Reducing Stress & Preventing Burnout Evidence-Based Practices that Work
Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 1 Reducing Stress & Preventing Burnout Evidence-Based Practices that Work There are two types of stress: Eustress: Stress that is healthy & gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Distress: Any interference that disturbs a person's mental or physical well-being. Eustress (Stress that is healthy & gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.) Fun is good for you! Recommended: 30 minutes a day - 3 hours each weekend doing something we love (or figuring it out) What are your eustress activities? Distress (Any interference that disturbs a person's mental or physical well-being.) Burnout is accumulated stress. Burnout, chronic fatigue & chronic stress occur when we have bad boundaries or bad habits. High stress levels negatively impact us in many ways: Tension or migraine headaches TMJ / neck / shoulder / back pain Digestive upsets Joint pain / Fibromyalgia Sleep problems Anxiety / Depression Fatigue / Loss of zest
1. Gain control of your breathing Relax Right Now Tools and - Stress Prevention Tools There are 3 types of breathing (Find your Smallest Daily Dose ) Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 2 Clavicle what we see when someone is having a panic, asthma or emphysema attack Rapid, shallow or chest breathing - tells the brain that danger is around Belly breathing - tells the brain that all is well Breathe low and slow, into your abdomen - in and out through your nose. One style: Square Breathing Technique (4-2-6-2) Inhale for 6 - Hold for 2 - Exhale for 6 - Rest for 2 2. Watch Your Thinking & Your Focus Every thought changes what happens in your body, and either calms or stresses you. It s not positive thinking it capable thinking. Getting good at managing stress makes your brain stronger! Become stress-resilient Always speak to yourself with kindness, compassion, respect and support. Spend 5 minutes a day brainstorming solutions to your situations, or 5 minutes of laughter and gratitude, or 5 minutes of talking about something you love. 3. Right now what is a thought or imagined place that calms and restores you? 4. Take a 5 minute walk break. 5. Focus on what you are grateful for 6. Laugh 7. Cry if you need to (find a private spot) 8. Debrief strong emotions with a trusted colleague or friend Focus: create at least 2 solutions no complaining 9. Aerobic Exercise
Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 3 10. Get Your Sleep 11. Force Yourself to Take Breaks 12. Listen to Soothing Music 13. Surround yourself with positive people 14. Regularly check in with your heart Before bed, take 30 seconds to review and name any strong emotions you had that day. Give yourself support and compassion. Ask yourself: What do I need? 15. Had a tough day? Keep it in perspective. Your job is not your life, it is a means to your life. Don t take it home. Acknowledge your feelings Coach yourself maintain perspective Listen to music you love on your drive home Spend 30 minutes doing something you love Set your intention to enjoy your evening Don t let work become your happiness, let it become your accomplishment. Make sure you have a life you love outside of work.
Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 8 For myself I will: 1. 2. 3. Training Take-Aways. What s Useful? With my team I will: 1. 2. 3. What surprised me the most: The most important action I will take:
Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 9 A Few Reminders 1. Stay Aware of Your Stories, Internal Dialogue and Focus Focus on what s going well, compassion for self and others when an error occurs, solving the problem, what you desire, solutions, what s possible and what s working. Avoid blaming, complaining or recycling the disappointment. 2. Remember that the way you approach the situation is as important as what is actually happening. Approach with calm and resourceful thinking. 3. You Set the Tone: Model what you want to see in others. Choose attitudes that are upbeat, positive and focused on your goals. Your team afdapts to and models your behavior. 4. How you respond to surprise and upset impacts everyone. Learn to push the pause button and turn on your thinking brain before you speak. 5. Maintain Your Resilience: Resilience is increased through the presence of consistent positive support and feedback after a mistake, risk or challenge. What you say to your co-workers after a tough moment increases or decreases their resilience and immediately impacts attitudes. Because the brain only learns from mistakes, it is particularly important to enlist supportive feedback while staff are learning (and therefore making mistakes). 6. Use Appreciation to Immediately Shift You to Your Best: You cannot be grateful and upset at the same time. Begin and end each day with a moment of gratitude. 7. Practice Daily Self-Care: Incorporate laughter, compassion, movement, social support, solitude, unprocessed foods and plenty of water into each day. Set aside 30 minutes to do something you love, something that creates a sense of timelessness. 8. Build Trust: Hold yourself accountable. Be loyal to those not present. Avoid micro-managing. 9. Never Gossip: Be loyal to those not present. How you treat your most challenging individuals, to their face or behind their back, says the most about you, and becomes the team standard for what s okay. 10. Look for Opportunities to Validate, Affirm and Encourage Yourself and Others. Everyone is important, every job is essential. Praise your staff and colleagues. When you do this for anyone, and especially for coworkers, families and clients, you help others relax, increase their self-esteem, improve their attitude and engage their thinking brain. 11. Keep it in perspective. Your job is not your life. It is a means to your life. Make sure you have a life outside of work that is fulfilling and satisfying. 12. Leave work at work. Listen to upbeat music on your drive home. Make sure you have a few big laughs each day. Surround yourself with positive people. Be a positive person to be around! 13. Never lose sight of your blessings. End each day reviewing all the good in your life, no matter how large or small. Be grateful that you have a bed to sleep in!
Robin s Ideas for Having a Great Day Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 10 1. Before you get out of bed in the morning: a. Take three deep, slow belly breaths. Start your day with fresh oxygen. b. Think of something you love or are grateful for (influence your biochemistry). c. Focus your mind upon what you would like for the day. 2. Remember your Q-TIP: Quit Taking It Personally. What other people say and do is about their wants and needs, it s not about you. 3. Connect with at least one person that day in a meaningful, uplifting manner. 4. Notice and celebrate your accomplishments. Congratulate yourself any time you remember to calm down instead of snapping at your child, coworker, or spouse. 5. Drink plenty of water. Hydration supports your thinking, energy level and flushes toxins. 6. Get up and move. Take a five-minute walk. Stretch. Moving your body frequently during the day will help you maintain a better cognitive, emotional and physical balance. Move every hour. 7. Listen to music that inspires you. Choose songs that move you to laughter, smiles, tears, or any emotion that is real for you. 8. Fill your day with gratitude. Make a list of what you are grateful for, and put that list where you can see it easily. Make it a regular habit to be grateful. 9. Stop engaging in conversations that trigger your survival brain. Steer clear of blaming, and complaining. Reroute or disengage from conversations that include criticizing, or recycling disappointments. Stop initiating or participating in put-downs or snide remarks, drama, gossip, whining, or angry outbursts. 10. Focus on what you do want rather than what you don t want. Remember, your brain does not process negatives. Replace what you don t want with a request for what you do want in your own mind and in your conversations with others. 11. Laugh! Who makes you laugh, chuckle and grin? You can t produce stress hormones while laughing. 12. If staff, clients or children are upset, use your breathing to calm their difficult moments. When you are breathing fully and easily, you can parent consistently and calmly. 13. Feel your feelings - but act from your values. Remember, you can have strong and uncomfortable feelings and still choose behaviors that are in alignment with your values. 14. At the end of each day, right before you go to sleep, think of 10 things you appreciated that day, and repeat affirming statements to yourself. What you feed your mind as you fall asleep influences how well, or disturbed, your sleep will be. May I be happy, May I be healthy, May I sleep well, I expect health, I expect goodness. As you sleep your brain integrates deeply. Integrate what you desire!
Help Your Child Be a More Successful Student There are some simple yet highly effective actions you can take to help children have a more successful day at school. Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 11 Hydrate. Encourage your child to drink 8 oz. of water in the morning before school. Hydration increases learning retention. Send them to school with a fresh bottle of water each and every day. Feed their brains. After fasting all night long, the brain needs fuel to get going again. Students with low glucose have difficulty understanding new information, have problems with visual and spatial understanding, and don't remember things as well. Find breakfast foods they will eat that contain lean proteins and complex carbohydrates. Try low-sugar yogurts, lean meats, eggs, whole grain toast with low-sugar jam, nuts, and whole-grain oatmeal (not instant). Avoid sugared cereals and refined, white or processed foods, which actually diminish thinking brain functions and lower immune systems. Set the tone. Create an upbeat, enthusiastic atmosphere in the morning. Be their role model engage a great attitude towards your own day! Tell your child what you are looking forward to today. Steer clear of expressing your stress, anger or anxiety with kids it creates worry for them and negatively impacts their school day. Remember, children downshift to their survival brain under duress it s how they create a sense of safety - and that downshifting inhibits their learning. Say it s so. Research shows that on average, children hear 430 negative comments per day vs. 32 positive ones. Parents comments determine a child s concept of themselves and teach children to see themselves as capable or otherwise. Give your children a positive boost with the words you say to them, and teach your children how to empower themselves using their own internal dialogue. Help them practice by saying it out loud I m a great learner, I know I ll figure out the answer, etc. Breathe. If you re hurried, worried or tense, you re not breathing deep and slow. Children model your patterns so if you hold your breath or have shallow breathing (upper chest only), your child follows suit. Shallow breathing turns off the thinking and learning functions in the brain. Shift yourself (and your kids) with a few good breaths. Practice belly breathing with your kids send the oxygen deep into the lower lungs (the belly moves way out), then release with a long, slow exhalation. The slower you breathe, the calmer you ll become. Use laughter laughter engages deeper breathing and reduces stress. Read to them and engage them in conversation. Studies show a connection between a child s early vocabulary and their later success in reading comprehension. Encourage your children to ask questions during story time, talk about the weather as you are out and about, and identify shapes, colors and names at the grocery store. Movement makes them smarter. 15-30 minutes a day of some type of movement helps the brain form more connections. Fun, familiar exercise assists the brain in wiring what children are already trying to learn, while new, slow and precise movement creates new brain connections. Try some of each playing kickball (if familiar already) or a fun walk, and something new like playing hopscotch or basketball for the first time. To learn faster, slow down the movement. No matter what they do, provide unconditional love and safety - the two essential human needs. When these essential needs are met, regardless of the mistakes we make as we are learning and growing, we develop into capable and kind adults.
Reducing Stress and Preventing Burnout 12 Workshop Evaluation Workshop: Date: 1. What did you find most helpful about this workshop? 2. What would you change about the workshop? 3. What will you take away from this workshop and use? 4. After today s session, if you could ask Robin one question, what would it be? 5. How would you rate the effectiveness of the trainer? 1 2 3 4 5 Ineffective Satisfactory Highly Effective 6. How would you rate the overall quality of this workshop? 1 2 3 4 5 Ineffective Satisfactory Highly Effective Your comments will contribute to the quality of workshops provided for future participants. Thank you for taking time to share your feedback. Sign up for Robin s newsletter! Robin sends out a free email newsletter entitled StayWell. To receive, please complete the information below or email Robin at robin@robinrose.com. Name: Email (please print clearly thank you!)