Hardly a week goes by when I don’t receive a Google alert or see some glaring headline about suicides in the veterinary profession. Even Time Magazine has weighed in on this heavy topic with a headline that reads “Veterinarians face unique issues that make suicide one of the profession’s biggest worries”.

But while we are constantly reminded of suicide, whether it be initiatives to reduce mental health stigma such as the recent Canadian Bell Let’s Talk campaign, or someone sharing news of a colleague’s death via social media, it is imperative that we talk about suicide and share the news in a way that does not exacerbate the problem.

Now it might seem counterintuitive to censor conversations about suicide at a time when we want to enhance awareness and reduce stigma around suicide and mental health.

However, there is evidence that the way in which media or others propagate stories about suicide can have an immediate and profound impact on vulnerable individuals.

If stories of suicide are not shared carefully and constructively, suicidal acts can increase due to a phenomenon called suicide contagion. If you have not heard the term before, suicide contagion (sometimes referred to as copycat suicides) occurs when a publicized suicide serves as a trigger for a susceptible person, especially in the absence of protective factors (e.g., familial support, access to mental healthcare).

Suicide contagion is caused by learning about suicide-related behaviors and can result in suicide clusters that occur in a temporal or geographical pattern. For example, sometimes when information is widely broadcast by media concerning celebrity suicides, suicides increase nationwide in the weeks to months that follow (this happened in the USA after the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962). Conversely, geographical clusters tend to occur within institutional settings such as hospitals, prisons, or schools, or within distinct communities such as some of the Canadian First Nations reserves.

So, how exactly should we be handling conversations regarding suicide among veterinary professionals?

Give accurate information about suicide

Suicide is a complicated outcome of a multitude of health and life stressors and is not caused by a single event (e.g., interaction with an angry client) or factor (e.g., working as a veterinarian). Approximately 90% of people who die by suicide have a mental health condition or substance use disorder at the time of their death.

Do not focus on the method or graphic details

Describing the suicide in graphic detail can increase the risk of imitative behavior by vulnerable individuals. The focus should instead be on how to cope with the feelings as a result of the loss.

Do not glorify the act of suicide

Idealizing individuals who die by suicide without discussing their struggles is confusing to others. Suicide should not be portrayed as a reasonable solution. For example, to say that a veterinary professional who dies by suicide had “everything going for them” and “if it weren’t for their job this would not have happened” is a generalization of the truth.  

Do not oversimplify the causes of suicide

Despite what the media (and individuals in the profession) are trying to portray in terms of blaming euthanasia, angry clients, or student debt for the high rate of suicide among veterinary professionals, suicide is incredibly complex and not the result of one problem, event, or issue.  

Promote help–seeking

Advocate for early help-seeking as a sign of strength and provide numbers to help-lines accordingly.

Address feelings of responsibility

Explain that nobody can predict imminent suicide, especially when many are able to hide their distress. A person’s suicide is nobody’s fault and no one action or conversation can cause it.

Address blaming and scapegoating

Clarify that the reasons that someone dies by suicide are complicated and that blaming others (e.g., a cyberbullying client or disgruntled co-worker) disregards the intense suffering that many will not be able to relate to.

I implore members of the veterinary profession and those reporting on the high rate of suicide among veterinary caregivers to please refrain from glorifying, blaming, or oversimplifying this incredibly complex problem. Let’s instead focus on supporting and looking out for each other as we move forward.

If you are concerned about a friend or colleague, or if you are having thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please call the USA National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255), Canada Suicide Prevention Service (1-833-456-4566), or 911.