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

• Work from Home for SLPs: Create a Less Stressful Work Day During Stressful Times (1 CMH)
  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)

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.