Wear and Tear Repairs
Between two common types of attention, direct and effortless, it's the one that is more restful.
What is effortless attention?
5 minutes of effortless attention (e.g. looking out the window, in nature, mindful eating, playing with a kid or pet) is more restorative to the nervous system than 5 minutes scrolling social media, answering emails, solving problems, or doing tasks.
A study in Israel showed that judges were more lenient in their sentencing after this.
What is a lunch break? (Also, what is a weekend)
We can't fight physiology! Bodily rest and nourishment is a requirement.
Doing this makes you this 40% slower at each thing you're trying to do.
What is multitasking?
Multitasking is a myth! Switching back and forth between tasks is inefficient and adds to our allostatic load.
The biggest protective factor (opposite of a risk factor) for our mental wellbeing in distressing times is this.
What is social connection?
Studies from Sept 11, 2001 and other catastrophes have shown that strong social support is the biggest predictor of whether someone will develop a trauma-related illness. The way we respond to others' trauma is called the social response.
What social response do you give your clients when working with them?
When you're experiencing this common problem, you might struggle with brain fog, headaches, irritability, poor memory, fatigue, and weakness.
What is dehydration?
As little as 2% hydration loss can cause major disruptions to your functioning. What are your strategies for remembering to stay hydrated?
In a classic quotation widely used to describe compassion fatigue, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen says that: "The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to....(this).”
What is walking through the water without getting wet?
It is inevitable that this work, being exposed to others' suffering, has an effect on us. Checking in with ourselves and each other regularly about this is an important part of sustainability.
A 2015 study showed that the average person takes in so much information/content daily that it's the equivalent of 174 of these.
What is a newspaper?
Our content intake has gotten 5 times higher than it was in the 80s. Our nervous systems cannot process this volume of input, and get overwhelmed, adding to the perceived 'dangers' that we respond to with our fight/flight/freeze/fawn responses automatically. Without any reprieve we can get stuck in these states.
Mindfulness expert Sharon Salzberg describes the first step in dealing with moral distress as "name it to ____(this)."
What is name it to tame it?
We'll do an activity about this later!
This type of activity is something that is meant to get you out of your head (and its past and future worries) and into the present moment.
What is grounding?
Mindfulness experts know that meeting the present moment with as little baggage as possible is key to reducing feelings of being pulled in all directions.
Quick and easy grounding exercises include:
10 deep breaths before you make/answer a client call
Every time you wash/sanitize your hands think of it as cleansing you of the last moment and refreshing you for the next one
others?
A self-compassion practice called Common Humanity can help us to feel more kindness toward ourselves and others when we need it. It invites us to think about three things that ______ (this).
What is, that we have in common with the other person.
Eg: they love their kids, they hate doing paperwork, they like the colour purple
In his book Digital Minimalism, journalist Cal Newport suggests simple tools for a more balanced relationship with our devices. This tip from the book is the simplest and has been the most popular BY FAR in my workshops in the past year.
What is turning off notification sounds?
We forget that we have control over how our devices pull our attention. Turning off notifications is a powerful tool for focus and nervous system regulation!
In what ways have you advocated for change this last month? Year? Few years?
More than a third of Canadian adults report that this serious impairment affects them on a daily basis.
What is sleep deprivation?
We need to protect our sleep fiercely. Some tips:
Manage device use (what you take in and when)
No bedtime work, news, drama
Blackout curtains, noise reduction headphones, white noise
Vigorous, tiring exercise
Keep a notebook next to the bed
Keep an eye on stimulant use
Other ideas?
*** DAILY DOUBLE !!! ***
The daily practice called a 'transition ritual' helps us to do this.
What is transition from home to work and work to home.
Ideas for transition rituals while working from home include:
Setting up/tearing down your work space
Physically putting all work stuff away and out of sight
Changing clothes
Doing something home-specific (and enjoyable) as soon as work is over and at the same time every day (rest, shower, walk the dog, etc)
When needs far outweigh what we can provide, this is as important as what we do for someone.
What is the way we do it?
Studies into "dirty work" and "necessary evils" affirm that how we do what we do matters greatly.
Staying hydrated, moving regularly, and engaging in restful activities helps the body get rid of this stress hormone.
What is cortisol?
Produced in the adrenal glands, cortisol helps us through short-term danger. But when it's over-produced or not flushed out, it can responsible for agitation, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, and cognitive impairments.
The "silencing response" has been observed in frontline service providers who are feeling compassion fatigue. This is what it means:
What is shutting down what it seems like the client is going to say before the say it, or minimizing what they do say.
The silencing response can mean we miss important information by not asking/ cutting off the conversation too early. It can contribute to the client's retraumatization (feeling like their story doesn't matter). It can harm us too by building up feelings of insufficient care.
The practice of relentlessly taking in bad news via social media was called this by writer Karen Ho, who took it upon herself to use her Twitter account to remind people to stop doing it.
What is "doomscrolling?"
If you do it, how does it affect you?
In times of overwhelm, we are prone to "risk habituation," which means this.
What is: getting used to the danger and not taking it as seriously/ relaxing needed safety measures.
Risk habituation is a normal part of responding to a crisis; periods of hypervigilance are often followed in about 30 days by risk habituation. Protection from getting too lax can come from a regular, regimented assessment of risks and what needs to change to keep safe. Scheduling 'risk assessment' time can help with rumination.