One of the things I like to do when I am feeling stressed especially about my work as an SLP, is to find a million other tings to do or think about. That way, I don’t have to focus on the stressful thing at hand. And it works, for about 5 minutes, until it completely backfires and the stress comes at me full force.
Ever try this technique? It’s kind of the worst.
You might notice that when you are stressed, you also do things to check out – like binge watch your favorite show or movie or just ANY show, stay up way too late and guzzle all the caffeine you can the next day, or binge snacks or wine or whatever it might be. The idea is that you end up ignoring the stress, but then it hits you again a little stronger each time.
Instead, the way to really reduce and manage this stress is to face it head on. It sounds like this would be the more stressful approach, but it allows you to check in, or tune in, and see what it really going on for you. That way, even if it feels uncomfortable and more stressful in the movement, you can see what you need to work on, what you have to work with, and the changes you can start to create. It’s not easy, but it is usually necessary.
One way to do this is through a basic mindfulness meditation for SLPs.
In mindfulness meditation practice, you take a few moments to just sit and observe how you are. No judgments, no changing, just seeing what is going on for you in that moment. From there, you become more aware of how you are in that moment, which helps you to see:
- how you will show up in your day/the world with what you have going on
- how the day/world may affect you
- what you can do to better navigate your day and current circumstances (like avoiding a certain co-worker or getting to bed earlier or drinking more water or whatever it may be).
This simple practice can help you start to reap the benefits of meditation, such as turning down the stress response in your brain, and start to manage your stress with more awareness.
You can start by simply sitting for 5 minutes, breathing, and just seeing how the mind and body feel in that moment (without judging) or you can follow a guided meditation, such as the “Basic Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs” available in the SLP Toolbox, a FREE resource library full of stress management tools made for SLPs by an SLP.
You can sign up for access below:
If you are looking to go even further with reducing and managing your SLP Stress, including using meditation and learning exactly how it can help, be sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Course, now enrolling.
Much Love,
