As a Speech Therapist, not matter how many years you have into the field, you are probably really, really busy. You are either trying to juggle a full caseload, piles of paperwork, productivity standards or trying to keep up with your CEUs and education. This can all lead to a huge, exhausting amount of stress. When you are constantly stressed at work, the weekends can seem like the light at the end of the tunnel.

The weekends are there for you to take a break from work, relax and unwind, and perhaps even dabble in some hobbies or non-work related interests. They are time for you to recharge your brain and take care of your needs. The weekends are a time to decompress and fill up before the week begins again.

This is often referred to as “The Weekend Effect”.  Studies have shown that many people actually act differently and have a different outlook on life over the weekends. According to Psychology Today, many people’s mental health state improves on Friday, peaks on Saturday and starts to decline on Sunday evening, sink to the lowest point on Monday.  If you have ever felt the sense of dread and anxiety creeping in on Sundays, you are probably experiencing this affect.

But what if it wasn’t the effect that made you feel this way, and instead was actually the way you spent your weekend? Are you actually embracing the weekends and decompressing, or are you just shifting your stress?

Many people often make the mistake of assuming that the simple act of not being at work for 2 days is enough to reset and relieve some stress. This might be true to some, especially if the stress at work isn’t chronic. Often though, weekends merely keep stress from building or sometimes even add to it. This is because the weekends are sometimes spent preparing for the week ahead, running errands and squeezing in many activities, for yourself and others, instead of taking some downtime to care for yourself.

If you end your weekend feeling an intense sense of dread or feeling rushed, you may not have taken time to replenish yourself over the weekend.

The weekends are meant to be relaxing, but are easily made just as busy as your work week. There is a good chance you spend your doing errands for yourself and others, and spend a good deal of time caring for others. While this isn’t your work setting, the work and energy you spend might be the same. Running errands, attending kids sports games, paying bills, helping with homework or other paperwork, checking off to-do lists. Its all very similar to how you may be spending your work day. Billing, wrangling patients, disputes with co-workers, IEP meetings and more. You may even find that you spend your entire weekend researching new therapy materials and techniques to with your clients, so the work is never really over. This might be especially true if you are new to the field or your setting.

It’s no wonder you aren’t feeling any better after two days off of work.

Here is your action plan to start recharging and nourishing yourself on the weekends:

• Take a moment to reflect on how you spend your weekends. You can do this in a meditation, writing it down, talk it out or any other way that helps you recall how your weekends usually play out.
• Then take a moment to reflect on how you feel during and after the weekends.  Are you feeling more worn out, anxious, exhausted, relaxed, etc?
• As you reflect, think about how you want to feel on the weekends. If you had an “ideal” weekend, what would it leave you feeling like? Would you be relaxed, invigorated, calm? Find a feeling that would leave you feeling nourished by Sunday evening.
• Finally, think of some things (activities, people, free time, hobbies) that help you feel more nourished in that way. These will help you figure out the best self-care practice for you.
• Make time to do some form of self care. This will be something that helps fill you back up and decompresses you.

The more you can do this, the more attention and energy you’ll have both during the weekend and throughout the week. It will help you to be more present and enjoy the moments you are in, which will keep your mind from wandering to the “next” thing and help you to feel less mentally exhausted. It will help you to keep noticing the positive, which creates a sense of more positive feelings in your life.

Take care of you. It’s the first step and biggest part of reducing stress and burn out. If you are constantly feeling stressed about work, and your days off from work aren’t helping you to reset, you are more likely to burn out and feel some of the signs an symptoms that go along with it. It is not a fun place to be and can make it really difficult to work your way out of alone. Take care of yourself. Replenish. It will help you feel better and make you more capable of having the drive and compassion needed to be an amazing SLP.

If you are wanting to put some of these into practice and find the self-care and weekend routine that works for you, make sure to download the “Weekend Self Care Planner” in the SLP Toolbox. Not a member? YO ucan subscribe (its a FREE resource for SLPs) below.