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10Dec

Why is Meditation so Important for Decreasing SLP Burn Out?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Self Care
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SLP Meditation Pinterest (1)

When I was in Yoga Teacher training, and going through burn out in my Speech Therapy career, I decided I needed to buy a meditation cushion. We were learning about how important meditation was, how we should be doing it on a daily basis and how it could be life changing. So when I saw a beautiful cushion in the store, I decided I needed it. It would be the thing that kick-started my meditation practice.

Instead, it became the place my dog would take naps.

My cushion was used sporadically and was often found stuck under my desk, in a corner or behind my bedroom door under a pile of clothes. It was often covered in dust and was not as worn out as I had hoped it would be. But lately, 7 years after buying it, I have found myself taking a seat on my cushion most days of the week. Some days it is for 20 minutes, and other times ti is just for one or two. Most often, I sit for about 5 minutes at a time. Meditation is slowly becoming part of my daily routine, and one of my main sources of stress-release and ease.

It seems I’m not alone.

Meditation was once something for the woo-woo, hippy-dippy tribe or perhaps the new age. It was something your crunchy aunt used to do in a field or the woods. It was not something for those in a busy, professional career with things like a family, soccer games, minivans, sports cars or a large paycheck. It was for the minimalists and those who turned against modern living. But somewhere along the way, things started to change.

Meditation, and its benefits, are now part of a modern lifestyle. Along with practices like yoga and deep breathing, meditation has gone mainstream. People everywhere, from all walks of life, are being prescribed and practicing it on a regular basis.  There are apps for meditation, books and magazines, and doctors and therapist prescribing it to patients. It is now as much a part of a healthy lifestyle as diet and exercise. Much of this integration is due to the large amounts of research that support meditation as a way to transform your daily habits, by rewiring your brains coping mechanisms and stress patterns.

Here are a few ways meditation can help you:

  • Research has shown that meditation is not only creates a few moments of calm in an otherwise hectic day, but it actually rewires your brain to handle stress better.
    • It also helps decrease activity in the amygdala, the home of our “fight or flight” response. Too much stress an trauma can cause your amygdala to work in overdrive. Meditation has been shown to help decrease that response, so you are better able to work through stressful situations on a daily basis.
    • This means that if you suffer from a lot of anxiety or stress, due to the chaos of your daily life, meditation can help you reduce it and gain some control over your day. Instead of going straight into panic mode when something arises, meditation helps your brain pause and rethink your reactions.
  • Regular meditation can also help to improve your memory and perhaps even prevent or slow the progression of diseases of the mind, such as dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
    • This is because meditating actually helps your brain to function better. According to a study from University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds in Mindful Magazine, regular meditation can increase the gray matter thickness of your brain, which can help you with everyday functions like problem solving, attention and memory.
    • One particular meditation, according to several studies and the AlzheimerPrevention.org, chanting Sa Ta Na Ma, has been shown in studies to help treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.  This is a chanting meditation that you perform for 12 minutes. It has a set rhythm and pattern. You can find the steps here or follow along with this guided meditation.
  • Meditation also helps you to relax more, which can help reduce cortisol in your body. Cortisol is the hormone that releases when you are feeling stressed. It is a natural response to stress, but can go into overdrive when you are constantly stressed, such as when you are burnt out. This constant stream of the hormone can contribute to weight gain around your middle, increased anxiety, decreased digestion, sleep problems, heart issues and memory problems, to name a few. Meditating can help reduce and regulate your cortisol release, to help bring balance back into your body and mind.

Now that you know why meditation can be so important to reduce stress and burn out, try to make it part of your daily routine. It doesn’t have to be stressful or even take much time or effort. Try to take 5-10 minutes most days to meditate. Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably, without distractions. If you are comfortable with it, close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and repeat a mantra (quote or saying), count down from 50 or 100, or pay attention to your inhales and exhales. For guidance, you can try one of these downloadable meditation practices from UVA, apps like Pacifica or Headspace or even a Youtube video. If you want a live class or session, many yoga studios and retreat centers offer weekly meditation classes. You can also try one of these downloadable meditations from the Meditation and Audio Library or sign up for the “SLP ToolBox” which features even more free meditations and resources to reduce stress and burn out.

For even more, insight sand practices to use to reduce your burn out and manage stress as an SLP, check out one of these Continuing Education webinars (you’ll earn hours towards your certification!):

3 Common SLP Stressors and How to Manage Them  on Xceptional ED (1.5 CMH Hours)

Managing Common SLP Stressors before Burn Out Occurs on Northern Speech Services (2.5 ASHA CEU hours .025 units)

3 Biggest Stressors for SLPs and What to Do About Them on Speechpathology.com (1.5 hours ASHA CEU .15 units)

It doesn’t matter what you try or how you decide to meditate, just find the one that feels right for you and that you can make into a regular practice. Then let me know how it goes! Leave a comment below if you have given it a try or already have a meditation practice. Which works for you and why?  If you have a regular meditation practice that has helped you, please share with others to help them see the benefits and get started.

Much Love,

1741931346171517140715

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5Dec

Burn Out and What to Do About It

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice
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Burn Out Webinar PinterestAs Helping Professionals, especially Speech Language Pathologists, we are no stranger to feeling stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted. But did you know that these can lead to a condition called Burn Out?

Most SLPs love their work and are passionate about helping people, young and old, to communicate, grow and thrive to the best of their abilities, but at some point this passion starts to fade. The stress of paperwork, productivity and managing a caseload can start to make it hard to really enjoy the work, continue to learn and grow as a therapist or to even feel supported and respected by your co-workers. As this stress and dispassion builds, it can become chronic and lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and burn out. (more…)

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28Nov

4 Ways for SLPs to Increase Your Energy at Work

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Well-Being
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SLP Work Energy Pinterest (1)

Have you ever had one of those days where you didn’t do anything physically, or even mentally, exhausting, but you feel completely drained and exhausted by the end of the day. These are the days that can easily make you feel like you are in the wrong job, aren’t good enough or are completely out of balance. I had one of these days recently, and just felt so exhausted by the end of the day. My caseload had been pretty easy, I had plenty of sleep the night before and I didn’t do any extra work that day. By the end of the day, though, I was too exhausted to make dinner, go for a walk or really be of much company to anyone.

It kind of sucked.

I often find that the days I sit at my computer, typing, for hours at a time are the most exhausting ones. The days where I am up and moving, or in and out of my office, are the days when I feel energized and ready to do more after work. Sometimes, it can also be a really tough caseload or overbooking my students. But other times, it has nothing to do with the work itself.

You might find that it’s not the work you are doing, but the way you are experiencing your work day that is taking a toll on you, physically and mentally. Your posture, the meals you are or aren’t eating, and what you are drinking might all be things that can zap or give you energy. If you often feel exhausted at the end of the day, try these 4 tips for more energy.

  1. Swap coffee for water, or at the least, tea.
    • Caffeine can be just what you need at certain times of the day. It provides a little invigoration, helps wake you up, and studies even show it helps to give you more mental clarity and focus. But overdoing caffeine can do the exact opposite. You might find your energy plummets, you feel jittery and nervous, and you suddenly feel scatter-brained.The best thing to do is to drink more water, whether or not you cut back on coffee. This will help you to stay hydrated and flush out any symptoms you might accidentally have from over-caffeinating. Try swapping out coffee for some caffeine-free or low-caffeine drinks instead. Tea is also a great option, hot or cold, if you need a little boost or flavor, without the huge crash from coffee. Go for a cup of coffee in the morning and a chai or green tea latte in the afternoons.
  2. Find some down time. 
    • Work can be all about productivity. If you aren’t helping clients and making money for the facility (or yourself), it might not seem like time well spent. Unfortunately, this type of go-go-go attitude can lead you to burn out, quickly. If you don’t have time to recharge at work, you won’t be able to keep up the pace, stay focused and get done what needs to get done, as efficiently.Have you ever had a day with no breaks and a million things to do, only to find yourself staring blankly at your computer screen, not focusing during your sessions and feeling completely disorganized with your paperwork? Instead of rushing around and doing a million things at once, take 5 minutes to grab a cup of tea, stretch, go for a walk, etc. You’ll be a little more clear headed, have more energy flowing through your body and be more ready to tackle the tasks at hand.
  3. Get up and move during the day. 
    • Sitting at a desk, in one spot during the day can really start to wear on you. NPR recently released an article showcasing just how many hours we sit during a day, and how it can affect your overall health more and more as you age. It’s not just your risk of heart disease, diabetes or weight gain, but also your body actually starting to age and tighten into a “sitting” stance. In yoga, sitting is done during meditation, with a tall spine, so energy and breath can travel through the body as you sit, and your digestive system is uncompromised and able to do its job. This is rarely the way we sit during the day at work. We tend to slump, slouch and cave in a bit. If you find it hard to sit with good posture, or find yourself sitting all day, you might notice your energy levels slump, you breath is more shallow and you feel sluggish and tired.To help combat this, take 5 minutes after every few sessions to get up and move. Walk to grab more water or tea or a bathroom break, do some push-ups and squats at your work station with your desk and chair or even just get up and stretch. You’ll release tension, lengthen your spine and breath deeper, so you start to feel more energized, focused and ready for the next patient or student to walk through your door.
  4. Eat Something.
    • When you are busy and stressed, one of the easiest things to forget is to take a break and eat. When I was working in the schools, I would often have just a few moments to grab my lunch, or eat a snack during my morning and afternoon. I was constantly hungry and has a stomach ache every day.  I also felt exhausted and foggy-headed on a regular basis. Most teachers and health care workers I know ate even less than that. Many would wait until the end of work to eat, or just drink coffee all day and have a really big dinner at night. Coincidentally, these were some of the people who were either super stressed or in really poor health.
    • Without nourishment from food, your body and brain are not able to maintain the energy and focus needed to get you through your work day. You r body needs the carbs and protein to maintain the proper energy levels throughout the day. Your brain needs healthy fats (like those in nuts) to function properly. All of these help to combat the feelings of mental fatigue and physical exhaustion we experience throughout the day. Not eating during the day, or not getting enough calories, can also send your metabolism into “starvation mode”. This means your body thinks you are trying to fast for the long winter, so it slows down and hold on to everything it can. It can cause you to gain weight or have a difficult time maintaining your weight, even though you feel like you never eat.  Make sure you have scheduled breaks for meals and snacks, even just a few minutes, so you are able to make a proper meal or snack to fuel you through your day. Have fresh fruits, nuts and whole grains nearby, so you’ll have something even on the shortest of breaks.

If you are feeling drained by the end of the day, give these a try. See which one might be affecting you the most and try to make a small change each day to increase your energy level. Leave a comment and share what works for you. You can help keep track of your energy levels with the “Daily Check-in” journal page found in the SLP Toolbox (subscribe below).

If you are still feeling exhausted and want to dig deeper into it, make sure to check out these webinars (certification hours and CEUs!) to reduce your stress, and increase your energy.

3 Common SLP Stressors and How to Manage Them  on Xceptional ED (1.5 CMH Hours)

Managing Common SLP Stressors before Burn Out Occurs on Northern Speech Services (2.5 ASHA CEU hours .025 units)

3 Biggest Stressors for SLPs and What to do About Them on SpeechPathology.com (1.5 ASHA CEU hours .15 units

The more awake and alive you feel at the end of a work day, the better you will feel after work and looking ahead to the next day.

Much Love,

1741931346171517140715

 

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9Oct

What to do When SLP Self-Care Gets Stressful

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care
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slp self-careA few weeks ago I started back to work after the summer break. We had moved, my daughter was now in preschool and I had a brand new office I was getting set up. I had a new caseload for work and I was creating a more expanded schedule than the year before. There was time built into my schedule for lunch each day. I also planned flex time in the mornings and afternoons, to prepare for the day. This included self-care such as meditation or yoga or a walk outside. My daily SLP self-care routines had become pretty important to me for a few reasons.

  • My anxiety had increased with the stress of the move. I could feel it creeping up and needed time to myself to breath and relax again
  • Yoga and hiking were good for my body and mind, since they helped me work up a sweat. They also give me time to reflect on a mat or in nature.
  • Meditation was good for my brain. Not only was meditation good for easing some anxiety, it is also said to be great for preventative health care. I have a few family members with dementia and meditation has been shown to help maintain and improve your brain function.

It seemed perfect until reality hit. There would never be a day with a “perfect” schedule for all the SLP self-care things I wanted or needed to do. There would be mornings that didn’t run smoothly and I would use up all of that extra time on other things. I would have days with a gazillion emails that needed to be sent or the dogs would need to go out again. I would forget I was supposed to prep dinner a few hours early. They were all normal things, but at times really seemed to pile up.

I was feeling super rushed one week in particular. My morning had been hijacked by clients calling with scheduling issues. I was running late for work and not able to find the breakfast I wanted. In the afternoon, I was out walking the dogs, thinking about how if they hurried, I ‘d have 5 minutes to pee, make tea and get settled before my next session Then I would be able to squeeze in my daily meditation right after work and before my family arrived home. If I planned everything just perfectly, I’d be able to make it all happen, as long as not one thing fell out-of-place. Then it hit me. I was starting to find myself stressed about squeezing in my SLP self-care – the thing that was supposed to help me manage stress.

Have you ever had one of those moments, where it seemed like everything you were doing to feel better or do better was absolutely futile?

If you feel that way often, you might too be finding yourself stressed over your personal self-care routine.  You might be constantly stressing about how to not stress or worrying over how much self-care practices you can actually get in during one day. You may even be pushing to make it all happen, despite your crazy work schedule.

There are a few reasons this could be happening and a few things you can do to make it better.

Here is What to do When Your SLP Self-Care Gets Stressful:

  1. Check Your Schedule: If you feel like you are struggling to squeeze in your self-care practice into your already jam packed schedule, your schedule itself might be to blame. When we are stressed, we often start adding things into our day that are supposed to help us release stress. But if your schedule is already packed, adding in one more thing might make your stress levels skyrocket. Instead, try to look at your schedule and see where you can make an adjustment or find some time that you didn’t realize was there. You might notice you have a break after work or before bedtime, but tend to go on Facebook or Instagram. Instead, do your practice first, then hop on the social media sites.
  2. Change your work: Often we blame work for being the main thing that takes up all of our time and stops us from taking time for ourselves. If your work schedule is out of control, you might need to see how you can reorganize or prioritize it. Look at how you start your day and end your day, and when you actually arrive and leave. Look at any gaps in your day. Where you might be able to consolidate some activities you have planned? You’ll find your schedule might be a little lighter. This will automatically help you reduce stress, as well as find time to fit in your self-care routine.
  3. Change your self-care: You don’t have to do it all, all of the time. Even just 5 minutes of self-care can make a huge difference in balancing your life. If you notice that you are overwhelmed because you can’t fit all of your self-care routines into your day, it might be best to cut back a bit. While meditation, yoga, candle lit baths and a good book are all worthy rituals, trying to squeeze them all into one day might not leave you room to actually relax, breathe and let go of stress. Instead of cramming them all in, pick one or two that seem important on that day. You might find that you have more time to enjoy the practice, instead of just checking off an item from your self-care to-do list.

Just like with your SLP self-care routine, try choosing just one of these to implement. If it works, stick with it. If it doesn’t try another. Find what works right for you and keep it simple. For a few ideas, join the SLP Toolbox, featuring several simple self-care practices.

You can also check out these CEU/CMH Professional Development Webinars:

Have you found an SLP self-care routine that works or ever been stressed out over it? Leave a comment below and share what you do or how you need help doing it better.

Much Love,

1741931346171517140715

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15Sep

How to Start an SLP Gratitude Journal

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Gratitude Journal Techniques for SLPs Reduce Stress
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SLP Gratitude Journal Pinterest

At the end of the summer, I decided I wanted to start a regular meditation practice. I was feeling stress and anxiety creep in from moving, work and life in general. I hopped on YouTube and found a 21-day meditation practice, guided by Oprah and Deepak Chopra. I had done one of these before, so I knew it would be a good blend of meditation and life lessons. As I sat on my meditation cushion, listening to Oprah explain the purpose of the practice that day, she started talking about finding hope through gratitude. She mentioned how this was a turning point for her and that she had been keeping a gratitude journal for more than 20 years.

I realized that a lot of what I had been feeling, the stress and overwhelm, had to do with not recognizing the positive things that were happening each day. I would look around and see the things at my house that needed to be fixed: floors that weren’t finished, rooms that needed to be painted, boxes that needed to be unpacked, and the day-to-day chores that were piling up. I would look at my yard and see grass that needed to be mowed, clippings to mow and trees to trim, not to mention spiderwebs to knock down. My nightstand was full of books I needed to finish. Yoga mats were rolled up in their corner instead off being used. regularly. I wasn’t seeing the beauty and of my house. I wasn’t seeing the wonder of having trees surrounding me and trails to walk. The yoga mats were there for when I was ready to hop on them and the books were waiting for me to crack them open anytime. My brain was stuck in the cycle of waking up and seeing the stress, living each day with the negatives of the stress and not being able to make a change to break the cycle. I needed something to help me get unstuck. I decided that maybe having a moment to write down a positive to even just think of something positive from my day, or week, would help me get out of this funk.

As an SLP, and most likely a stressed out one, I know you can relate to this sinking feeling. At times it seems like nothing in your work setting is how it should be, you can’t help your clients due to lack of budget, training or support, and you feel absolutely overworked and underappreciated.

According to Positive Psychology, it takes 3 positive experiences to make up for a negative one. That means that our brains are wired to remember the things that aren’t great, instead of the things that are. When you look back on your day, if this balance is off, and you have more negatives than the 3:1 ratio, your brain will register it as a negative day. This also relates to your basic survival needs. When we were hunters and gatherers, we always had to be looking for the worst in things, and expecting it, as a means of survival. We had to look out for danger around every corner. Now we do not, but our brains are still ready for that threat at any time.

Your brain is also wired to define experiences as positive or negative based on which note they end. If you end on a low note, your are bound to remember the day as being negative. Think about one of those days when everything has gone great, but you have a fight with your spouse right before bed, you probably categorized that day as being  a “bad” or stressful one. Conversely, if you end on a high note, you are bound to remember it as being a positive day. Think about one of these days that started rough, but turned itself around with a few really fun and special moments that made you smile by the end of the day.

Having a gratitude journal can help to not only end on a high note, but also recall more of the positive things from your day, no matter how big or small they might be.

A gratitude journal is nothing more than a place for you to record your thoughts on a day or week, or even month. It is a place for you to reflect on all the good that has happened, and to look back over time at all of the good things that have occurred in your life. Many people, like Oprah, find that having years of gratitude journals to look back at help them to feel uplifted when they are feeling down, as well as look back over the years with fondness.

How to Write a Gratitude Journal:

  • Take 5 minutes out of your day, preferably at the end of the day, to start your journal. Try to do this right before you go to bed once a day, week or few times a month. At the end of the day, you’ll be able to reflect back on all that has happened. It will also help you to empty out your thoughts and end your day on a final note, which might help you sleep better.
  • List 5 things that you consider positive from the day. It doesn’t matter how big or small, as long as it was something positive. It could be a promotion at work or a new job, being recognized for your hard work, having a co-worked to vent with, baby smiles, a fun client, green-lights on your commute or simply a stranger smiling and saying hello.
  • Expand on each item. What emotion did you feel or do you feel when you think back on that instance in your day? What was it about that moment that made you feel so positive?
  • Optional: Try to find a way to continue it tomorrow. Reflect on how you can have that feeling on a regular basis. Maybe you make time for your friends, pay it forward with a kind smile or even recognize someone else for their hard work.

If you’d like even more, sign up for the newsletter to get access to the “Daily Reflections” guide full of daily prompts and meditations perfect for journaling. You can sign up below and you’ll receive access to the “SLP Toolbox” as well.

Where do you feel you are lacking gratitude in your life? Is it home life, work a bit of both? Leave it in the comments below with your intentions for starting a gratitude journal. If you’ve ever written one, leave a comment or comment on someone else’s post to let them know how it went for you.

Much Love,

1741931346171517140715

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1Sep

3 Ways to Beat SLP Burn Out Before It Begins

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out
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3 Ways to Beat SLP Burn Out Pinterest

A little over 6 years ago, I was a burnt out SLP. It was my 3rd year in the field and I had been lied to by a supervisor, laid off, hated my new job, was bitter, tired and completely dispassionate about my work. Every night I would start to feel an overwhelming sense of dread, because I knew that the next day would arrive too soon, too early, with too much I wasn’t looking forward to. My schedule didn’t work for me, I didn’t really feel like I was making a difference and, honestly, I just didn’t care about my work. I was miserable with every moment of my work day, and felt like a fraud trying to hide it.

I was also miserable in other parts of my life, because that burn out seeped through to things that had nothing to do with work. It was one of the loneliest points in my life and I felt like I was losing myself a little more each day to my burn out.

Burn out is no joke and is actually a recognized diagnosis by the World Health Organization. It is defined as exhaustion of physical or emotional strength usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. The  Mayo Clinic defines job specific burn out as a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work. This means burn out, especially from work, is a real condition that can absolutely affect all aspects of your daily life. It can exhaust you, physically and mentally, due to long term stress and lead to a host of other health ailments. It can lead to insomnia, depression, anxiety, obesity, heart disease and stroke, just to name a few.

The SLP world is filled with many people who feel they have or are nearing burn out. If you have ever hopped on an SLP FB group , you have likely seen at least one post about someone who is starting to feel dispassionate about the career they once loved, or a grad student who is terrified they spent all their savings on a degree they don’t want to use. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm, more than people discussing how much they love their current position and job. “Helping” professions in general are more prone to burn out, and SLPs, with the high demands from caseloads and often lower recognition, are almost set up for burn out.

When I was going through this 6 years ago, I didn’t know burn out was a thing. I thought I was just unable to handle stress or that I had made a terrible career choice for myself. I didn’t know that so many other SLPs felt the same way. My co-workers really seemed to love their job, or seemed to thrive off of the constant stress and high demands. I, however, felt like I was losing a piece of myself more and more every day that I was working in the field until I finally decided to quit.

At the time, I had no idea what I was doing, but I was actually taking steps to treat and heal my burn out. I thought I hated being an SLP, but I really just needed to figure out how to deal with the stress I was experiencing and find fulfillment again. It took me a long time, but if I had started when I first suspected I was getting burnt out, things might have been very different.

If you feel like you might be heading that way, here are 3 things to do before burn out begins:

  • Sleep:
    • Its no surprise that you might need more sleep, but are you actually taking steps to get more? Sleep helps you to restore you body and mind, aiding in recovery after a long and trying day. According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep not only aids in your physical health, but also your emotional health. When you sleep, your brain builds new pathways and restores tired ones. This helps you to problem solve, make decisions and even control your emotions. All of these will help improve your well-being and efficiency during your work day.
    • Burn out can cause you to feel exhausted mentally and physically, and it can also lead to insomnia. All of this means you can feel like you aren’t getting enough sleep. But it can still be hard to get 7-8 hours a night. To make sure you are getting enough sleep, try setting an alarm 20 minutes before you need to be asleep, have a nighttime routine that you follow each evening and set the mood for your room (make it cooler, turn off devices, play white noise, etc). Don’t aim for perfection, that can cause stress and less sleep, just try to get a few more minutes of sleep each night.
  • Gratitude Journal:
    • According to Positive Psychology, it takes 3 positive moments to balance out 1 negative moment in our day. Our brains are also hardwired to recall the negative things or “dangers” from our day, instead of the positive things that happened. It’s part of our survival mode. This can make it really hard to remember and feel like there was any good to your day. If you had a day packed with a difficult caseload, mountains of paperwork and tense IEP meetings, you might be feeling really negative about your work. Writing down some of the good things, even small moments like a smile from a student or an email from a co-worker. It could even be something like a really good latte or no traffic on the commute. This practice can help you to feel more uplifted about your day and remember the positive moments that happened.
    • It also helps to end on a high note. We tend to categorize moments from your day based on how they ended, no matter how great they were overall. If it ends on a bad note, we’ll remember it. If it ends on a great note, we’ll remember it as being better than it was.
    • Try to do this right before bed, so you end your entire day on a positive note. Take about 2-5 minutes for this practice and keep it simple.
  • Meditate : And perhaps take a few really good, deep breaths.
    • In the past, meditation was seen as something that was for the woo-woo’s of the world, the new age or old school, or the hippy-dippy, but in recent years, meditation, along with yoga and deep breathing, has gone mainstream. Research has shown that meditation is not only great for creating a few moments of calm in an otherwise hectic day, but it actually rewires your brain to handle stress better, improve your memory and perhaps even prevent diseases of the mind. This done by helping your brain function better. According to Mindful Magazine, a study from University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds shows meditation can increase your gray matter thickness, which can help you with everyday functions like problem solving, attention and memory. It also helps decrease activity in the amygdala, which houses our “fight or flight” response and be triggered from stress and anxiety.
    • It has also been shown to help you focus better, which plays a huge part in feeling like you are working more efficiently and making decisions with ease.
    • Getting into the relaxation zone also helps you to reduce cortisol, the hormone that releases when you are feeling stressed and burnt out, and is also a contributor to weight gain around your middle, increased anxiety, decreased digestion, sleep problems, heart issues and memory problems, to name a few. Meditating can help reduce and regulate your cortisol release, to help bring balance back into your body and mind.
    • Take just 5-10 minutes a day to meditate.  Find a quiet, comfortable seat and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths and repeat a mantra (quote or saying), count down from 50 or 100, or pay attention to your inhales and exhales. Here are a few meditations from the Balanced SLP audio library: Free Meditations. You can also try one of these downloadable meditation practices from UVA.

*A few other things that might help are exercising and eating well. Preventing (and often treating ) burn out is all about treating yourself with a little more care. Fill up your cup, so you have enough to share during your day. 

Managing stress and preventing (or sometimes even treating) burn out is all about taking care of yourself. These tips might seem so simple, but if you take a moment to think, you might realize you are not doing them as often as you need to. You might be surprised to find out that you know to do them, but aren’t making it happen. When we are feeling overworked and overwhelmed, it is often because we have put everyone else before ourselves, letting our cup empty and dry up until we have absolutely nothing left to give. Try adding on one of these exercises at a time. If they don;t seem right for yo, simply make time to do something just for you each day. A cup of tea, a yoga class, a few moments with a good book. Try and find ways to connect with what you really want and need from your work and life, not just that is going wrong. It might make all the difference.

If you feel that you are not just heading in that direction, but are already there, you might want to reach out to a coach or to get some help moving beyond it. Here are a few resources to get help: Burn out. Depression. 

Have you ever dealt with burn out or feel that stress is starting to creep in more and more at work? Leave a comment below or share what you did to help it on someone else’s comment. I’d love to hear from you and see how we can support each other. Remember, you are not alone.

If you need more support, please email me to schedule a consultation and talk about starting The Balanced Life Coaching program. jessi@jessiandricks.com

Much Love,

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PS As always, this is not medical advice. Please consult a medical professional if you are experiencing burn out, depression or anxiety, or as needed. 

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