November CBA Report

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Stress is an inevitable consequence of our busy lives. The
Balanced Living column has spent this year soliciting arti-
cles focused on stress and how different people cope with the
stress of being a lawyer. One constant theme is that each person
has built something into their lives that shifts the focus from
stress to self-care. You cannot eliminate stress. It is inevitable.
You can, however, reset your body after a stressful event so that
you return to a balanced physical and mental state more quickly.
The best way to do this is to practice proactive self-care.
Self-care is not selfish.
You must put yourself first before you can help others. Lawyers
spend a lot of time caring for others and fixing their problems
only to find that they have no time to care for themselves. Self-care
is the essential element to mediating the physical and emotional
effects of stress. You are not helpful to your family, friends,
co-workers or clients if your brain and body are not functioning
in an optimal way.
Set limits.
Setting limits on your commitments to clients, co-workers,
family and friends can be difficult. Lawyers have a tendency to not
be great at saying no. Because we need clients to survive, we take
on more work than we should or work we don’t enjoy. In addition,
there are cases that snowball out of control. What starts out as a
routine task morphs into something you are forced to deal with.
When you overcommit yourself to too many cases, you end up
doing nothing well. Knowing how to limit your commitments in
and outside of the office is a huge challenge. Learning to say no
or prioritizing ourselves over work and family commitments can
seem selfish but it keeps us functional.
Know the physical signs of stress.
Our bodies are designed to have the same response regardless
of whether our stress is mental or physical. We all experience a dry
mouth, accelerated heartbeat, and increased sweat, for example.
Once you realize that stress has caused this physical reaction, you
can begin to take measures to reset your body.
Change your initial response to a stressor.
Some basic tips for coping during a stressful moment include:
pausing before responding, waiting to send an email response
tomorrow, taking three deep breaths exhaling slightly longer
than inhaling to reset your autonomic nervous system, or walk
away from your desk or office. If you are lucky, you may run into
a colleague who can commiserate with you. I personally find
waiting to send an email response is one of the best methods for
preventing a stressful situation from snowballing into a bigger
conflict.
Create a go-to activity when stressed and a
few backups as well.
Create a healthy place to take your stress. I personally believe
the best thing you can do for your body is some physical exercise.
Take a walk, hit the gym, or find a way to work the stress out of
your body. Find something that provides you with an escape from
the work and the pressure. I exercise immediately after work three
Creating a
Self-care Plan
By Tabitha M. Hochscheid
November 2017 CBA REPORT l 13
Balanced Living