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28Aug

5 Stretches to Help You Slow Down: Mindful Movement for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Mindful Movement Stress Management
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help you slow down

Do you ever feel like you need something to help you slow down, especially when your work day is full of you “pushing” through to get more work done?

When things get stressful, one of the first things I do is tense up, followed by trying to push through to get more done, even though I am already mentally and physically exhausted. It’s a difficult habit to break, and it is one that shows up in so many different jobs and settings that I have worked in.

The truth is, the pushing through doesn’t actually help or get work done in a way that feels good. I might get the task completed, but it is usually just “done”, with little passion or care behind it, and most likely with some errors due to my being exhausted and stressed.

What would work better is if I could slow down, check in with how I am doing, let go of some tension, and then come back when I am more refreshed and ready.

I’ll feel better about the work when I am done, more connected to it, and much less stressed.

With the new school year (whether you are in the schools or not), during a pandemic, you are probably feeling a lot of “push” and a lot of disconnect right from the start. It is likely that you are trying to create a whole new system of working, feel lack of support, and your body and mind are reacting to the stress – tension, tightness, disconnect and more stress.

It is difficult to take time to reduce the pushing and to slow down instead, but, when you can, it makes all the difference. And it can help you move from a place of pushing, or reacting, to a place of responding and connecting.

Here are some of my favorite ways to help you slow down:

My favorite way to slow down, and check in on what I am feeling physically and mentally, is with a Yin-style yoga practice. Yin-style yoga focuses on holding the stretch for a longer amount of time. The idea is that this helps you to get deeper into the tissues and fascia, letting go of tension and stress that builds up. It also gives you time to breathe and check in with each stretch.

The 5 stretches that I like to use when I am feeling tense are:

  • child’s pose
  • side stretch
  • pigeon pose
  • reclined twist
  • savasana/laying flat

I hold each one for 2-5 minutes and breathe. It helps me to explore what I am feeling physically, and see how I might be reacting rather than responding to the sensations. And then I have time to check in mentally to see how I am feeling with the tension I am working through. Plus, it’s nice to slow down and just breathe for a little while, after pushing through all day.

If you are looking to slow down after pushing through the day, you can download the “30 Minute Slow Down Stretch”, a Yin-style yoga practice that helps you slow down, so you can stop reacting to the stress in your body and respond to it instead – or just take a timeout form your busy day.

You can find it in the SLP Toolbox, a free resource site for SLPs to help reduce and manage stress.

Not a member? You can subscribe (its free) for access below:

If you are looking to dive even deeper into managing and understanding the stress you face as an SLP (even when it is during a pandemic, or maybe especially so), check out the SLP Stress Management Course, an 8-week online course that shows you the what and why of stress as an SLP, and how you can manage it, build a foundation of resiliency, and reduce the stress you face, even when you can’t change the reasons for it.

You can find out more info here: SLP Stress Management Course.

Much Love,

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8Aug

Check Out or Check In?: Basic Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Reduce Stress Stress Management
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basic mindfulness meditation for slps

One of the things I like to do when I am feeling stressed especially about my work as an SLP, is to find a million other tings to do or think about. That way, I don’t have to focus on the stressful thing at hand. And it works, for about 5 minutes, until it completely backfires and the stress comes at me full force.

Ever try this technique? It’s kind of the worst.

You might notice that when you are stressed, you also do things to check out – like binge watch your favorite show or movie or just ANY show, stay up way too late and guzzle all the caffeine you can the next day, or binge snacks or wine or whatever it might be. The idea is that you end up ignoring the stress, but then it hits you again a little stronger each time.

Instead, the way to really reduce and manage this stress is to face it head on. It sounds like this would be the more stressful approach, but it allows you to check in, or tune in, and see what it really going on for you. That way, even if it feels uncomfortable and more stressful in the movement, you can see what you need to work on, what you have to work with, and the changes you can start to create. It’s not easy, but it is usually necessary.

One way to do this is through a basic mindfulness meditation for SLPs.

In mindfulness meditation practice, you take a few moments to just sit and observe how you are. No judgments, no changing, just seeing what is going on for you in that moment. From there, you become more aware of how you are in that moment, which helps you to see:

  • how you will show up in your day/the world with what you have going on
  • how the day/world may affect you
  • what you can do to better navigate your day and current circumstances (like avoiding a certain co-worker or getting to bed earlier or drinking more water or whatever it may be).

This simple practice can help you start to reap the benefits of meditation, such as turning down the stress response in your brain, and start to manage your stress with more awareness.

You can start by simply sitting for 5 minutes, breathing, and just seeing how the mind and body feel in that moment (without judging) or you can follow a guided meditation, such as the “Basic Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs” available in the SLP Toolbox, a FREE resource library full of stress management tools made for SLPs by an SLP.

You can sign up for access below:

If you are looking to go even further with reducing and managing your SLP Stress, including using meditation and learning exactly how it can help, be sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Course, now enrolling.

Much Love,

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15Jul

Turning your SLP Stress into Something Good with Marisha Mets of SLPNow: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Podcast Stress Management
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SLPNow

Do you ever feel like your SLP stress would magically go away if you could only have more resources at your fingertips, or a better way to organize your materials, or have some plans done for you?

I have heard this a lot and usually coach that no amount of planning an prepping will manage your stress or magically make it go away.

BUT this is not completely true.

While it doesn’t magically take away all of your stress, having a system that is created for making your day easier, and taking that burden off of you, can free up a lot of brain space, take off some of the pressure, and give you a way to manage your incredibly jam-packed caseload. And this CAN help you to manage your stress better – because it gives you the time and energy to do it and to make the first steps towards less stress as an SLP.

It doesn’t teach you how to manage the stress, but it does help to reduce the amount of stressors you are dealing with daily. And while these might show up in other ways, it also gives you space to put some of your stress management tools into practice.

In this episode of the SLP Stress Management Podcast, I chat with Marissa Mets of SLPNow about her journey through SLP Stress, her struggle with a massive caseload and how it led her to create the resource site and membership program, SLPNow. In this episode, Marisha shares the upside of her stress and how she used it to create something that would help her slowly come out the stress she was stuck in – and make it through a year with a TRIPLE DIGIT caseload!

Resources from this episode:

  • SLP Summit, a FREE online conference with practical, real-world CEU courses for SLPs (FYI I’ll be presenting!).
  • SLPNow, membership site
  • SLPNow podcast

You can tune in to this episode below, on your favorite app, or check out all episodes here: SLP Stress Management Podcast

As always, if you are ready to take a deep dive into managing your SLP Stress, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Online Course.

And for more SLP Stress Management resources, subscribe below to the SLP Toolbox, a free resource library created for SLPs by an SLP.

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

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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6Sep

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress
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SLP Stress and Overwhelm Pinterest (1)

For awhile now, I’ve been trying to figure out where exactly I fit in within my “chosen” career path. I have a degree and am certified as an Speech Language Pathologist, but my passions also sit with yoga, holistic health and nutrition. I also have a deep love of learning and teaching ways to reduce stress, decrease overwhelm and move through, or prevent, burn out, because I have been through it all. Needless to say, this is not the way I had planned for this blog to happen.

My visions of a career at first were of working in a hospital, doing big and amazing things with my patients. I imagined drastically changing lives and improving health, The reality of it was not quite the same.

I was constantly feeling stressed and moving through different phases of being burnt out, lost and a little overwhelmed with my life. No other SLPs seemed to be feeling this, at least to me. I felt very alone, like I was the only one interested in more than just my work as an SLP. After feeling really overwhelmed, I decided to quit for awhile and focus on building a career as a yoga teach, health coach and writer.

These few years “off” were full of hustle, working for not much money and learning a ton about wellness, stress and myself.

After taking 4 years off, I decided to get back into the Speech Therapy field. I soon realized my whole perspective had changed. I could see how even small things can really make a difference in patients/clients/students lives. I understood that having balance between work and daily life was everything to me. And I finally realized that I was not alone in feeling overwhelmed and burn out. It seemed like every SLP I met or spoke with was feeling that way and ready to breakdown or quit.

So I decided to share my experience of working through burn out, put all of my different training together and create this site and blog as a resource. I wanted to share with you how I had finally figured it out and had balance in my life again.

I wanted to share with you how you could move away from these things, like I did, and become a much more balanced, less stressed, overwhelm-free Speech Therapist/Pathologist/Teacher. I wanted to show you how it could all be “perfect”.

But then life happened and I realized, that’s not possible.

Why? Because we are human, life is full of ups and downs, and I will never, ever be free from overwhelm and stress. And that’s ok.

Recently, my life has been full, but a bit chaotic. My husband and I moved to a new state, into a beautiful but outdated home. He started a new job that sent him to Europe for 2 weeks, while I was at our new home with visiting family and friends, trying to unpack, repair and remodel the new house, all with a toddler in the mix. And when August rolled around, I started back to work as well.

It has been beautiful at times and worth every moment, but it has also  been absolutely overwhelming.  I found myself feeling those old feelings of overwhelm, doubt and anxiety creeping in.

I felt a bit defeated. Here I was, trying to start a blog and resource for other people and SLP’s who were feeling this way, showing them that they could live this super amazing life, while I was feeling less than amazing myself. I questioned myself, thinking “Who am I to teach anyone anything about stress, when I am so stressed and anxious at the moment?” And that’s when it hit me. I was back in my former way of thinking (the way that made me quit being an SLP for 4+ years, swearing off the profession forever). I had spent years treating myself better, learning about my own needs and, finally, getting back into the field with a renewed passion for it. It didn’t mean that I was completely free of stress, overwhelm, anxiety or really tough days forever – that wouldn’t really be living or human of me – but it did mean that I could use tools that I had learned over the years to make it a little better and move through it. It meant I didn’t have to stay stuck.

So here is what I did:

  • I allowed myself to throw a fit. Then I got over it.
  • I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself “This too shall pass”.
  • I made a cup of tea.
  • I promised myself to go for a walk in the woods as soon as I could.
  • I made an effort to get more sleep that night.

The next day wasn’t perfect, but I could feel things were already turning back around. Instead of resenting the less than stellar evening I had, I looked at what I had learned from it. These simple, everyday experiences seemed like a set back at first, but then I realized, they were universal, not something I was going through alone. We all have days that feel like everything is falling apart. Sometimes it does and sometimes it gets better. The thing we need is to remember that it will pass, if we allow ourselves to move through it, and that we are not alone in it. There are thousands of other people in our field who feel absolutely lost and unsure, about their job or home life, each and every day.

Now, instead of bringing you a perfect blog, reflecting an “I’ve Made It!” lifestyle, I get to keep it real. I get to share with you how hard it was for me when I started out as an SLP and how I finally made it through (and how you might be able to make it through a little easier). I can share with you the struggles and triumphs of working in the field and balancing daily life. And I can share with you some things that help me, and that might help you in return.

I promise to never be perfect, but instead, be real, and be human.

If you are ready to start your journey towards learning from your stress and overwhelm, make sure to sign up for the SLP Toolbox for free resources.

 

 

Much Love,

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