the veterinary suicide rate

[sanctionedusage]

does being a vet make you suicidal, or are you just more likely to want to be a vet if you're the type of person who's already chronically suicidal?

people think the rate is so high because the job itself is suicide-inducing, watching animals suffer. isn't it more likely that suicidal people would be drawn to a sacrificial and altruistic profession, which happens to be veterinary sciences?

it isn't very profitable. it isn't easy. and it's not very fun. if you're already interested in and smart enough for biology and medicine, or passionate about healthcare, a research field or human healthcare, especially emergency/pediatrics, is far more profitable and equally fulfilling. people can join a field for all kinds of benefits, but to join the veterinary field, you really have to be uniquely dedicated to fulfilling a high-demand, low-reward service to species that are never going to be respected, valued, or cared for like humans are. coupled with the suicide rate implies more of a foolproof correlation that people who are depressed, suicidal, or vulnerable also tend to be animal lovers and especially empathetic, not that the job itself is particularly traumatic compared to human healthcare, social work, certain investigator careers, etc...

to be even blunter, people who actually commit suicide might be more likely to have high empathy and altruistic traits. i'm sure suicidality is high in other professions, but the actual successful death rate is what's so alarming about vets.

 

[OnMyLast Legs]

It's access to N.

 

[sanctionedusage]

It's access to N.

lol yeah

 

[idontknowwhatiam]

does being a vet make you suicidal, or are you just more likely to want to be a vet if you're the type of person who's already chronically suicidal?

people think the rate is so high because the job itself is suicide-inducing, watching animals suffer. isn't it more likely that suicidal people would be drawn to a sacrificial and altruistic profession, which happens to be veterinary sciences?

it isn't very profitable. it isn't easy. and it's not very fun. if you're already interested in and smart enough for biology and medicine, or passionate about healthcare, a research field or human healthcare, especially emergency/pediatrics, is far more profitable and equally fulfilling. people can join a field for all kinds of benefits, but to join the veterinary field, you really have to be uniquely dedicated to fulfilling a high-demand, low-reward service to species that are never going to be respected, valued, or cared for like humans are. coupled with the suicide rate implies more of a foolproof correlation that people who are depressed, suicidal, or vulnerable also tend to be animal lovers and especially empathetic, not that the job itself is particularly traumatic compared to human healthcare, social work, certain investigator careers, etc...

to be even blunter, people who actually commit suicide might be more likely to have high empathy and altruistic traits. i'm sure suicidality is high in other professions, but the actual successful death rate is what's so alarming about vets.

I'm actually read that dentists have a very high suicide rate. And divorce rate LOL. Always hooking up with those hygienists and assistants.

 

[sanctionedusage]

I'm actually read that dentists have a very high suicide rate. And divorce rate LOL. Always hooking up with those hygienists and assistants.

lol i didnt know that

the professions' rates might just be sensationalist characterization honestly. you'd think cops would be notorious for gunshot suicides, but they're really not ,compared to the reputation vets have with suicide, though generally cops are 54% or so more likely to commit using any method compared to the general population. going by a few sparse studies, the rates of people committing via officer encounter (up to 36%) are around, equal to, or possibly even double the number of cops actually killing themselves (100-200 per year) depending on the yearly numbers you use (1300 people were killed by police in 2024; a big uptick which might've been a result of unjust police brutality and other social issues' effects, OR suicidal people seeing the traction from these movements in the media and sensing an opportunity. following the 36% number, that'd be 470 SBCs compared to 100-200 cop suicides. Other studies report more like 11%, which would be 143 following the 1300 number, matching cops' yearly suicide numbers).

 

[darksouls]

the dream job of veterinarian often turns into a nightmare,
many veterinarians end up in slaughterhouses

 

[BradGuy123]

I have heard vets have a high rate of suicide. I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid because I loved animals so much. I went into a completely different field.

I asked AI about this and it said:
"Veterinarians face a significantly higher risk of suicide than the general population, with studies showing female vets are up to 3.5 times and male vets 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide. Key contributing factors include intense work-related stress, compassion fatigue, financial strain, and access to lethal, controlled substances like pentobarbital"

 

[death_by_life]

I have heard vets have a high rate of suicide. I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid because I loved animals so much. I went into a completely different field.

I asked AI about this and it said:
"Veterinarians face a significantly higher risk of suicide than the general population, with studies showing female vets are up to 3.5 times and male vets 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide. Key contributing factors include intense work-related stress, compassion fatigue, financial strain, and access to lethal, controlled substances like pentobarbital"

Yes, it's all of those things, but compassion fatigue I believe is the biggest factor. Access to N happens to be there as well (and I gotta say I'm jealous of that), but unless there are mental health factors, I don't think that's relevant. I'm not a vet, but I work in the animal industry, and the amount of blame and entitlement vets have to endure from their clients (don't care enough to be available for every emergency or ridiculous question at 2 am, price gouging, couldn't fix an animal with a health issue that was neglected by the owner, etc.) is a huge part of what kills them. There are also welfare issues with how people treat their animals that vets are powerless to change, witnessing so many animals suffering, euthanizing perfectly healthy animals for the owners' convenience... the list goes on. Overall, I think it's frequently a human-made problem made more complicated by how much the vets care for and about our animals. From the perspective of being another professional in the industry, my experience is that people want what they want, and because you have a title you should be able to give it to them. Nevermind that it's not always possible because we're dealing with living beings that are complex and don't ever read the rulebooks on how they *should* be. Nor do they want to do the follow up work for their own animals; they just want the problem fixed without any behavioral change on their part. It does not work that way.

 

[Ligottian]

I'm actually read that dentists have a very high suicide rate. And divorce rate LOL. Always hooking up with those hygienists and assistants.

And how do you know that? Dirty little mind perhaps.

 

[idontknowwhatiam]

And how do you know that? Dirty little mind perhaps.

Ex-wife was a dental hygienist.... She'd fill me in on all the horror stories she witnessed or was exposed to

 

[Ligottian]

Ex-wife was a dental hygienist.... She'd fill me on all the horror stories she witnessed or was exposed to

Please. Tell us more horror stories.

 

[ilovenewyork]

There are strains of rabies with no symptoms that cause brain damage leading to mental health diagnosis leading to ctb. As a vet they would get exposed through the animals they care for. Also parasites like toxoplasmosis

 

[Deepdense]

There's also a lot of debt with the education- so if someone loses their job, their debt gets higher.

 

[Noob]

I think it happens more because of the easy access to peaceful drugs that can end a life.

Not to say the profession doesn't have a lot of problems as others mentioned...