In all honesty, the last quarter of this year was very difficult for me to get through. I had felt some burn out in the middle of the year, but I knew a lot of it was from outside of work circumstances related to our recent move, renovating a house, and not really having the time I needed and wanted to recharge and connect to some of my passions. The end of the year was much different. I didn’t just feel burn out, I felt stuck and disconnected at times from my work. I felt like there was an overwhelming amount of pressure (not from anyone) and I wasn’t sure how to manage the stress at times or make it seem less. I was doing the thing I hated – pushing through until Summer Break.

Do you often feel that each year your stress seems to be growing, even though you are more confident and seasoned as an SLP?

There are definitely somethings that get tougher each year, like paperwork and productivity regulations, that take some time to learn and incorporate. These can be stressful, but the amount of stress many SLPs are feeling each year is overwhelming compared to the changes that happen. It seems that each year, as things continue to remain the same, the stress levels only increase.

For many of SLPs, the summer is a time when things slow down or you are off from work completely. After the stress of a very busy and often overwhelming school year, this time off can seem perfect and much needed. There is nothing you want to do more than just sit back, relax and not think about work for 2 months. It’s a time when you just want to shut off your brain for a bit and not stress while you still can, because you know, once that school year begins again, it is another year of high caseloads, impossible schedules, meetings and make up sessions.

There is absolutely something to be said for tuning out for a little bit after a particularly tough and stressful time. The end of the school year is typically full of pushing to the last day, getting everything squared away and fishing every last bit of work, while stressing all the way into summer vacation. A few days or weeks of simply stepping back and not thinking about work is exactly what is needed to decompress a bit. It helps you to start to find a little more balance after working so hard for so long. After a little while though, this pure relaxation or not thinking about the year ahead can start to throw you off balance again. This is the real problem – when the breaks and summers are spent trying to ignore and push the school year out of your minds, or perhaps not really relaxing at all but finding other ways to be busy and stress, you are setting yourself up for the same stressful situations to occur next year, and perhaps they will seem even more stressful each year.

There are a few situations that are typical to find yourself in during the summer and the problems that might occur with them:

• You spend all of your time ignoring how stressful your year was and fully soak up the summer.
  • The problem: This is really just a way to ignore the stress. There is still a little voice in your head, especially when it gets closer to the end of the summer, that reminds you about the school year starting soon and that this summer break is just temporary. It reminds you that the stress is just around the corner. 
• You can’t quite figure out how to “relax” and just end up finding things to fill up your day, keep you busy and maybe even get worked up and stressed about.
  • The problem: You are in the same patterns as you were all year. If you never find time to relax or recharge, you are just shifting your stress to a different situation, not ever really letting it go. It leaves you just as likely to be burn out once the school year starts, because you never really settle in for the summer. 
• You are off from the schools, but took a summer PRN job and are working there full-time. (or perhaps have no summer off and have not booked a vacation).
  • The problem: same as before – you never really get to slow down. Being in a different setting is nice, but if you don;t work through your stress and triggers, you might find that this job also becomes stressful. It leaves you happy to get back into your “routine” in the school year, but then the stress just builds again. This scenario leaves you in a constant up and down with your career. 

Instead of shifting your stress or ignoring it, the summer can be used to recharge and find better ways to manage and reduce your stress int eh next year, so it doesn’t continue to build and grow each year. This might take some work, and will never fully rid you of stress, but it can make it so stressful situations don’t stay with you as long and you are able to enjoy life, even during the school year.

Here are 3 ways to start managing your stress:

• Identify your triggers
  • Ask yourself “what made this situation so stressful?”. Write down a few things that you felt and that triggered your stress in this situation. Then reflect upon how it affected the year for you and how you reacted to it. Perhaps shift the perspective and write down 3 ways you could react differently next time (Ex. Your boss schedules a last minute IEP meeting. You reacted by feeling like they push you around, which makes you not trust them anymore. Instead, you could talk to them about scheduling or practice saying “No. I can’t make it”. )
• What drained you
  • There are probably some aspects of your job or schedule or caseload, etc that just didn’t work this year and contributed to your stress. Think about what drained you and how you can make a point to change that next year (Ex. You scheduled a long lunch, but back to back therapy all day. Schedule a slightly shorter lunch, or work a few minutes longer, and schedule some breaks in the day). 
• Make time for yourself
  • There is a good chance that you were overworked (either by your job or from yourself) and that you didn’t make time for yourself throughout the year. Think again about what you need and make time for yourself, whether during the day, after work throughout the week or on the weekends. Take time to recharge and connect to things that you enjoy, that are not related to work. Make sure these are activities that are mindful in nature and help you to restore your body and mind, not just blow off steam (Ex. Try taking a walk during lunch, head to a class after work or in the evening on night, or schedule sometime to read a book or grab a cup of coffee on the weekend). 

The three tips will help you to really get started digging deeper in to how your stress affects you and how you can better manage it throughout the year. Although these will work wonders, they are definitely only the starting point. If this school year left you feeling exhausted, drained and stressed beyond belief, you are not alone. Join me this summer, along with fellow SLPs in this same situation, for the “SLP Stress Management” 6-week online coaching program, to learn techniques (and put them into practice) that will help you to better manage and make use of your stress in the next school year.

This virtual (like teletherapy!) program starts June 13th and runs through July 25th, taking the week off for the 4th of July. We’ll meet virtually once a week as a group for a stress management coaching session, which will include the topic of the week as well as q&a portions. All sessions will be recorded, in case you miss a week or want to listen again. You’ll also get access to a private FB group, weekly emails and an e-guide with recipes, exercises, meditations and more.

We’ll cover topics such as:

• Introduction to stress and stress management
• Mindfulness and Self-Care
• Fueling your work day
• What is your body telling you
• What are your thoughts telling you
• Putting it all together

The total cost for the 6 weeks is $60

I’d love to have you join and learn some of the tools you can use to reduce and mange your stress, so you can not just make it through your year, but thrive in it. You can find out all the details here: SLP Stress Management or fill out the contact form below.

Much Love,