March, Social Workers Month, is stocktaking time.
This message is for us, our advocates, volunteers, and social workers in sister organizations. Take care of yourselves, unwind, laugh, and if you need to, cry.
Our chosen work is not easy. Some of the trauma transmits to you. How does one stay healthy, calm, and balanced in the face of many storms? Navigate suspicion, hostility, threats, to stay steadfast as a non-judgmental counsellor and guide?
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU TOO NEED CARE
Acceptance of one’s own vulnerability is the beginning to self-maintenance. Some of the stress busting strategies we feed our own clients will work for us too.
– Some regular physical exercise, because it is calming.
– Focus on breathing when you can feel the pressure rising.
– Find time for yourself (yes, it is possible).
– Pick up a therapeutic and creative activity like gardening, coloring, cooking.
– Practice mindfulness, still the mind
– Let your hair down.
– Figure out how NOT to take your work home. Create some boundaries, as much as possible.
– Take the support of a counsellor if required.
If we tick at least 5 of these boxes we will be better equipped to take care of others!! STRESS SKEWS THE ABILITY TO STAY NON-JUDGMENTAL
Who doesn’t feel guilt, taking a holiday while the client is in distress? Or inadequacy at not being able to bring a change in the situation? And how can one stay non-judgmental while fighting one’s own emotions, without end?
Continued stress can get us down, to ‘compassion fatigue’: the burnout phenomenon among social workers is well known.
AN ETHICAL OBLIGATION TO TAKE CARE
We’re not superhuman beings. At the same time we’ve taken the path of giving, not taking. Celebrated social worker SaraKay Smullens sums up our situation like this: “Exposure to stories of traumatic experiences, stressful workplace climates, having concerns for safety, and the increase in practice demands makes practicing self-care not just an idea but a professional and ethical obligation for social workers.”
So, pat yourself on the back, especially this month, for what you do for others, and do it right for yourself too!
MUST READS
The Art of Self-Care for Social Workers
By Alexandrya Blackmon, LBSW, MSW, and Terricka Hardy, LCSW, ACSW, BCD, CCFP
What I Wish I Had Known: Burnout and Self-Care in Our Social Work Profession
by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD
What is Mindfulness? A Simple Practice for Greater Wellbeing
