Why mindfulness matters

One tool that Renee Machel, certified life coach, mindfulness and meditation guide, and cofounder of GetMotiVETed, uses in her day-to-day to help fight stress is practicing mindfulness. In a recent interview at the Fetch dvm360^® Kansas City conference, Machel broke down why mindfulness can be a helpful practice for stressed-out veterinary professionals.

“Mindfulness detaches you, in a way from being entangled or trapped from this stream of thoughts, these emotions that have a grip on us, these patterns of behavior that keep us in loops which oftentimes do not serve us,” Machel informed dvm360^® staff.

“We have thoughts or beliefs or patterns of behavior that we have just because that is what we have always done and when we become mindful, we get to stop and say ‘Does this really serve me,’” she continued.

By practicing mindfulness, Machel believes veterinary professionals can fight the day-to-day stress often faced in and out of the clinic by viewing the problem in a new light.

“[Mindfulness] can help other veterinary professionals because it stops that downward spiral of negative experiences, be it emotions, physiological effects from stress,” Machel indicated.

“It is a way we can hack our physiology and it is a way we can become more aware of our to our experiences but more importantly our responses to that because our response in life dictates what happens next,” she continued.

To learn more about the benefits of mindfulness, watch the full video below.

Editors note: All veterinary technician content for this month is supported by Banfield Pet Hospital.