During my first few years as and SLP, and even in graduate school, I would often have this little thought creep into my head – “I don’t want to be an SLP anymore”. It would usually pop in at times of challenge, struggle or change, like when I was navigating being a brand new SLP in a new setting, instead of working at a restaurant; or when the hospital I worked at went through a major software upgrade instead of paper charts and all of my billing was lost; or when I had to retake some of my Comprehensive Exams because I didn’t answer them with enough of my own personality (yes, this really happened).

Usually, I would hear the voice, and then the tough time would end, or I would work through it, and I would go back to feeling pretty good about what I was doing. But then over time, I started to hear that voice creep in more and more, and one day I heard it say ” I don’t want to be an SLP anymore”, and I knew that voice was mine and that I meant it this time.

I had been laid off from a pretty awesome job (yes there was stress and I knew I wouldn’t be there forever, but it was still pretty awesome and totally unexpected), I had been fired from my next job for a bad attitude (probably a little bit) while advocating for a patient, and I was working in a school (never a setting I wanted to be in) taking over someone else’s caseload and schedule. I was starting before 7:15am each day and ending a little after 3pm. I would drive home right about the time my husband would head into work. Work-life balance was gone and I just know I didn’t want to be an SLP anymore.

At that time, it wasn’t about finding a new setting. I was burnt out, exhausted and cynical. I had gone from wanting to changes the world and change lives to feeling like I was wasting each day, not making any impact and not helping anyone progress to better communication.

I felt alone. I felt exhausted mentally. I felt like I was constantly struggling. I felt like it wouldn’t get better until I left.

So I did. I left for a new field and had the WORST job experience of my life.

What I found when I left was that there are still some pretty awful non-speech jobs out there, even in your “dream” job. I also found that stress follows you to the new setting or job if you haven’t found a way to work through it.

And, it is often this stress in the first place that makes you feel like you don’t want to be an SLP anymore.

So what if you worked through the stress, instead of leaving your current job or career? You might find that you are able to work through those feeling and that the voice that tells you “I don’t want to be an SLP anymore” slowly fades.

For me, it wasn’t until I worked through my stress that I was really able to enjoy my work as an SLP again. In fact, before I worked through it and found ways to manage my stress, I would often have things at my new job (which I loved) that would trigger those same feelings and start the stress cycle again. Learning how to work through stress first is the key to being able to really do the work you love, whether as an SLP or something else.

Here are 5 steps to work through when you hear yourself say “I don’t want to be an SLP anymore”:

• First – Identify the stress
  • Where during your day are you experiencing stress? Is there a certain instance that happens regularly that causes you to feel more stressed such as a meeting, early client, co-worker, etc.
• Second – Identify the immediate thought or reaction
  • When you are faced with this stress, what is the immediate thought you have (such as my “I don’t want to be an SLP anymore”)?
• Third – Notice patterns
  • When are you having this thought or what else does it trigger (physical tension, stomach ache, head ache, anger, negative thought spiral, etc).
• Fourth – Be Aware
  • Without judgement, start to keep track of how often you have this thought, when it occurs, what happened right before, and what it triggers, so you can start to see patterns that may be occurring. This will help you to work through the situations causing your stress and create a game plan.
• Fifth – Find ways to manage your stress
  • Now that you are aware of your stress, the triggers and any patterns that occur, you can use this awareness to start to create some mindful habits, which will help to manage stress.
  • If a certain situation (like a meeting) bring you stress, try deep breathing to promote relaxation and calm before the interaction.
  • If your schedule is causing you stress, try reworking the times to either start earlier or later, or to work with your own energy levels during the day, so you aren’t pushing to interact when you are tired or stuck doing paperwork when your energy is up and you feel like interacting.
  • Add in a mindfulness and positivity practice to your day, to help you build up resiliency to stress and break any negative thought spirals you might be in. A gratitude journal works great, as does having a morning, evening or end of work routine. Even a 5 minute meditation or stretch can do wonders.

Once you have worked through your stress, then you can really look and see if that voice telling you “I don’t want to be an SLP anymore” is coming from a place of truth or a place of stress. If you still feel like it might not be the right choice, you can start to explore new options, knowing that you have worked through the stress and have tools to keep managing it, no matter where you go.

For even more tools, make sure to check out the SLP Toolbox (whether you decide to leave or stay). If you aren’t also ready a “member” you can sign up below and you’ll get access to a library of resources, updated regularly. It also adds you to the exclusive newsletter, where you’ll get even more tips and be the first to know when my course “SLP Stress Management” launches again (later this year!).

If you need a few more insights into stress and how to manage it, please check out these webinars, available now for CEU and CMH hours.

• 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 2.5 units)
• 3 Biggest Stressors for SLPs and What to do About Them on SpeechPathology.com (1.5 ASHA CEU hours .15 units
• SLP Stress Management: Using Mindfulness to Reduce and Manage Stress on SHAV Webinars (1 ASHA CEU hour, .1 units)

Much Love,