...and breathe..
I don't know if you've heard the story of when I was walking on the sea front with my husband Bruce, and suddenly, for a moment, my anxiety (which I hadn't been that aware off, to be honest), lifted. It was like I had had a tight iron band around my chest, like the ones around the typical wooden wine barrel, and someone abruptly clipped it off. My thorax expanded, and I could BREATHE, freely, no tightness in my chest or throat. It's hard to express how much of an unexpected event this was. Partly because I actually hadn't been aware of this band, until it suddenly wasn't there, and partly because I wasn't actively doing something about my anxiety in that moment. This was a while into my coaching journey, so I had been doing the journaling and processing feelings for a good few months, but hadn't yet FELT any change.
I remember stopping in my tracks, and said to Bruce "It's gone! I can breathe!" He was like "what?"😂 It then came back after a couple of minutes, but then I KNEW. First of all, that it was there, and secondly, and more importantly, what it was like WITHOUT IT, which gave me blood on the tooth (Danish expression, oddly fitting here? 🦷🩸) to work towards it, because now I knew what I was expecting.
Why am I telling you this story about my anxiety lifting?
Because, if you're struggling right now in the veterinary profession and you don't know if you can carry on, it's vital that you embody an understanding of how it would be to feel calm, fulfilled, certain in yourself and motivated again.
If you try some stuff half heartedly, for example meditating, having some time off, googling "what to do when you're burnt out as a vet", it might help momentarily but you're unlikely to keep going and reach a real change. Because if you first of all don't have a FEEL for what you're aiming for, and you don't have a structure you can follow, it's very difficult to change our habits and patterns.
For those of us who are struggling with veterinary burnout, experienced as exhaustion, anxiety, lack of motivation, decision fatigue and so on, we need a way to feel SOMEHOW better immediately, while we at the same time change the way we handle things, over time.
Which is exactly why Chloe and I created this upcoming event: Recharge and Reframe Retreat for veterinary professionals.
When you completely unplug from you current life, and go all in working on your stress, anxiety, feelings of always being behind, not good enough, not really belonging, and the incessant negative self talk (to name a few things we help with ☺️), you can get to a point where you'll know how it CAN be: Feeling calm all the way to your chest and stomach, brain shuts up, you start seeing possibilities and getting excited ... You'll feel it, at some point during the retreat, and likely dip in and out of it like I did, but then you'll KNOW, in your bones.
You'll get a solid structure of how to keep feeling better and better, getting to a place where you feel fully in control of your life, knowing exactly what you want and how you'll get there. That's also why we've incorporated 3 coaching sessions with me post-retreat over the following 3 months, + 3 months free membership with VetYogi so you can keep going with support.
Early bird pricing ends on the 6th April, so check it out => here's the link to all the info, no sign up required, you can just surf the page and see how you feel about it. There's also links on there to book a call with Chloe or me to ask questions and get a sense of what it's like to work with us 🤗.
In your corner,
Ready to fall back in love with Vet Med?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or doubting yourself — I get it. I've been there. Here's how I can help:
- Book a Free 50-Minute Coaching Session — Let's chat about where you are and where you want to be. Book here
- Download the Free Burnout Guide — 10 ways to overcome burnout in the veterinary clinic. Get it here
- Explore the Happy in Vet Med Programme — Beat burnout and imposter syndrome. Learn more
You don't have to do this alone.