Relentless Self Care

– a taster

Dr Iñigo Tolosa
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Cancer Centre QEH – UHB
Planning this Presentation
 Who am I? What do I do?
 Who are you? What do you do?
 What do YOU want to discuss?
 What do you NOT want to hear about?
 What are you willing to DO, here and now?

 Based on research, teaching and publications by Prof Peter Maguire

Format of presentation
 Interactive presentation on:
 What stresses you out?
 Why self care is important?
 Causes of stress and burn out
 Key signs
 Consequences
 Exercise:
 Identifying your warning signs
 Discussion & Feedback
 Self Care
 Brainstorm – what stresses you out?
 Why is self care important?
 To prevent burnout
 To reduce stress
 To improve job satisfaction
 To improve quality of life
 Self Care - Actions
 Immediate Action Plan
 Planning for Stress Reduction
 Identifying Stressors
 Identifying Stress Relievers
 Mentoring System & Support
Causes of Stress and Burnout
 Job

 Work overload or underload

 Physical danger
 Dissatisfaction
Causes of Stress and Burnout
 Role
 Ambiguity
 Conflict
 Given excess responsibility
 Take on too much
 Self critical
 High expectations
 Unrealistic expectations
Causes of Stress and Burnout
 Career

 Insecure
 Under promotion versus over promotion
Causes of Stress and Burnout
 Relationships at work
 Lack of perceived support
 Undue bureaucracy
 Conflict / resentment of job demands
(e.g. shift work, long hours, poor
communications, conflict with
colleagues)
Monitoring
Signs of Body Thoughts Feelings Behaviours
Stress

Early

Late
 Key Signs - Body
 Increased heart rate  Hot and cold flushes
 High blood pressure  Blushing
 Difficulty breathing  Sweating
 Skin dryness
 Difficulty swallowing
 Rashes
 Feelings of nausea
 Numbness
 Hyperventilation
 Tingling sensations
 Tense, contracted muscles,  Increased blood sugar levels
nervous twitches
 Dilation of pupils, dry mouth
 Backache  Frequent urination
 Immune system less
efficient
 Key Signs - Behaviour
 Difficulty sleeping  Drug taking
 Early waking  Accident proneness/
trembling
 Emotional outbursts
 Avoiding particular
 Aggression situations
 Overeating or loss  Inactivity or inability
of appetite to sit without
fidgeting
 Excessive drinking
 Constant tiredness
 Excessive smoking
 Key Signs - Emotions
 Anxiety  Moodiness (mood
(nervousness, swings)
tension, phobias,  Loneliness
panics)  Jealousy
 Depression  Suppressed anger
(sadness, lowered
 Inability to feel
self-esteem, apathy,
sympathy with others
fatigue)
 Guilt and shame
 Key Signs - Thoughts
 Difficulty in  Negative self-critical
concentrating thoughts
 Difficulty in making  Distorted ideas
decisions  More rigid attitudes
 Frequent  Loss of sense of
forgetfulness humour
 Increased sensitivity
to criticism
 Key Signs - Health
 Excessive concern  Migraine, headaches
about own physical  Asthma, hay fever
health  Skin rashes
 Coronary heart  Irregular
disease menstruation
 Stomach ulcers,  Diarrhoea
nausea, irritable
bowel syndrome
Key Signs – Other effects

 Impaired ability to make decisions

 Distancing from civilians and colleagues
 Avoidance
 Absenteeism
 Problems in personal relationships
Consequences of Stress
 Emotional Exhaustion

 Lack of energy
 Feel unable to face another day
 Can give no more of self emotionally
 No source of replenishment
Consequences of Stress
 Depersonalisation

 Negative cynical attitudes

 Unable to feel sympathy and empathy
 Resent colleagues and civilians
 Detached, cold and uncaring
Consequences of Stress
 Personal Accomplishment

 Low job satisfaction

 Feel little is accomplished
 Feel guilt, shame
Consequences of Stress
 Personal Life

 Impact on own quality of life?

 At home?
 With friends?

 Elsewhere?
 Solutions
 Recognising the symptoms and causes
of job stress and burnout is an
important first step towards finding
solutions.
 Indeed, knowing that burnout is a risk
faced by all police workers can lead to
preventive measures
Action Plan
Action Body Thoughts Feelings Behaviours

Preventative

Early

Late
Available Action Plans
 Breath
 Relaxation
 Exercise
 Debriefing
 Mindfulness
 Hobbies
 Letting Rip (healthily)
 “Washing off the dirt in work time”
 Recommended Reading, as a great tool for all regarding life and work satisfaction:
 “The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness”
 by Williams, Teasdale & Kabat-Zinn
Levels of Action

 Institutional

 Local Team

 Individual
 Blocks to seeking help
 Fear

 Shame

 Lack of Awareness

 Habit?

 Others?
 Identifying your warning signs

 At work

 At home
 Self Care
 What will you do TODAY?
 What works for you?
 Where do you get peer support from?
 Further training
Discussion and Feedback
 Questions
 Thoughts and Comments
 Suggestions

Thank you!