Standing up for the veterinary profession
08 Aug 2024
19 May 2019 | Rebecca Molloy
Mental health and the veterinary profession it’s a link we know well. But the words mental health still carry negative associations. Here, Rebecca Molloy tells us why it's ok not to be ok, why mental health matters to her, and about the support that's available to us if we need it.
My relationship with mental health started long before qualifying as a vet. When I was 7 years old, during the breakdown of my parents’ marriage, my mum tried to commit suicide. She was diagnosed with depression, and later with psychosis. Being her carer from a young age was challenging to say the least, particularly in the face of stretched and fading mental health resources. Some weeks Mum couldn’t get out of bed. I would come home from school and find her in my bed because she wanted to feel close to me. Some days she believed I was trying to poison her, or there were people hiding in my cupboard. Some days she felt like her life wasn’t worth living or she wanted to cut all her hair off or harm herself. I had to fight very hard to get her the help she needed, often involving hospitalisation, which she greatly resented me for.
I’m not ashamed to admit that these experiences affected me, but we pulled through thanks to the support of some fantastic and loyal friends.
One of the biggest challenges was overcoming how other people responded to Mum’s illness. She was called “mad”, told to “just get on with it”, treated as if she was invisible by people she knew, and she lost friends. When confiding in my teacher that, at the age of 17, I was caring for my 14 year-old brother to avoid him going into care whilst our mum was in hospital, I was told I shouldn’t be spending time doing the food shopping because I needed to focus on my exams.
I strongly feel that there could have been more support for my mum, but also for my brother and me too.
Time to Change says “Around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year, yet the shame and silence can be as bad as the mental health problem itself. Your attitude to mental health could change someone’s life"
Everyone’s got mental health, even if we don’t talk about it. It’s similar to any taboo topic. Like, we all have pubic hair. Some people would be embarrassed if their pubic hair had sneaked out of their swimwear and people noticed it. Some people are comfortable enough with it that they wouldn’t care if it did. Some people have professional help with it so that they can be content with it. And some people have never had to worry about it, so may not be able to appreciate how it could even be an issue.
The point is, whether you’ve thought about it or not, we all have mental health. And, like our pubic hair, how we keep it in check is unique to us.
Talking more openly and more frequently about mental health and wellbeing won’t make more people have mental illness. Instead it will normalise it. It will stop people suffering in silence, reduce the number of people reaching breaking point, and maybe even save lives. As well as helping those experiencing mental illness, it will help those who are supporting others too by acknowledging it.
Top tips:
And finally, remind yourself that whilst mental health is important, it does not define you. My mum is an amazing, kind, and loving person, and now she’s on the right medication, she’s back to being just that.
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