and teams are under attack? When our work's daily pressures and demands exceed our capacity, we begin to experience emotional dysregulation (1) and a diminished ability to cope. When our lives are caught up in this negative vortex without the ability to recover and process our accumulated stress, our ‘window of tolerance’ (3) begins to close.

The concept of ‘window of tolerance’ comes from the field of neuroscience. In our optimal state, we are able to adapt to stress without becoming overwhelmed or shutting down. As the window of tolerance closes due to fatigue, overwork, unprocessed stress, and other life pressures, we become prone to burnout and emotional dysregulation. This lack of resilience increases anxiety, emotional exhaustion, detachment, and a diminished feeling of accomplishment, affecting our mental health and overall quality of life. (2,3)

In our profession, when feelings of increased stress and fatigue occur, we sense that something needs to change. Our initial tendency is to work harder. (4) This works for a while but eventually results in more frustration, disillusionment, exhaustion, and the need to step away from our work. We lose the joy in our everyday professional and personal lives.

Much has been written about burnout, the toll on the profession, the stress, the loss of work, and the unique challenges veterinary professionals face. Workplace demands, client conflicts, and the weight of ethical dilemmas can diminish the capacity to remain resilient in the face of adversity. (5,6) Most attempts to address these issues have focused on organizational change, practice management, reducing work hours, and creating a more supportive work environment. (7)  This article introduces the benefits of coaching and mental fitness training to promote well-being and develop emotional resilience. (8-11) In severe cases of burnout, coaching is not a substitute for therapy or medical treatment. However, coaching and mental fitness training can complement existing support systems.

I have encountered veterinarians in all stages of their careers who lack emotional resilience and are experiencing a narrower window of tolerance. In this state, they need relief from feelings of frustration, fatigue, excessive stress, and lack of well-being and are seeking new ways to help reengage in the profession, think clearly, and better manage their emotions.

In my coaching practice, I offer a neuroscience-based program to help individuals develop their mental fitness. (12) The program provides an assessment (13) that introduces the concept of Saboteurs—the negative thought patterns and emotional responses we are typically susceptible to—and the Sage mindset, which is associated with curiosity, empathy, innovation, and calm, clear-headed thinking.

In the Veterinary context, common Saboteurs are the ‘Hyper-achievers’ who constantly seek the next Gold Star but are never happy when they achieve it, the perfectionistic ‘Controllers,' the ‘Hyper-Vigilant’ who experience anxiety and worry about everything that could go wrong and the ‘Pleasers’ who constantly seek approval from others and reluctantly say yes when they need to say no.

Every Saboteur masks our greatest strengths. For example, the Pleaser saboteur thinks it is essential to put the needs of others first. This can lead to resentment when others don't give back as much, or even worse, others can develop a dependence on a Pleaser rather than learn to take care of themselves. The Pleaser's Sage strengths are empathy, loving, and giving. Through coaching and mental fitness training, the Pleaser learns to give unconditionally on their terms, when to say no, and to set stronger boundaries.

The program also develops the Sage self —the calm, focused, and emotionally balanced part of the mind, through mindfulness practices, body awareness exercises, and cognitive reframing techniques. As more attention is given to strengthening the Sage mind using mental fitness tools and learning how to intercept the Saboteur’s negative thoughts, individuals can widen their window of tolerance, leading to greater clarity and calm when dealing with challenging situations. (2)

The benefits of coaching and mental fitness training through this program include improved stress management, increased resilience and emotional intelligence, and enhanced awareness to better manage thoughts, behaviours, and emotions in all situations. In clinics, mental fitness training can help teams foster a culture of well-being, collaboration, and positivity.

Just as physical fitness training strengthens our body, mental fitness training increases our ability to respond to daily challenges with a positive Sage rather than a negative Saboteur mindset.

As the profession strives to improve the well-being of veterinarians and teams, coaching and mental fitness training can boost morale and introduce practical tools to help manage stress, enhance emotional intelligence, and promote greater well-being and longer, more fulfilling careers. (10)

References

1- Fogel, A. Body Sense: The Science and Practice of Embodied Self-Awareness. N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009/2013.

2- Treleaven, David. Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing. W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.

3- Siegel, Daniel J. The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience. Guilford Press, 1999.

4- Russon JM, Bland K, Ravi-Caldwell N, Haak PP, Kryda KT, Codecá L, Darby BJ, Bissett CJ, Murphy J, Hungerford L. Career stage differences in mental health symptom burden and help-seeking among veterinarians during COVID-19. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023 Mar 13;261(6):898-906. doi: 10.2460/javma.22.12.0583. PMID: 36913394.

5- Best CO, Perret JL, Hewson J, Khosa DK, Conlon PD, Jones-Bitton A. A survey of veterinarian mental health and resilience in Ontario, Canada. Can Vet J. 2020

6- Steffey MA, Griffon DJ, Risselada M, Scharf VF, Buote NJ, Zamprogno H and Winter AL (2023) Veterinarian burnout demographics and organizational impacts: a narrative review. Front. Vet. Sci.10:1184526. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1184526

7- Goodall, C. The big issue: burnout. https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/the-big-issue-burnout (Jan 2024)

8- Goodman, M. J., & Schorling, J. B. (2012). A Mindfulness Course Decreases Burnout and Improves Well-Being among Healthcare Providers. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 43(2), 119-128. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.43.2.b

9- Burkitt, J. https://community.cna-aiic.ca/dev-cn-en/blogs/cn-content/2020/12/07/how-mindfulness-could-slash-health-care-costs-by-reducing burnout and attrition (Dec 2020)

10- Pohl, R., Botscharow, J., Böckelmann, I. et al. Stress and strain among veterinarians: a scoping review. Ir Vet J 75, 15 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-022-00220-x

11- Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt TD, Gill PR, Satele DV, West CP. Effect of a Professional Coaching Intervention on the Well-being and Distress of Physicians: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMAInternMed. 2019;179(10): 14061414.doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.2425

12- Chamine, Shirzad. Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours. Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2012.

13- Positive Intelligence Saboteur Assessment: https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/

Bill Hanson, Board-Certified Coach,

DVM, Diplomate Emeritus ABVP (canine, feline),

International Coaching Federation-certified coach.