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28Aug

Manage Your Stress Better All Year Long

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care
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Manage Stress PinterestAt the start of a new school year or new season, there is often this rush of excitement, and readiness for a change or fresh perspective. It lasts for awhile, but then it can feel as if, quite swiftly at times, the perspective shifts and you are right back in the midst of stress, overwhelm and exhaustion. You start to wonder if there is a way you can manage your stress better.

Paperwork has piled up, you aren’t enjoying your time with students/clients, and you are starting to feel drained, or even anxious, from your work. You feel exactly like you did before the year/season started, and you know that it is only going to pile up. Again. And it seems to get a little worse each time.

So you push through until the next break, and start the cycle all over again, hoping that one day it will get just a little better. On that day, you’ll have more time, more freedom, more energy, more drive, more…enjoyment for life and work.

You just have to wait a little longer for it to happen…one day.

But then things continue in the cycle of stress and release and more stress, all while growing more irritable at work and at home, until one day you decide to switch jobs or quit altogether.

Does this story sound familiar?

This was my everyday routine (and sometimes I get drawn back into it for a moment before snapping out of it again), and one that most SLPs I know are stuck in as well.

We are always fighting stress and trying to find ways to work more efficiently, enjoy it better and not drown in paperwork, stress and exhaustion.

We, as SLPs, are struggling. And stress is the reason why. (more…)

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10Jul

What to Ask Yourself Before You Quit Your SLP Job or Career

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Goal Setting New SLP Reduce Stress
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quit your SLP job

Quit SLP Job Pinterest

Being an SLP can be incredibly wonderful at times, and at other times incredibly stressful. A great deal of this stress comes from the parts of the job that are outside of the therapy realm and often seem to have more and more rules around them, such as paperwork and productivity rates. Some of the stress, though, comes from the nature of the job itself. As SLPs, it is our job and our mission to help people communicate, nourish and thrive, as best they can with the situation they are in. Our schooling and career are set up around us being able to give our tine and energy to these, sometimes without a break during the day. It is highly rewarding at times, and also highly frustrating and draining. It can be enough to make you want to quit your SLP job at times.  (more…)

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12Jun

Stop Waiting for Summer to Happen and Manage Stress Better All Year

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Reduce Stress
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Manage Stress Better PinterestThere is a common saying and feeling in the Speech Therapy world: I just need to make it through until Summer. It is often heard and seen, especially once the second part of the year and Spring Break rolls around. This is usually due to the “IEP season”, where you are having to not only complete all the IEPs for your huge caseload, but also attend and hold the meetings, as well as provide therapy for your kiddos. It is also progress report time, again, and time to wrap things up for the end of the year. If there was any small glimmer of stress earlier in the year that you were able to push aside, this is the time of year it will ooze out and saturate your day.

It is not a saying that I particularly care for, since it is seems more hopeless than hopeful, but it was one I found myself repeating over and over again in the last few months of the school year. (more…)

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5Jun

How to Really Reduce Stress this Summer Vacation

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Reduce Stress
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How to Reduce Stress PinterestIn 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. (more…)

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10Apr

Are You Feeling Bitter About Your SLP Job?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Journal Techniques for SLPs Self Care
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Are You Feeling Bitter Pinterest

What is the first thing that floats through your mind when you hear “It’s time to go to work?”. Are you filled with purpose, albeit a little exhaustion, or are you filled with dread, stress and, even, bitterness?

If you used to be really excited about your career and the changes you would make in people’s lives, or the difference you could make in the world, but now you just think about how there are only 5 more days until Friday, you are starting to experience bitterness. This bitter attitude towards your work and job can start out small, but, if not recognized and managed, can be the thing that makes you dream about quitting your job and leaves you feeling unfulfilled in your life.

A few years ago, bitter was all I felt about my work. It was like I was trapped each day and living a life I wasn’t happy in and my job was the thing to blame for it. Going into the same place each day with no flexibility to my schedule, no fresh air, and no freedom left me feeling drained. I grew so bitter each day that I really didn’t find any enjoyment out of the work, even when I had colleagues who were in the same field or other professions who were stressed and overwhelmed too. I felt like maybe I was in the wrong career. No matter what, I just felt bitter and eventually quit.

After I quit, I started doing mindfulness practices and learned about self-care, coaching, meditation and more. I taught yoga and mind-body fitness classes, and blogged about eating healthy and feeling good in your body. It wasn’t until after I cam back that I realized all fo that work was simply me trying to heal my bitterness. And it was only then that I realized my bitterness was caused by burn out. (more…)

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20Mar

What is the Cost of Staying Where You Are?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
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Cost of Staying Where You Are PinterestI recently attended a 1-day seminar, where we learned all about how our thoughts create and shape what we see as out reality, and how, because of this, we are able to change how we feel about things, by changing the way we think about them. It might sound a little “woo-woo” or “out there”, but this was all evidence-based and related to the fields of psychology and coaching.

There were many parts that absolutely blew my mind, but one of the biggest pieces was a question that was asked, of us (for those moments we felt stuck or defeated) and of our clients: “How is that working for you?” (more…)

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20Feb

3 Simple Ways to Reduce SLP Job Burn Out

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
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Reduce SLP Job Burn Out Pinterest

In any field or lifestyle where you are primarily putting the needs of others before yours, there is a possibility of Compassion Fatigue and Burn Out. This is due to the fact that is can be exhausting and stressful to have someone’s needs, and sometimes life, depend on your skills and abilities. You constantly have to be focused, thinking and keeping them engaged in what you are doing. As SLP’s, this can be even harder because you are caring for people of ALL ages in so many different settings, where you are sometimes responsible for their ability to think and communicate effectively or perhaps even to nourish their bodies safely. It can be beautiful but draining work, that comes with the additional stress of productivity levels, paperwork and a lack of understanding from those around you. It can be extremely stressful and, when that stress becomes chronic or daily, it can become serious and turn into Burn Out.

Burn Out is recognized by the World Health Organization and is real. It is also manageable and treatable. If you are feeling overwhelmed by stress and anxiety, and think you might be heading toward burn out, there are things you can do to help reduce it. I’ve partnered with the ASHA Leader Blog today to share 3 simple, but hugely effective, things you can do to help reduce and prevent Burn Out as an SLP. (more…)

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6Feb

1 Simple Way for SLPs to Create More Time in Your Day

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Goal Setting New SLP Reduce Stress
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SLPs More Time Pinterest
I recently gave a lecture at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I spoke to their Speech Therapy graduate students about how to recognize, prevent and manage burn out and stress during grad school and into their professional careers. I spoke to them about mindfulness, self-care and gratitude practices. I also spoke to them about the things that might become stressful once they start working – paperwork, caseloads and productivity. These are the top 3 things that stress out most people I have worked with and talk to. For most SLPs, these are the biggest sources of stress and the main reasons they are either wanting to quit or questioning if they are in the right field at all. Despite being pretty different and concrete things to be stressed about, when you boil it down, they all come from the same source of stress – there is not enough time in the day to finish everything you need to do. (more…)

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