VN January 2023

Vetnuus | Januarie 2023 6 You may have heard a new buzzword doing the rounds in the Veterinary Profession - PTSD. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), historically, was ascribed to soldiers returning fromwar; why are we then hearing about it now in our practice circles? PTSD is a condition that lasts for more than 30 days, driven by fear and apprehension that develops in response to a specific extreme stressor. It will look different for different people, anything from the ringing of your phone late at night to the metallic smell of blood from witnessing a rhino poaching or dealing with societal issues related to poor animal welfare (SPCA). Intrusive memories of the traumatic event with emotional withdrawal and heightened autonomic arousal characterise the episodes. Symptoms of PTSD 1. Re-experiencing the event, e.g., feeling responsible for the death of a patient. 2. Emotional numbing or avoiding stimuli associated with trauma: you may withdraw emotionally & avoid talking or thinking about the event, for example, seeing a client that looks similar to the angry/abusive client you encountered. 3. Heightened autonomic arousal: sleep disturbance, hypervigilance (extremely alert/watchful) & loss of control over aggression. Anxiety attacks & exaggerated startle response - someone walks up to you quickly, and you jump! PTSD can also present if repeated sub-traumatic stressors are faced (e.g., marital distress). Contributing Factors to PTSD for Vets • Shouting & Abusive Clients • Shouting & Abusive Vet-to-Vet • Threats, e.g., from Clients on Social Media • Feeling responsible for the death of a patient • Extreme Fear, e.g., Marital distress, health, loss of professional confidence • You can easily add your own experiences to the list. Treatment of PTSD There are varied responses that work for different people and different triggers. You will need to find the one that works best for you. Verbalising and sharing thoughts & emotions regarding the incident with a trusted colleague, friend or family member can be beneficial. Just the act of speaking it out has a healing component. Sharing with somebody in the same profession is helpful as you will be confident that they may understand better than somebody outside the profession. Desensitisation (repeated exposure to event triggers) allows extinction to occur. Now I’m not saying you should stand there for the next angry client to have a go - but if you are finding certain triggers set you off, allow yourself to slowly be exposed for longer and longer amounts of time until it no longer has an emotional effect. If it works for our patients, it must work for us too. Social support: talking to others who have experienced the same. It is where confidential online support groups or braai’s with colleagues can work well. Is this PTSD? Desiré Rees Personal Coach I Trainer, BA Psych & Comm www.humanco.solutions des@humanco.solutio ns