Mental health and veterinary admissions

I think any profession that attracts very high achievers and the personality traits that comes along with that is going to tend to have elevated rates of mental illness. Veterinary medicine is a special case, though, because we deal with certain things (euthanasia, lack of funds, client non-compliance) more than pretty much any other health fields.

That being said, I too have struggled off-and-on with mental health issues. Just under six years ago, I attempted suicide, was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, and to this day I still have occasional depressive episodes. Thankfully, medication has helped... I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and am being treated for that, as well; that illness can also trigger depressive symptoms in some people. So I basically have a double-whammy. I'm in a good spot now, but I fear what may happen if/when I get into vet school. I'd like to think that if I'm medicated for everything, I should be okay, but I know better. Vet school, from everything I've been told, really does have a way of breaking down even the most mentally stable of people.

I wouldn't let what that one veterinarian said discourage you from pursuing this path if it is what you really want. I've shadowed an old-school veterinarian who was very... unsympathetic... to those suffering with mental health issues in our profession. She was very much a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work hard and you'll be happy" sort of person, and scoffed whenever she'd read articles in DVM360 and the like that dealt with the subject. I think it's just the mindset of a lot of the older veterinarians. We're entering a far more competitive job market with far worse debt levels.

If you are still wanting to pursue veterinary medicine, then go for it. But I would at least wait until your mental health is relatively well under control. I think that taking at least one gap year is a very good idea in your situation. The fact that you've dropped five classes is a little concerning; did you do well in the other sciences you've taken?

Good luck with everything. Trust me when I say that I know it's hard, and you are far from alone.

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Mental health and veterinary admissions