Happy Halloween my little spooky superstar 👻,

As we head into Halloween weekend, I couldn’t resist dropping into your inbox with a little treat.

The Real Monsters Haunting Vet Med

Let’s talk about the real monsters haunting veterinary medicine because they aren’t ghosts or goblins.

They’re things like:
💀Compassion fatigue that sneaks up like a jump scare.
🕷️Perfectionism whispering you should’ve done more.
🧙Boundaries that vanish faster than your Halloween candy stash
🧟‍♀️Overachievement chasing worth through endless “yeses.”

But friend, here’s the twist ending: you don’t have to fight these monsters, you can befriend them.

The science of scary:
When our brain senses threat,  whether it’s a client complaint, an ER chaos moment, or a missed treatment, it activates the amygdala, our emotional alarm system.
Neuroscientists call this amygdala hijack, and it floods your body with cortisol and adrenaline.
But here’s the treat: research from Harvard Medical School shows that pausing for just 90 seconds to name what you’re feeling, “stress,” “fear,” “frustration”, lets your nervous system reset. Naming it, literally tames it.

For those of you who are nerds like me and love research-backed proof: A study in Emotion (Lieberman et al., 2007) found that labeling emotions decreases amygdala activation and increases activity in the prefrontal cortex, your calm, clear-thinking brain.

Naming your monsters doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wise. So this Halloween weekend, instead of letting those internal monsters run the show, try this 2-minute Trick-or-Treat for the Nervous System:

🎃Trick: When you feel tense, notice what story your brain is telling, “I’m failing,” “They’re judging me,” “I don’t have time,” or “I’m not enough.”

🍬Treat: Take three slow breaths, unclench your jaw, release your tongue from the roof of your mouth, feel your feet on the ground, and think, “I’m only human, I’m doing my best and I’m safe.”

That’s emotional regulation in action and real-life witchcraft for your wellbeing. 🪄

If you need a little reminder that peace isn’t found in perfection but in presence, this NEW blog, The Monsters We Don’t Talk About in Veterinary Medicine: A Special Halloween Edition. Read about my real life application from shifts worked this week. It might be exactly the pumpkin-spiced reset you need.

However you spend this weekend, in costume, in clinic, or curled up with your pets, may it be filled with laughter, rest, and a dash of magic.

Your Coach - Dr. Beth the Vet

Podcast Highlight

New in The Evolved Vets podcast is a celebration and fun spin off the release of the new Taylor Swift album that has been on replay on my spotify.

 🎙️Ep. 21: The Eras of an Evolved Vet: Things Vet Med Can Learn From Taylor Swift

🎧You can also listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts