One of the hardest things to do when you are stressed or overwhelmed is to do what you know will help. It’s not that you are trying to be rebellious or fight against what is good for you, but that it is really difficult to be in the moment and be able to problem solve your way into what you need.

This is why it is usually easier to give someone else advice than to take your own advice.

And it’s not just you – it is the way your brain responds to stress and the way we learn. When you are stressed, the problem solving parts of your brain are turned down and the automatic responses are turned up. That’s why is easier to KNOW something than it is to DO it in the moment.

It’s like when you have a student who can explain how to make a sound, but, when you try to have them use it in conversation, working towards carryover, it just doesn’t happen. They still need practice to make it happen in the real world.

And this often happens with our SLP Stress Management too. You know what to do, you have probably tried a few things, read a few things, or googled about stress, but putting it into practice in the real world is much harder.

Some things that might be making it difficult:

• You don’t feel like you have the time
• You aren’t sure which thing to try
• It is more stressful to add in something than to just keep pushing through

If you ever feel this way, one great thing to do is to start small. Try something that is easy to do, easy to manage, and won’t completely overhaul your day.

A meditation is a good place to start. Meditation has a ton of benefits for brain health, reducing stress and rewiring your brain’s reaction to stress, which you can read about here: Meditation.

If you need a short meditation you can fit in at anytime, check out this “1 Minute Meditation for SLPs” in the SLP Toolbox.

Not a member? You can sign up below for access to the FREE resource library, full of Stress Management tools, made for SLPs by an SLP.

If you are looking to get even more tools, learn more about stress and why it affects you the way it does, and help incorporate this into your day in a way that works for you, make sure to check out the “SLP Stress Management Online Course“, open for enrollment June 22nd.

Click here for more info about the course and how to enroll. You can also join me for a FREE webinar on June 20th, where I’ll share “3 Steps to Reduce Your SLP Stress” as well as some details on the course.

Much Love,