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16Jun

Reset in 1 Minute: Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Reduce Stress
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1 minute meditation for slps

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,

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11Jun

The Reality of Work-Life Balance for SLPs: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Reduce Stress
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work-life balance as an SLP

Please note this was recorded pre-COVID-19. There are many additional stressors that throw life off balance currently, and these can also help in our current times and situations.

As SLPs, there is a tendency to go all in on the things that matter to us – our work, our families, our students/clients, our interests in the field and research, and our causes we fight for. It is an intensity which drives so much of what we do and how we live. This intensity is what got many of us into the field, and it is also what can cause many of us to leave, feeling burned out, stressed out and overwhelmed by a lack of balance in life.

This lack of work-life balance as an SLP is in no way your fault. It is part of the way your brain is set up to respond to stress. It is part of a survival mechanism that does not always work in day-to-day life. Instead, it can leave you feeling stressed out constantly, guilty about not spending enough tome at work or at home, and “off balance”. It feels as if there is no way to dedicate the correct, even amount of time to each part of life, especially when you feel so passionate and intensely about each part.

The truth is, it will never be even or completely balanced 50/50. Work-life balance in this way is really a myth or not realistic. But, it can exist in a different way.

In episode 12 of the SLP Stress Management Podcast, I’ll share why work-life balance as an SLP, as you typically think about it, sets you up for failure, as well as how it works in reality (and how you can make it work for you as an SLP).

You can check out the episode below, and on any of you podcast apps. All episodes are also available to listen to here: SLP Stress Management Podcast.


Like what you heard? You can check out even more SLP Stress Management tools and insights in the Professional Development webinars here: SLP PD


And be sure to sign up for the FREE resource library, SLP Toolbox, for stress management audios, templates, guides and more created for SLPs by an SLP. It also gets you on the list to be the first to hear about the SLP Stress Management Online Course when it launches in late June 2020! Sign up below.



Much Love,

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3Jun

5 Ways to Practice Self-Care as an SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care
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self-care as an SLPLet’s be completely for a moment. Being an SLP is super awesome and rewarding, and at times super draining, stressful and downright exhausting. You most likely got into the field because you wanted to help people. From babies to kiddos to teenagers to adults to the elderly, there is something that you can offer them to help improve their daily life and help them thrive, communicate and, when needed, swallow and get nourishment. And the field only continues to grow as we learn more and our roles expand.

So, yeah, it can be rewarding. And, yeah, it can be stressful.

There is a thing that happens in a profession like ours, one where you help people ALL DAY EVERYDAY. It often leads to chronic stress and burn out and can make you either continue to live feeling overwhelmed and stressed each day, or cause you to quit completely. You see, as a “Helping Professional”, and I dare to say even more so for SLPs with our vast role, you are giving to others to the point of exhaustion. There is often no break during your day, there are infinite tasks to do in addition to your therapy, and you constantly feel like you need to do more, learn more and be more for your clients/students/patients. So you do more, and you give more, until you don’t have a lot left to give. And yet you still try to give more. It’s like pouring from an empty cup and hoping for a few more drops to come out, or scraping the bottom of an empty barrel.

And all of this is for others. So it is no wonder that you are exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed.

The thing you, well we as a whole, keep trying to do is push through and give more, and what you, we, really need is to take a pause and fill back up. Give some BACK to yourself, so you are not empty, depleted or drained. Restore and recharge, so you can not only give back to others, but also make it through each day OK and eventually thriving.

The biggest thing – make time for Self-Care as an SLP.

And by self-care, I am talking about taking time to restore, check in and take care of yourself. Not to check out, binge your favorite show and down a bottle of wine/bar of chocolate/tube of cookie dough, while denying you have to work in the morning (it happens to the best of us!). 

Self-Care is not just a trendy thing. It is in fact science backed, which is what we look for as SLPs. Studies show that true Self-Care activities can help you to be more present, enjoy your day, and decrease your overall stress AND the way stress affects you.

It’s not always easy or purely fun, because true Self-Care as an SLP is WORK, but is makes all the difference. And, eventually, it becomes a part of your day that you really can’t make it through without. It takes you from struggling to survive each day, to fully thriving each day.

Here are a few ways to Practice Self-Care as an SLP:

  • Take breaks during the day:
    • This can be super challenging, especially when you work from home (which you most likely are at this moment). Make sure to take some breaks, even short ones, to eat, stretch, move, pee, whatever it is you need to do. It gives your brain and body a chance to recharge, so you can show up more focused, engaged and ready.
  • Get some rest:
    • It sounds easier than it is. If you are working round the clock to get your paperwork and other “tasks” completed, or find yourself binge watching late into the night to avoid your stress, you might be lacking in rest. Or you might be feeling like your thoughts start spinning as soon as your head hits the pillow. Try to set a reminder or timer before you need to head to bed, so you have time to unwind first. Then, if your thoughts are spiraling, try a journal practice called “brain dump” to put all the thoughts down on paper and get them out of your head.
  • Try being mindful:
    • Mindfulness simply means being aware and checking on how you are doing. You could try giving yourself a moment to check in when you wake up to see how you feel that day. Then use that awareness of how you are today to be realistic of how you might show up, react and move through the day.
  • Get up and move
    • Easier said than done. It can be easy to slip into the habit of working, and then working just a little more, and then a little more, until you have spent the entire day sitting Most likely, it leaves your body stiff, your brain frazzled, and an overall feeling of sluggishness. Try moving, even to walk to get coffee or water, a few times a day. Go outside for a quick stretch. Get up and take 100 steps. Do a few laps around your house or office. Stretch at your desk. All of these can help you to feel better and maintain energy during your day .
    • (Check out some of the Mindful Movement downloadable audios in the SLP Toolbox).
  • Eat and hydrate
    • It something you need to do, but might be forgetting to really do this during the day. Make sure you take tome to stay hydrated throughout your day. Coffee is great, but too much can make you feel less than good. Also include some water to sip on, keeping you hydrated, feeling good, and helping your voice to stay steady. Have a water bottle on your desk an refill as needed.
    • Snacks are important too. They help your body and brain function and focus. Make time for snack breaks and a full lunch. If you need to, have healthy snacks at your desk that you can eat in between sessions to help you stay energized.

For Self-Care resources, made just for SLPs, make sure to sign up for the FREE SLP Toolbox below. You’ll get weekly updates and resources to help you manage and reduce stress that can lead to burn out.

 

You can also learn more about managing stress and practicing self-care as an SLP in the following CEU/CMH courses:

Much Love,

 

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29May

7 Stretches to Do at Your Desk: Mindful Movement for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care Teletherapy
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desk stretches for SLPs

One of the best things to do for stress is to incorporate some kind of physical movement into your day, like simple desk stretches for SLPs. Even small, short things, like stretching, can help you to reduce some tension, physical and mental, that leads to stress.

Your body can give you big insights into the stress you are feeling, and can sometimes cause you to feel tension. In yoga, you’ll often hear the teacher talk about “holding tension in the body”. They usually are referring to something in the shoulders or hips, that holds to more tension throughout the rest of the body.

  • Tension in your shoulders could lead to tension in your neck, upper back, jaw, or even chest. Think of sitting at your desk and having your shoulders scrunched up by our ears, and the discomfort this usually brings. This can cause headaches, back aches, and overall achiness that can lead to physical tension, which then creates more mental tensions.
  • Tight hips (huge muscles that connect to a lot of other areas in the body) can cause lower backaches, hip flexor tightness, knee pain, and, well, achy hips. This can create more physical aches and pains, as well as mental stress.

The trick here is that the physical stress can cause the mental stress, but the mental stress can cause the physical stress as well.

  • Stress causes you to tighten your shoulders and clench your jaw
  • Stress causes you to slouch and sink into your hips, causing your back to feel tense.

So what to do?

If you are stuck at your desk, and feeling tense (hello working in teletherapy or doing paperwork and reports), stretching while at your desk is key.

You might not have time to get up and move around, but you can sit back for a moment, in between sessions or notes, and stretch these key areas. Which causes you to reduce that tightness, take a breath and pause, and maybe even deepen your breathing while you do so, in turn reducing your stress even more.

My favorite stretches (as an SLP, someone working from home and in teletherapy, and as a yoga teacher) are ones that:

  • Stretch the hips
  • “Wring out” the spine aka gently twist
  • Relax the shoulders
  • Stretch the neck and shoulders (and upper back)

You can try some desk stretches for SLPs on your own when you have a chance, or check out the guided Mindful Movement audio download, “7 Stretches to Do at Your Desk”, available exclusively in the SLP Toolbox.

Not a member? You can subscribe below to this FREE resource full of SLP Stress Management tools created for SLPs by an SLP.

For more stress management, check out these CMH/CEU Professional Development webinars:

Much Love,

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22May

Take 10 Breaths: Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Reduce Stress Self Care
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10 breaths mindfulness mediation for SLPs

Do you ever have those moments, as an SLP or just as a human, where you need to pause and maybe even hit a reset button? With a lot of chaos and uncertainty going on, now and even before, it can add to the feelings of overwhelm and stress that happen for many SLPs. And it can make you feel like you aren’t able to be present to the moments you are in.

On a really long day, one that has me pulled in a lot of different directions or is just mentally draining, I like to take a brief moment of self-care to check in and hit “reset”, before I leave my office and head into family time. One way to do this is to go on a walk or practice yoga. These help me feel refreshed and clear my head.

But one other thing that helps, especially when I am limited in my time and need a reset on the go (or even in the midst of therapy sessions, family time, my kids, my dogs, or just stress from the day and the world) is to stop, close my eyes, slow down and take 10 breaths.


In those 10 breaths, I can check in with myself and see how I am feeling underneath it all. Those 10 breaths allow me to slow my breath and calm my nervous system. And in 10 breaths, I can take a mini-break before I jump back in.

For you, these 10 breaths can help you to feel more grounded and steady throughout your day an an SLP, even in the middle of chaos, hectic schedules, and life at home.

Here is how to take 10 breaths:

  • Find a seat or stand still
  • Close your eyes or soften your gaze
  • Maybe bring one hand to your belly and one to your heart (so you can feel your breath moving in and out)
  • Take a deep breath in and then a deep breath out
  • Repeat 10 times

That’s it!

If you prefer a guided meditation, or want to follow along and learn this practice, you can check out 2 of these “10 Breath Meditation Practice” in the SLP Toolbox.

Not a member of this FREE resource for SLPs? You can subscribe below for access to these meditations audios, as well as other meditation and movement audios, and more.


If you are looking to dive even deeper into managing your stress, look for the upcoming SLP Stress Management Course, enrolling Summer 2020, and check out these CEU/CMH Professional Development courses:

Much Love,

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11May

How to Have a Better Morning as an SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care
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Morning routine

You may have heard of morning routines before, and felt that either they would be awesome to have, you absolutely love having one, or you in no way saw that happening for you and it’s not important anyway, or somewhere in between.

I am someone that dreams of having a morning routine – I wake up before the kids, do some quiet time (like meditation, stretching or journaling) with my coffee, and then get a little bit of writing and creating done before the kids are awake.

In my mind, I am up before anyone else in the house for an hour or so and then everyone slowly wakes up to a productive, put together, and awake mom. And then I am ready to take on the day and rock it as an SLP, without having to worry about fitting in coffee, moving, getting dressed, journals, etc.

Right now, it is more like, roll out of bed when the baby wakes up or the kiddo comes in to my room. Sleepily try to get breakfast, feed a baby, make coffee and then get dressed mid-morning and squeeze all my work into small windows throughout the day, eventually just working at night.

It’s less than desirable. And each day I plan to make it different, but usually end up in the same routine. Change is hard, especially when things are this uncertain (at the time of publication, there is a global pandemic going on).

But on a recent morning, I woke up 10 minutes earlier – not on purpose. I did a quick meditation, got dressed and had more time to get everyone else ready. It wasn’t my ideal, dream morning routine, but it ended up giving me MUCH more time throughout the day, and I could use my energy to do things I wanted, instead of feel overwhelmed, stressed and constantly “behind” (on what, I’m not sure).

I hope to keep this small shift going, and slowly lead to bigger shifts and changes in my morning as I can.

Morning routines are important, even though they sound a little fluffy and superficial, because they can set the tone for your day – either rushed and lacking energy or calm and energizing – and help you to have those small moments to check in, set up your day, and see what you have going on (or do something for yourself), without feeling pulled in a million directions immediately upon waking up.

Here are a few ways to create a morning routine:

  1. Wake up just a few minutes earlier, and then build on it.You don;t have to go all out right now. That amount of overwhelm can set you up for a pass/fail mindset, where you feel like if you don;t do it exactly, then it isn’t worth it at all. INstead, keep building up on small changes that will make it happen easier.
  2. Use the time to check in with yourself. See how you are doing that day, before you have demands from work, family and life floating in. Are you feeling good, tired, stressed, overwhelmed, energized, motivated, etc? From there, you can see what you need from your day and what you can expect from yourself. (it is ok to not be 100%).
  3. Do a little self-care. Move, meditate, journal, create, anything goes here. You could even sit in silence with a cup of coffee or go for a walk in your neighborhood (if it is safe to do so where you live).
  4. Set an intention. You could think of this as a to-do for the day. This gives you a little extra motivation and awareness as you move though, so everything you do can be in alignment with that intention and purpose for your day. 
  5. Get some sleep. I know this sounds counterintuitive to telling you to get up a little earlier. Make sure you are still getting sleep. If needed, go to bed a few minutes earlier. You could maybe set an alarm when it’s time to start getting ready for bed, or decide to watch just 1 or 2 shows in the evening.

Even just doing one of these morning routines can start to create that small shift that leads to you taking charge of your day, instead of feeling like the day is taking charge of you. It can help to better manage your stress and bring you more balance during your day. Start trying them and see what works best for you. Change isn’t easy, but this shift is worth it.

Looking for more resources? Try the SLP Toolbox. It is a FREE resource library full of useful tips and tools, perfect for morning routines, such as meditation and movement audios, journal templates, self-care guides, and daily “must-do” checklists, designed to help you reduce the stress you feel as an SLP.

You can sign up below.

If you are looking to check out more SLP Stress Management, make sure to check out theses courses: SLP PD

Much Love,

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8Apr

How to Create a Balanced Work From Home SLP Schedule

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Change Coronavirus Reduce Stress Teletherapy
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work from home SLP

This has been a crazy month, and much like everyone else I was not prepared, mentally, for how quickly this escalated. I expected that we would need to stay in for a bit, or that schools would gradually close or we’d be a bit restricted in going out and about. But then suddenly, we ALL realized (or most of us) that we needed to be more remote and do things a little differently, and at a distance. 

There are SO many SLPs who are now finding themselves diving into the “work-from” home world, either via teletherapy or just catching up on paperwork, reports and projects that they didn’t have time for before. You may find yourself involved in all of this, while trying to take care of your own family. And, of course, trying to figure out what your new day-to-day looks like. 

It would be enough to stress out anyone, nevermind an SLP who was already feeling a bit of stress. 

One thing is to make sure you are taking time to have some clear boundaries between your work and your home, because there is no longer a building to walk out of or a commute to drive in order to clear your head and put you in the mindset that you are done for the day. In fact, you might notice it is very easy to keep working and not let go of the work day, since home becomes your office.

Here are a few things you can do to help you set boundaries and create a balanced work from home SLP schedule:

  • Set start and end time
    • Working from home can easily blur into your home life and time, especially when you are not leaving the house. Having a clear start time for your day helps you to make sure that you are keeping a set work schedule, so your work doesn’t bleed over into your home life. 
  • Morning Routine
    • Having a morning routine can help you start your day with a little more ease and calm, which can help transfer over into the rest of your day. You can take a few moments before you start work or before anyone else wakes up to find some quiet, check in with yourself, and set an intention for your day. 
  • Transition of some kind
    • At the end of your work day, a transition can help you to mentally step away from work, so you aren’t still ruminating or feeling the need to work when  you are finished for the day. This can be some kind of routine or ritual that you do to let your brain know it’s time to stop for the day. 
  • Breaks and movement
    • Working from home, especially at your computer, can mean a lot of screen time and a lot of time sitting in your office chair. Make sure to plan some time to get up and move, grab water and snacks, or take the dogs for a walk. It will help reduce tension in your body, clear your head, and keep you overall in better health. 

These might seem really simple, or maybe incredibly difficult, but putting them into action can really make all the difference when it comes to creating balance in a work from home SLP schedule.

If you have any questions, or are feeling like you are really struggling right now, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email me at jessi@jessiandricks.com or send a question over to the SLP Stress management FB group. 

Work from home SLP webinar


Join me for a 1 hour webinar “Working from Home for SLPs: Create a Less Stressful Workday During Stressful Times” available now. 

There is already enough stress in your career and enough stress in LIFE right now. Working from home doesn’t need to be an additional stress that sends you straight to burn out. Learn the tips and tools you need to better manage your stress and find more balance in your work from home schedule.

In this webinar you’ll learn:

  • the definition of stress and how SLPs experience it
  • the current changes to stress as an SLP
  • how to separate work and home, when working from home
  • how to set up your schedule for less stress
  • tips for teletherapy and less stress


You can obtain self-reported certificate maintenance hours, as well as a downloadable certificate of completion. 

Sign up and get info here: Work From Home SLP Webinar

Much Love,


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22Feb

Do SLPs need Stress Management or Advocacy and Action?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Reduce Stress
Comments Off on Do SLPs need Stress Management or Advocacy and Action?

Stress management or advocacy

In the weeks following the recent article in the ASHA Leader, it seems that things are still pretty tense. There was a response from ASHA, that was met with mixed reviews, and the article was quietly amended. What has happened is that an discussion has formed and we are now talking as a whole, more openly than ever, about just how difficult it can be to be an SLP. And it has left us in a place of wondering which we need: stress management or advocacy and action?

There are some SLPs that want action and some one to advocate for them, in order to have better workloads, more respect and less debt, as a means of reducing what is causing the stress. Others want real, science-backed tools and resources to help them manage the stress they are experiencing day in and day out.

Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. 

There is definitely a need to restructure some policies and protocols,, because they just make the work nearly impossible to do ant times. And this causes a stress response to be triggered and stay triggered. It creates a cycle that is nearly impossible to get out of and feel good about being at work to do the work you love. But it is also a stress response, which means that some kind of stress management is key to helping you better manage it – if only to find the relief to take action.

I do believe that there are circumstances that are impossible to continue working in without chronic stress and burn out occurring, even with good stress management practices in place. These are the jobs that are simply not sustainable for anyone and need to be changed structurally and within the whole system. These are not fair for an SLP to be in and have to stay working in.

I also believe that we need stress management to help us on a daily basis and to clearly show us if we are in this type of position. 

Stress Management can help in two ways:

  1. It can help you to manage the stress that has been triggered in your brain and body,
    1. Once this is triggered, and turns chronic, there is a cycle that your brain gets stuck in and the stress response is constantly firing. No amount of prepping, organizing or job-switching is going to turn this off. They may help you feel better momentarily, but once a stressful event occurs again, even minor, this cam be triggered majorly. And you are back in full-blown stress.
    2. Stress Management helps you break this cycle, so you can put these other practices into use and really see what shifts you need to make for sustainability – whether it’s prepping, organizing or job-switching.
  2. Stress Management can help you advocate from a stronger, steadier place. 
    1. If you are wanting  to fight and advocate, you need to be able to show up fully, think clearly and get actions made. When you are feeling stressed, scattered and frazzled, it can make it more difficult to put this into action and maintain the mental stamina to see it through. Stress Management tools can help you reduce the stress you feel, so you can take better action.

With all of this being said, you might be wondering what to do now. If the answer to stress management or advocacy is BOTH, the big thing is to take some kind of action. Start looking for ways to manage you stress that are evidenced based and actually work – more than bubble baths, aromatherapy and crying in your car (again, not a management technique) – so you can be the advocate that is needed.

If you would like some resources, you can check out the SLP Stress Management Podcast, or sign up for the FREE SLP Toolbox. This is a free resource library full of stress management tools, like meditations and journaling, made for SLPs. You can sign up below for access:

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If you want to study this a little further, you can check out these online CEU/CMH webinars from some of your favorite sites:


If you’d like to chat about this further or talk about SLP Stress Management Coaching, send me a message to jessi@jessiandricks.com.

Together, as SLPs, we can start to improve our well-being and make the changes we need.

Much Love,

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