Self-Compassion Meditation For Veterinary Professionals

Veterinary professionals are often quick to criticize themselves when something doesn’t go well with a patient or when they make a mistake. This tendency towards self-criticism feels necessary to prevent future challenges or errors but has been shown to activate the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight response). On the contrary, research among veterinary students and other professionals demonstrates that self-compassion enhances the ability to back from difficult situations, otherwise known as resilience.

This self-compassion meditation is intended to engage your self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and recover faster from the challenges of veterinary medicine. It includes a brief body scan and a series of prompts to support the practice of self-compassion.

Trigger Warning: This practice may include references to death, dying, and the departed.