There aren’t any records on how many veterinarians commit suicide each day; nevertheless, according to American Medical Veterinary Association (AMVA) findings, one in every six veterinarians has considered suicide. Veterinarians are dropping dead at an accelerated pace, almost always utilizing the same substances designed to directly cease the misery of their animal clients.

Their reasons often range from school debt, and emotional exhaustion, to strenuous job routines. Suicides as well as non-fatal suicidal attitudes are significant public health concerns globally: around one million individuals commit suicide every year.

In actuality, the number of people that died from suicide outnumbers those killed due to manslaughter and global conflict combined. Numerous surveys have found a connection between suicidal behavior and profession, such as the medical and veterinary lines of work.

Suicide rates in the veterinary field have been estimated to be nearly double when compared to those in the dental vocation, over two times those in the medical field, and four times when put in comparison with that of the overall population.

The work issues over 70,000 veterinarians in the United States have to contend with daily have resulted in a very high number of suicides (CDC).

As shown in a CDC study released in January that examined over 11,000 veterinarian death records between 1979 and 2015, close to 400 veterinarians committed suicide. The research also revealed that female veterinarians were approximately 2.4 times more inclined to commit suicide when compared to the regular populace.

Notable Causes of Veterinarian Suicide

There are numerous theories as to why there is an uptick in suicidal and suicide-related feelings among veterinarians. The factors listed, as per specialists, lead to an intensified possibility of suicide within the veterinary field.

  1. Work Isolation

A good percentage of veterinarians in private practice work in total isolation, and with no oversight or even any possibility of support from other veterinary peers. Note that this ends up creating an atmosphere brimming with professional errors. Note that the huge psychological effect of these kinds of errors might support the growth of suicidal ideas.

  1. Personality Traits

Veterinarians are known to be academically gifted, and a good number of such high performers have perfectionism, locus of control, and neuroticism propensities, each of which could be a contributor to mental illness. Likewise, veterinarians who work primarily with living creatures over people might grow to be more susceptible to depression as a consequence of their isolation and loneliness.

  1. Psychiatric Disorders

Note that in the very same way mental illnesses including depression and substance dependence, and addiction are intertwined with doctor self-harm, these factors might still play a role in the rising rate of veterinarian suicide. Two-thirds of those who attempt suicide have a psychiatric condition.

  1. Workplace Stress Factors

Working extended hours; after-hours on-call commitments; confrontational interactions with contemporaries, management staff, as well as patrons; higher customer desires; unforeseen treatment outcome; mental anguish (sympathy fatigue);

Insufficient resources; issues regarding sustaining abilities; as well as the likelihood of customer dissatisfaction and lawsuits could all add significantly to burnout. Burnout, accompanied by frustration and hopelessness over time, may also heighten the risk.

  1. Academic Education

The extraordinarily high educational entrance criteria for veterinary colleges are thought to be associated with a high susceptibility to self-harm. Howbeit, reports tend to indicate a negative relationship between intelligence and suicidal behavior, making the link ambiguous but worth taking into account.

It has since been proposed that the rigorous coursework and expectations to find success in Vet College might very well impede the presumed development of emotional intelligence as well as the social skills necessary around that pivotal moment in life, curtailing the formation of future stress management and perseverance.

  1. Access to and Understanding of Means

Veterinarians are known to have direct exposure to pharmaceutical drugs (such as general anesthesia and mercy-killing drugs), and these tend to increase the risk of mishandling. Note that with ease of accessibility, those very drugs might be used not just as a way of trying to cope, but also as a way to commit suicide, contributing significantly to the practice’s high percentage of suicides.

  1. Death and Euthanasia Attitudes

Private practice veterinarians are frequently requested to actively end life, with firm convictions in the dignity of life as well as morally acceptable euthanasia to reduce pain. Similarly, those engaged in agriculture are compelled to end the lives of the animals through livestock killing.

In the face of difficult situations, full engagement at the end of the pet’s daily existence may facilitate self-justification as well as decrease nervousness towards self-harm, helping to make self-harm appear to be a reasonable alternative.

  1. Suicide Contagion

The rising risk of suicide as a consequence of exposure either directly or indirectly to the suicide ideation of others might play a part in the intensified threat in veterinarians. The news of a suicide in the United States can quickly spread among colleagues in a comparatively tiny profession. This, combined with increased risk knowledge in the line of work overall, may increase vulnerability.

  1. The Discrimination Associated with Mental Disorder

The stereotype and discrimination associated with mental disorder influences access to mental health care. Those very stereotypes can be especially difficult for those who operate in the line of work where they are identified as “the helper.” The desire for “helpers” to request instead of provide help, particularly in the context of mental well-being, might be interpreted as a flaw. A stereotype is troubling because it restricts help-seeking actions, thus allowing for self-harm.

How Many Veterinarians Kill Themselves in a Day?

There aren’t any records on how many veterinarians commit suicide each day; nevertheless, according to American Medical Veterinary Association (AMVA) findings, one in every six veterinarians has considered suicide. According to a study issued in 2021 by the AMVA in collaboration with Merck Animal Health, veterinarians were indeed 2.7 times more inclined than the general population to commit suicide.

According to the survey, female veterinarians have been 2.4 times more probable than the general U.S. population to attempt suicide, while male veterinary technicians are indeed five times more probable. Note that the rates are 1.6 and 2.3 times higher, respectively, between male veterinarians as well as female veterinary technicians. This is the very 1st research to look into the rates of suicide among veterinary technicians.