Balancing Life Health, Counselling and Disability Services

Today’s Agenda Causes and impacts of stress Know yourself Prevention is better than cure

Sources of Stress Most, if not all workers will experience a few really difficult experiences in their working lives, sometimes considerably more in particular settings. Personal characteristics (self doubt and expectations) Relationships with colleagues or clients Work Practices (work load and time restraints) Inherent challenges of the work

How we can feel as a professional Valued/ needed Connected Fulfilled Effective Motivated Sense of purpose and meaning Better physical and mental health Frustrated Angry Vulnerable Guilty Harassed Defensive Incompetent Burnt Out Compassion Fatigue

Impacts of Chronic Sympathetic Arousal Muscle tension Impaired immunity Increased heart rate Disturbed digestion Impaired sleep Elevated cortisol levels Fight/ Flight/ Freeze

How our thinking can change when stressed Hippocampus: effects on memory Amygdala: over aroused/ negative bias Cingulate cortex: reduced capacity for attention and concentration Prefrontal cortex: less effective executive functioning, planning, decision making

The Exhaustion Funnel (Professor Marie Asberg) From Dr Maura Kenny MBCT workshop Stress, Exhaustion and Burnout

Professor Asberg suggests that those of us who continue downwards are likely to be those who are the most conscientious workers, those whose self confidence is closely dependent on performance at work. The harder it is to work, the more effort is put into work, leaving even less energy and time for leisure. This results in an ever increasing accumulation of symptoms as the funnel narrows and exhaustion sets in. From Dr Maura Kenny MBCT workshop

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,”“Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,”

Impact of Stress on Performance

What helps Self awareness Self care strategies Supervision

My early warning signs In my body… In my actions… In how I feel… In how I think…

Reactive vs Responsive Self Awareness helps you to step out of automatic pilot Is it possible you are being reactive? Taking responsibility and being accountable Developing Response- ABILITY Becoming more skillful

Managing the transition from work each day Before you leave work Review of the day and next day When you leave work On the way to the car/ train/ bus/ bike On your way home When you get home Who you speak to and what you speak about

How I act towards myself in difficult times

Ways to take care of yourself Look for a range of activities Experiment with new things Be patient, kind and compassionate with yourself

Supervision Organise supervision within your work group Formal Informal Review techniques that work well and modify others where possible. Benefits: Improved performance Reassurance of competency Shared responsibility Stress release

Wise action when stress is building Take a breathe to think about what is going on Remember when you are stressed you might feel like you can’t do any of these things but can encourage yourself to try Do something pleasurable like… Do something that makes me feel like you’ve achieved something… Something you will try to do as a result of today….

Autobiography in Five Chapters 1) I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the side walk. I fall in. I am lost…I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find my way out. 2) I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I’m in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

Autobiography in Five Chapters 3) I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in…it’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. 4) I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. 5) I walk down another street.

COUNSELLING Anne Hayes  PHONE