Originally posted: October 23, 2023
I had a psychologist appointment last week. I’ve been seeing her (virtually) every three months or so. Last week we talked about interrupting stress.
Like others at work, I tend to try to fill gaps and get things done. I often push through, thinking it won’t take long, and I don’t say no very often.
I shared with her how September was busy and I wasn’t intentional about building in enough recovery time, so at the end of the month, I found myself exhausted, emotions close to the surface, catastrophizing, and short-tempered. Cumulative stress.
She asked, “What do you do when you know you are stressed?”
Well, I am better at seeing the busy schedule, getting ahead of it, and building in recovery time, but I’m not super good at interrupting my stress response when I’m in it. In the end, I pay for that, and so do my teammates. ?
So, she has me working on become more self-aware and using grounding techniques. In fact, we sat and breathed together for five minutes and then did a mindfulness task (describing things I see, hear, touch).
Funny, eh? I talk mental health every day and I still can’t see it when I’m in it.