Psychological self care

Learning objectives
 To recognise and clarify the demanding nature of
mental health work
 To identify the advantages of psychological self care
 To reflect on individual coping strategies
 To map personal and professional resources
 To draw up a personal action plan to maximise
resources for good psychological self care
Normal reactions to stress
HOW MANY DO YOU RECOGNISE?

Causes of stress can be:

 Internal – arising from within the individual
 External – arising from the external events and demands

The effects of stress can be:

 Physical
 Psychological
 Behavioural
 Cognitive
Physical signs of stress
Including:
 Feeling tired most of the time
 Sleeping difficulties (too little, too much, poor quality)
 Constipation and diarrhoea
 Headaches and other aches and pains
 Nausea
 High blood pressure
 Skin disorders
 Heart racing
 Night time sweating
 Poor appearance (hygiene, clothing, grooming)
Behavioural signs
Including:
 Inability to sit still
 Frequent crying
 Doing more work – there is never enough time
 Being constantly “on the go”
 Avoidance of work or being later for work
 Spending longer working but getting less done
 Putting things off/indecisiveness
 Increased alcohol consumption
 Having minor accidents
 Altered eating patterns (too much, too little, poor nutrition)
 Biting finger nails
 Under performing
 Being argumentative/irritable
 Demonstrating poor judgment
 Losing interest in relationships/work/sexuality
Emotional signs
Including:
 Frustration
 Anxiety
 Restlessness
 Despair
 Irritability
 Dread of the future
 Feeling angry, hurt, worried
Cognitive signs
 Difficulty in making decisions
 Difficulty in concentrating
 Negative thoughts such as “I can’t win”, “I
can’t cope”
 Forgetting things
 Reduction in problem solving
 Ruminating (repetitive thoughts)
Burnout: Warning signs
Common early warning signs which may indicate that
staff are not receiving sufficient levels of support and
maybe becoming overwhelmed include:
 occasional episodes of “not coping”
 increasing cynicism towards the work in which they are
engaged
 increased sickness rates

If these warning signs are not recognized and the necessary

supportive actions taken, staff will become increasingly less
effective and eventually be unable to work.
Symptoms of burn out
 loss of a sense of humour
 persistent sense of failure
 anger/resentment
 progressively more cynical,
 afraid and lonely
 sensitive to criticism
 cannot be bothered
 depressed
 feelings of panic
Behavioural signs of burnout
 resistance to patient contact and going to work
 working harder to achieve less
 increasing social isolation
 avoidance of contact with colleagues
 clumsiness
 aggressive driving
 inability to sit still or settle
 eating too much or too little
 nervous laughter
Cognitive signs of burnout
 negative thinking:
 thoughts about leaving the job
 loss of creative problem solving
 inability to concentrate or listen
 dehumanising patients
 suspicion and mistrust of others
 inability to make decisions
 forgetful
 inability to make plans
 thinking about the past
Advantages of psychological self care
 A different relationship with yourself – one that is understanding
and accepting of your strengths and vulnerabilities.
 The ability to recognise and reflect on your own reactions and
feelings.
 The ability to listen to your own intuitions.
 The capacity to listen accurately and actively to another person.
 The ability to look after yourself psychologically when you need to.
 An acceptance of individual uniqueness, differences and similarities.
 A clearer sense of order in terms of what matters most.
 More effective and thoughtful decisions regarding actions to be
taken.
 A healthier balance between attachment and detachment.
 A reduction of the fears associated with one’s own distressing
feelings and reactions and those of others
Psychological self care
Principles
 Balance your work and leisure time
 Prioritise the way in which you spend your time – do not
allow others to waste it
 Control interruptions
 Allow time for thinking and the unexpected
 Delegate work whenever it is appropriate
 Be assertive – learn to say “no” both to unnecessary work
and to taking on other people’s tasks
 Put past mistakes behind you – do not dwell on them
 Review significant problems and learn to manage them
better – make realistic action plans
A personal action plan
 People are unique individuals. Everyone
reacts differently to some degree to stressful
and demanding situations

 Knowing yourself will provide your greatest

source of strength and inner resilience in
difficult and challenging circumstances
A personal action plan
 Psychological “housekeeping” - time alone for internal reflection.
No matter how busy, no matter how many demands, make a
date with yourself on a regular basis to review what you need
 Use any type of personal writing to aid this process – a diary,
review of the previous week, anticipating/thinking in advance
about situations which may be more demanding
 Identify whether sources of stress are internal (how you are
thinking) or external (the events themselves)
 Talk to yourself in a friendly, helpful way, as if you were
supporting a good friend.
 Identify what you can change – within yourself, with your
colleagues, within your organisation – to maintain optimum
psychological care.
 Find someone to talk to when needed. Do not wait until you
are reaching breaking point