Don;t want to be an SLP anymore

Don't Want to Be an SLP Anymore

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.

Much Love,

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SLP Work-Life Balance PinterestFinding work-life balance as an SLP can be one of the hardest parts of the job. As an SLP, you have loads of paperwork and admin tasks, are often paid per hour or client, and might feel like you can never quite catch up. It means you end up bringing work home with you most nights (and even on breaks), constantly think about all you have to do (even when you are with your family or alone at home), and might even feel guilt about not working on your time outside the office.

For me, at the height of my stress and burn out, I often felt like my mind was on work, instead of being present at home, and it would leave me exhausted, drained and with an overall feeling of dissatisfaction in my day.

If you are finding that you are struggling between getting your work done and enjoying your time out of the office, here are a few ways you can start to find more work-life balance as an SLP.

Leave work at work.

This seems simple enough, to physically leave your work at work, but it is far from simple. If you are bringing your work home with you, it is most likely because you don’t feel like you have enough time to get it all completed by the end of the day. This alone can make you feel anxious and off balance, but the thought of leaving it at work can heighten this feeling.

To help lessen this stress, try two practices:

  1. Look for holes in your schedule where you are able to plug in some work. These might be small gaps that you didn’t realize you had, or it could be places where you are filling gaps with things to take your mind off of work (but ultimately leave you more stressed) such as scrolling through emails, FB or IG.
  2. Figure out the “Must-do” item for your week (the big report or IEP meeting that is due) and only take this work home, setting up a specific time to focus and get it done. You can find a template for this in the SLP Toolbox.

Remember, the work will never be caught up. It is continuous and constantly playing catch up will only leave you more exhausted.

Find a transition between work and home.

A lot of exhaustion comes from mental fatigue caused by stress. This is often due to constantly thinking about work, even when you are at home and you have left your physical work at the office. If your brain is constantly drifting back towards the work that you want to finish, the meeting you need to schedule and specific moments form your day, you are likely to feel exhausted and drained by the end of the day, and as if you can’t think clearly. And when you can’t think clearly, you aren’t present at home and you aren’t efficient at work, and your stress grows.

To help give your brain a shift out of work mode and into work mode, try having a transition at the end of the work day, before you head home. This gives you a clear break i your day, so you can start to leave work at work, physically and mentally. It can be any type of activity that you enjoy and that gives you a little boost of self-care in your day.

Try one of these:

  • Take a coffee/tea break on your way home
  • Stretch or go for a walk when you finish up
  • Hit the gym
  • Listen to your favorite podcast
  • Read a blog, book or magazine

Set up a Morning or Evening Routine:

Start and stop your day a moment for yourself.

Another way to help you feel find a little more work-life balance as an SLP, is to have a time of day that is routine and just for you. Often the mornings and/or evenings become rushed and are all about getting to work or preparing to head to work the next day. In order to bring in more work-life balance as an SLP, you can set up a morning or evening routine to help you ease into or our o f your day.

It gives you a moment of mindfulness and self-care, which are key to reducing stress, and sets you up for a more balanced day – either by starting on a positive and being in tune with how you are that day, or allowing you to let the day go so you can feel more physically and mentally well-rested.

They only have to take about 5 to 10 minutes. Here are a few to try:

  • Morning Routine: try a practice to help you build up some energy
    • Exercise or yoga
    • Meditation for focus or intentions
    • Journaling about your intentions and goals for the day, or 3 moments of gratitude
    • Starting the day with quiet (SLPs talk a lot and are surrounded by noise most days)
    • Go for a morning walk
  • Evening Routine: try something to help you unwind and let go of the day
    • Warm bath
    • Stretching or gentle yoga
    • Evening walk after dinner
    • Journal about 3 positives from your day
    • Meditation for sleep
    • 5 minutes of silence and a cup of tea
    • Read a book or magazine

While these can seem like a lot of things to add to an already busy day, they are key to finding more work-life balance as an SLP. They will take time to set up initially, and you might fond that some resonate with you more than others. Once you get going, they will help to reduce your feeling of being drained, exhausted and depleted by improving your overall stress, increasing your mental focus and clarity, and leaving you with a bit more energy.

If you are looking for more guidance, make sure to head over to the SLP Toolbox to grab meditations, journal templates and checklists that will help you get started on finding more work-life balance as an SLP today.

For even more resources to manage stress and reduce burn out, check out these CEU/CMH webinars, available now:

Much Love,

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SLP Ease PinterestAs an SLP, you are probably more familiar than you want to be with feeling stretched a little too thin on a daily basis. You are trained in so many different aspects of communication (and swallowing), you probably have a pretty varied caseload (that is most likely way too big or way too small), and you are constantly between direct and indirect therapy services. Plus, you have become a pro at multi-tasking all day, every day.  All of this has become part of your routine (or soon will be if you are a student or CF), and it can, honestly, be quite exhausting at times. Or most of the time.

There are reasons for that.

Sometimes you might feel like you are loaded down with more work than there is time in the day. Other times you might get a new student or patient and feel like you just don’t have the skills or knowledge to fully treat them. And there will be times that you just feel run down and tired (or perhaps even sick), and you just don’t have the mental energy to do your work, but you still show up and do it anyway.

There is a ton of paperwork. Productivity levels change constantly in all settings. Caseloads are often out of your control. Multi-tasking causes you to do mental jumping jacks all day. You are physically and mentally exhausted. Add all of this together and you might notice that your outlook on your work, career and even your daily life might have shifted for the negative.

Being stressed and feeling stuck can cause your brain to start to work in overdrive to protect you. This is a beautiful and wonderful system that can keep you safe when you are in danger. But when you aren’t in danger, and life is just constantly feeling stressful, it only sets you up for more stress and more exhaustion each day. It stops you from being able to find more ease as an SLP, and leaves you feeling more and more stressed each day.

When you are chronically feeling stressed, your brain starts to stay on “high alert” to look out for threats and stress around you. If you have a stressful job, or lots of work piling up, stress is everywhere and your brain is constantly seeing it, signaling to your body to release hormones and keeping you in a state of anxiety and stress, which can eventually lead to burn out in your body (adrenal system), your energy (mental and physical) and your job.

To help shift out of this mode, you can do a few practices that help you to find more ease as an SLP, even when your day and schedule haven’t changed one bit. These practices are designed to help you calm the signals in your body that alert your brain to stress (deep breathing), help you to find space in your thoughts (movement), finding positive moments in your day (gratitude journal) and reducing the amount of task switching each day (no more multi-tasking).

Here are 4 ways to find more ease as an SLP, every day:

Gratitude Journal:

  • Helps you find some good in the day
  • Helps your brain to notice more good
  • Gives you a pause in the day
  • Write down 3 positive things from your day

Movement:

  • Clears your head
  • Blood and breath flowing
  • Energy lifts
  • Take 5-60 minutes to walk, stretch or move mindfully

Deep Breathing/Meditation:

  • Sends signal to bran and body to be calm
  • Decreases stress response
  • Gives you a break in your day
  • take 1-5 minutes to focus on your breath

Drop Multi-tasking:

  • More efficient work
  • More mental energy
  • Less strain on brain to constantly switching from task to task
  • Instead bulk like tasks together and check email at set times

When you incorporate one or all of these tings into your day, you’ll start to create new habit and patterns that help reduce stress, but also train your brain to be less affected by the stress that is around you each day. They teach you to manage stress better.

For more on stress management, make sure to check out the “SLP Toolbox” where you’ll find more strategies and tips to build ease in your day. You can sign up below for access.

Much Love,

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Meditation for SLP Holiday Stress PinterestFeeling stressed about your break or the Holidays in general? Give this meditation a try to melt away the stress and bring some calm and peace back into your holiday season.

 

Want more meditations? Make sure to check out the Meditation and Audio library, and subscribe to the monthly newsletter for a free meditation practice straight to your inbox, as well as access to the SLP Toolbox, where you’ll find more meditation audios, journal templates and more.

Much Love,

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SLP Work on Your Holiday Break (1)It’s the holiday season! Many SLPs are either about to be on a Winter Break for a few weeks, or are perhaps taking a few days off, finding the work load to be less, or having to juggle shorter days of work when their kids are off from school. For these SLPs, the lighter and often shorter schedule can be like a light at the end of the tunnel, especially if you schedule was a little hectic with meetings, make-up sessions, and getting it “all” done right before the break.

While this is a time to sit back and relax for a few weeks, perhaps traveling or spending time with your loved ones (or just a good book), a lot of SLPs find it hard to turn off their productive side and spend a lot of the time off catching up on work, and not finding much time to relax at all. Or, you might find that your burn out is full-blown and you spend the break denying (to yourself that you even have a job you have to go back to in a few weeks. Either way, it does not bring about much balance in your life, and will often lead to more anxiety and stress once you head back into work after your break.

So the question is, should you do SLP work on your Holiday Break?

The answer is dual-sided, and comes back to this –  You have to find (the seemingly mythical) balance. When you are on your break, there are times that doing work will be extremely beneficial for you, but too much of it means you don’t get a break at all.

Here is how you can break down what type of work is best for you, and when to do it (or not):

  • Beneficial to Work:
    • Completing a Project: If you have something that you don’t usually have time to complete, and it is not just paperwork, this might be a good time to work on it. make sure it is something that you enjoy doing, so it doesn’t feel like a lot of work, and that you set a time limit to when you will begin and end working on it.
    • Something Stressing You Out: If not planning for the month/week.year ahead stresses you out, go ahead and take some time to plan out your next month or so, but limit the amount of time you have by setting a timer. This way, you work on it, but you do what is most important and within a given time frame.
    • Passion: If you have something that you are passionate about and want to learn more about, create or launch, this is a great time to dedicate some of your time to work on it. Again, make sure to set up some specific days or hours, so you aren’t working your entire break, even if it is something you enjoy doing.
  • NOT Beneficial to Work:
    • Family Time: If you find you are spending more time working than with your loved ones, you might need to take a step back and re-evaluate. Go ahead and make a plan for when you will work, and when you won’t. Mark it on your calendar, along with any other family events that you have going on during your break (school plays, dinners, recitals, parties, etc), so you are giving yourself plenty of time and space to enjoy both things.
    • Vacation: If you have planned a vacation somewhere, whether a cruise, road trip, or visiting family and friends, give yourself some time to unplug from work. Allow yourself to be present during this time, so you can enjoy and benefit from it fully. Then, when it is over to before you go, carve out some time to take care of the work related tasks you have or would like to do.
    • The Entire Break: It might sounds silly, but if you don’t watch out, you might spend your entire break doing work, or thinking and ruminating on the work you need/should be doing. If you find this happening, get your calendar and mark down some specific times you will do work, along with what you will work on. The rest of the time, try to focus on what you are doing in that moment – whether it is a trip with family or sitting down to a cup of hot cocoa. This will give your brain some much needed rest and help you to feel less stressed and overwhelmed, during break and after.

Of course, this might be a bit different for you and your circumstances, but use this as a guide to help you decide if working during your break is something that will help reduce your stress and bring back some passion for your work, or if it is something that you are doing in order to feel productive and could cause burn out to flare up.

For more resources, make sure to sign up for the SLP Toolbox below. You’ll get free meditations to help you release stress and unwind, templates for your “Must-Do” lists, and even some journals and Self-Care guides.


Much Love,

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Feel Less Drained PinterestIf you are an SLP, you might feel like the good parts of your day are far and few between, and that they are outweighed heavily by the harder, draining, and “bad” parts of your daily work. It has nothing to do with patients or students (usually), and often has more to do with the stress that comes from the other aspects of your work – more emphasis on direct vs indirect therapy services, ever-changing paperwork and protocols for billing, less and less control over your caseload and schedule, and being “on” for 40 hours a week.

These things can often leave you feeling drained, exhausted (mentally and physically), and sometimes you might even feel anxious about the week ahead or dread going to work the next day. They also often have nothing to do with why you became an SLP in the first place, or the joy and passion you once had for your career.

When you start to feel this way, you are often overloaded with stressors that pile up each day, either because there are so many or because you have no way to manage them properly. This can lead to chronic stress and burn out. Your brain gets stuck in a pattern of being on the lookout for stress and then creating more stress because of it. It keeps you focused on what is not working each day, rather than noticing the things that are working. This is what you need to switch to feel less drained and exhausted as an SLP.

To create a shift in your brains patterns, and start routinely noticing things that are working and going well, you can do practices that create and cultivate more positivity in your day. This doesn’t mean you have to change jobs to one with less demands or overhaul your daily schedule – these things often can’t be changed and would come with a new set of stress if you did. Instead, you practice looking for the positive, and noticing moments that otherwise might go unnoticed, so you shift your attention to what is working for you, putting your energy, time, and thoughts into those things.

One simple way to do this is to create more gratitude through a journaling practice. Gratitude journaling helps you to shift out of the negative stress cycle in your brain and into a place where you are cultivating more positivity.

Gratitude Journaling Benefits:

  • Notice what is working each day
  • Shifts your brain patterns to notice more good moments
  • End/Begin the day on a positive note
  • Gives you a break in the day

Research in the field of Positive Psychology has shown that it takes 3 positive moments to make up for 1 negative interaction, and that if we end a moment or event on a positive note, the entire thing seems more positive. This is how your brain starts to shift and more “good” moments start to happen in your day, reducing your overall feelings of stress. This can be key to helping you feel less drained and exhausted as an SLP.

How to Gratitude Journal:

  • Write down 3 good things from your day
    • They can be small or big
  • Do this at a set times each day
    • Morning to set your intention for the day
    • After work to transition from work to home
    • Evening to end the day on a positive note
  • Aim for 5-7 days a week

Once you get started, you can do this most days each week, either in the morning, end of your work day or right before bed, to help you train your brain to notice what works, not just what doesn’t. When things do feel stressful, you’ll also have a journal full of good things that have happened on a daily bass, to help you shift back into a more positive state. It doesn’t mean you ignore the hard times, but that you are able to rebound from them easier and are less affected by them.

If you are looking for more ways to start a Gratitude Practice, make sure to join the SLP Toolbox, a free resource center for SLPs, where you’ll find printable Gratitude Journal templates, as well as meditation, self-care checklists and other stress-reducing resources designed specifically for SLPs.

You can access them by signing up below (plus you’ll get a free 7-day Stress Less Challenge sent straight to your inbox).


Much Love,

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Sunday Blues Pinterest
The “Sunday Blues”. It’s a phrase that floats around many of the SLP fb groups, forums and pages. It is something we talk about with each other, but only if we are sure it is a “safe” place and others are probably feeling it to – otherwise we might be judged, seen as not good enough, or perhaps even told we aren’t cut out for the gig.

The “Sunday Blues” is a feeling that many SLPs get at the end of the weekend, right as they start to wind down and get into work mode again. Some feel it lurking throughout their weekend, ready to creep out at any moment. While others send their weekend feeling completely disconnected form the stress of work, only to have it hit them hard when they start to wind down the fun and turn their focus onto getting ready for the week ahead.

The Sunday Blues can hit any SLP, any day of the week, and it is usually a feeling, in the pit of your stomach, that starts to grow and grow until you get to bed, sometimes keeping you from sleeping at night and leaving you feeling exhausted come Monday morning. Just in time for a new week.

These feelings are a form of anxiety, that can build from a gnawing feeling in your belly to a full blown panic and anxiety attack. The first time you feel this, it can be alarming, because you may not know where or why it is happening. There are many SLPs you have started to feel this Sunday Blues feeling when they have seemed perfectly happy and content with their work.

The feeling usually starts to happen because there is an imbalance in your work and home life. It might not be something you are aware of, or it might seem like you aren’t doing anything different than the other professionals you know – taking work home for the evenings or weekend, prepping on the weekends, running errands all weekend, spending time with your family and friends, sleeping in late or staying up late, etc. All of these things can start to build, and can throw your life out of balance before you realize it.

The further anxiety and panic can come from something called “future-tripping”, where you keep looking ahead, to the impending week and all there is to do, which builds the stress around the week. These Sunday Blues can make the week ahead and the tasks that are involved seem much more stressful and time-consuming than they really will be. By looking too far ahead and thinking about “what could happen”, you start to create a build up of anxiety and stress that might not be needed.

To help combat the Sunday Blues, in both forms, there are a few things you can do:

  1. Make sure your weekends are replenishing you, and not depleting you more.
    1. If you are running errands, paying bills, chauffeuring kids around, etc, you are just doing more work (or a different kind) at home. Give yourself time to do something for you that isn’t a task or errand.
    2. Don’t bring work home. There will be times that you have to, but it should not be the norm. Leave work at work, and find time there to do paperwork, and consider, as hard as it is, to plan less so you have more time at work for other things.
  2. Create a Must-Do list for your weekend Self-Care (you can find one in the SLP Toolbox).
    1. 3 things that you will do (they can be small) to make sure you take time for yourself.
    2. Think of things like a cup of tea, read a book, go to yoga, take a walk, wake up 15 minute earlier than everyone else, etc.
  3. Prepare for the week, but only in small doses.
    1. Make sure you have clean clothes, food, etc, but you don’t have to spend your entire weekend doing chores and meal prepping.
    2. Have the basics ready, but also give yourself time to enjoy the weekend.
  4. If you start future-tripping, try a breathing and meditation practice to bring you back to the present moment.
    1. This will help you to bring yourself out of your head and into your body, in this moment, so you can take action (or rest) where needed.
    2. Try this video for more tips or this meditation.

If you are feeling the pressure of the week ahead, it doesn’t have to continue each week or get worse each day. Take some time to bring yourself out of the moment of stress, so you can take action, find more time for self-care, balance your work and weekend, and maybe take the next steps in your career life as needed.

If you are looking for more ways to reduce stress, here are a few other things to try:

You can also subscribe to the free “SLPToolbox” for even more resources and meditation practices.

Much Love,

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Pumpkin Pie Pinterest

This season is all about the grounding flavors and spices of the Fall. While these flavors can be comforting, the season itself might have you feeling frazzled with all there is to do. You might even a little like you just want to curl up on the couch and check out for a bit, especially as the days grow darker. All in all, there can be an imbalance in your energy levels, which can make it difficult to maintain the energy you need for your work day, or to really fuel your day (something we talk a out a LOT in SLP Stress Management).

One simple way to make sure you get a lot of nutrients in a quick, portable meal (or snack) is to make a smoothie. This season, pumpkin pie smoothies are a great way to get the nutrition and fuel you need, while also taking advantage of those warm, comforting flavors of the Fall. It whips up in just a few seconds and you have a nourishing smoothie you can take with you on the go. If you need extra time, especially if you make this in the morning, you can prep your ingredients the night before, pop them in the blender when ready and blend it up in no time.

Pumpkin is a fantastic source of iron and fiber, and is said to be healthy for your heart, digestive tract, and even help prevent cancer. This smoothie recipe pairs all of these benefits with protein from high quality yogurt and natural sweetener from maple syrup. It blends together quickly and tastes just like a scoop of your favorite pie.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (plain, vanilla, or coconut)

3/4 cup vanilla, unsweetened almond milk

1 frozen banana

1-2 tsp maple syrup (if using sweetened almond milk, leave out)

1/2tsp cinnamon*

1/8 tsp ginger*

1/8 tsp nutmeg*

sprinkle of cloves*

*You can add more or less spices. The more you add, the grittier your smoothie may get. 

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add more liquid or scrape the sides and blend again.

Enjoy!

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PS Not medical or nutritional advice.