This week on the Uncharted Veterinary Podcast, Andy and Stephanie tackle another one from the mailbag! We had an email from a veterinarian who co-owns a practice with their partner (who is also a veterinarian). The dream of owning a practice belongs to only one of them and this vet is wondering how to continue pursuing their dream without making their spouse suffer. Because their partner is burnt out and not happy.

Things to consider:

We can’t feel guilty for not knowing the future. All we can do is be honest about our needs and desires, and to listen to our partner about theirs.

According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 43 percent of small businesses are family businesses with 53 percent of managers in these businesses are identifying a spouse as the family member who is sharing day-to-day management.

Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States.1 Although the cause is not known, research suggests that depression develops from a combination of physiologic, genetic, environmental, and biologic factors. (Depression. National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml. Accessed May 2016.) We need to normalize talking about mental health and depression in the veterinary field.

Sometimes being unhappy in practice causes depression. Sometimes depression causes being unhappy in practice. Enrolling a professional (counselor) will allow you both to zoom out a little and try and figure out root cause(s).

You can’t “fix” your partner. You can support, but ultimately he or she will have to steer this effort. You can’t “guess their needs” to success - they have to be willing to participate.

When someone hits the point of being truly depressed, it’s time for clinical intervention.

Let's get into this episode!

Links:

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