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:

• Rethinking Your Daily Routines to Reduce Stress on SpeechPathology.com (1 ASHA CEU Hour .10 units)
• 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)
• SLP Stress Management: Using Mindfulness to Reduce and Manage Stress on SHAV Webinars (1 ASHA CEU)

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,