Background: Professional burnout is a common result of occupational stress in the veterinary field. This presentation describes an approach to address burnout by incorporating a mindful meditation with tea. This approach may be ideal for the busy veterinary practitioner because it can be done in as little as five minutes. Regular practice of this mindfulness exercise may help mitigate the effects of burnout. Tea was a logical beverage choice for this approach as it is already associated with quiet reflection and has a substantial phytochemical profile that reduces stress and acts as an anxiolytic
Description: This presentation addresses the role of mindfulness in reducing the risks of occupational stress and how the authors from diverse background of veterinary clinical experience, librarianship, therapy, mindfulness training and being raised in a Buddhist mindful environment developed a mindful tea meditation using the best current evidence around mindfulness and tea. Additionally, this presentation addresses the important social role of tea in reducing depression and engendering thoughtful conversation. The culmination of this project results in a brief mindful tea meditation that incorporates Dialectical Behavioral Therapy that engages the five senses to bring the subject into the present moment in a removed physical space.
Conclusion: While formal research to measure impact of this project with a control population has not started, qualitative feedback has been collected and has garnered positive feedback. Attendance varies from beginning of school year and as the school year progresses, but regular attendance of mindfulness meditations by a core group has been noted. Mindful tea meditations have been conducted live virtually since March, 2021. Mindful tea conversations were started in Fall, 2021 and regularly attended with maximum participants always registering (max per session were four individuals). Content is freely available at https://www.library.ucdavis.edu/guide/mindfulness-tea-meditation/
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