How Clinicians Can Achieve a Better Work/Life Balance By Handling Stress

By Katie Cooper, MS, OTR/L, LSVT Certified
Occupational Therapist
Regional Quality Assurance Liaison
NJ Central 3

Work/life balance has been a hot topic over the last few years and an extremely challenging task to achieve given the daily stressors in our lives. This is certainly true for working clinicians when dealing with documentation requirements, challenging patients, scheduling challenges, and more. COVID has definitely added additional stressors with increased PPE requirements, patient cancellations, and stress regarding exposure to the virus. The good news is that with some understanding of how our body responds to stress, we can turn off this response and allow true rest and relaxation to occur.

Once we handle stress correctly, we have time to manage our daily tasks and find a better balance. And, when we end the stress cycle daily, we start to handle the daily stressors more easily and with decreased reactions.

Where Does Stress Come From?

When our body perceives a stressor (work, kids, taking out the trash, etc), it activates the HPA axis, which includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenals. This is what helps our body get into “fight or flight” mode by releasing glucose into the bloodstream, reducing resources to the digestive and reproductive systems, and increasing blood pressure.

This is a great response when you actually need to fight or run from danger, but in our modern world, with stressors coming multiple times a day, this response can be maladaptive and lead to chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance, digestive issues and difficulty with reproduction.

Luckily, there are quick and effective ways to turn off the stress response and let our body “rest and digest”.

5 Ways Clinicians Can Reduce Stress

Managing stress doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Adding one or two of these activities into your daily routine will help reduce the effects of stress on your body and mind. When you are able to handle your stress, you have more energy to dedicate to your patients.

• Movement: Try something calming like a walk outside, yoga, or dancing. Avoid intense workouts that can cause extra stress to the body. Movement allows the mind to focus on something other than the stressor and tells the brain that you are safe allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to activate.
• Breathing: Deep breathing like box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing. Do this for 1-2 minutes and notice the change in your body. Deep breathing activates your vagus nerve which turns off the stress response and decreases your blood pressure and heart rate.
• 20-Second Hug: Do this with someone you truly love and trust. This once again tells the brain that you are safe and no longer need to be in “fight or flight”, allowing this response to turn off and active “rest and digest”.
• Laughter: Deep, on-the-floor laughter. Something that leaves you in tears. Again, this tells the brain you are safe, allowing the body to end the stress cycle.
• Sleep: A good, solid sleep signals to your body that you are safe. (FYI a 30-minute yoga Nidra practice can equal 2-4 hours of deep sleep).
  Incorporating these techniques into a daily routine is the best way to mitigate the effects of chronic stress on our bodies. Try out a few of these tips and see what works best for you. Schedule time into your day to remind yourself to use these strategies. With practice, it will become a habit and transform how your body reacts and handles stress.

Benefits of Less Stress When Working

Personally, when I am using these techniques regularly, I find I am more present with my patients, able to provide more creative treatment interventions and my notes are done by the end of my workday. At home, I am more present with my family and have more time for activities I enjoy and therefore, reinforce my overall well-being and work/life balance.

Happy moving, breathing, hugging, laughing, and sleeping!