“Fear, uncertainty, loneliness, isolation, disruption—people feel like life is out of control,” says Darcy Gruttadaro, Director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation in Washington, D.C.
The problem is getting worse. In a survey taken in December, nearly 75 percent of workers said they were burned out. That’s up from 42 percent at the beginning of the year.
Regardless of what your workplace is doing to assist, ultimately our self-care is up to each of us. Recognizing what you personally need to make it through these trying times starts with acknowledging that they are challenging for you and that stress is higher than ever for most of us with the various changes that we have had to go through.
For me, I have had to do several things to account for the fact that many of my needs for my specific personality are not being met the way they were prior to the pandemic shutdown. I have had to acknowledge what was really stressing me out and adjust some behaviors.
- I no longer look at myself while on video. I figured out how to adjust my settings, so I am on camera but not looking at myself. Who looks at themselves all day????
- I make sure that I have space between meetings to get outside and walk even just for a few minutes.
- The phone still works so I mix up some one-on-one calls using the phone versus video.
- I walk away from my monitor and computer at the end of my workday, usually around 6 PM and don’t get back on my computer (most days) in order to maintain some balance.
- I maintain a very active outdoor life doing significant activity almost daily so that physically I am tired not just mentally and emotionally.
- I have become an even more avid reader than I was, mixing up novels and business books so that at night I am not going from one electronic screen to another all the time.
- I regularly connect with those that I have not been able to be with in person for almost a year to stay connected.
For those that are waiting for “things to get back to normal”, they won’t actually fully get back to what normal was. Things have changed and some of the ways that we have adapted to those changes have been positive both on a personal level as well as for businesses and organizations. As things open more and more and we are able to be doing many of the things that have been restricted, it is good to think about what you personally want to hang on to and what you don’t. Be prepared as the change continues to evolve and above all else take care of you because there is no one else that can do you!
If I can be of assistance, please reach out to me at janet@berkshiregroupinc.com.
