Personal Wellness Assessment and Burnout Prevention
As part of my very first class in my masters of professional counseling, I have had to work through a personal assessment stress management and burnout prevention. Wowza! That is not easy ya’ll! I was rocking some stress this week so it feels like writing about what I do to manage stress should be less, eat healthy and exercise and more eat chocolate and binge Netflix. Alas, it is a graduate level course and I actually want to pass.
That being said, I want to provide for you the same tools I utilized to process stress management so you can come up with your own plan to find peace and avoid burnout.
1.Stress Reaction Inventory : Cognitive (mental thought), emotional, behavioral, spiritual, interpersonal (social interaction), and physical. Take some time to look through the list and notice the ones that apply to you. You can print the document or journal it. Which areas do you show stress through the most? Does this surprise you? How is what you find through this document different from how you thought you processed stress? Mine was physical and cognitive. I had the idea reading through this that if my mind and body show stress then I need to find ways to give my mind rest and strengthen my body to better handle stress as well as give it ways to process stress in a healthy way. I am by no means a professional counselor or a licensed anything yet. So what I share is mostly just my journey at this point.
2.Self-Care Assessment: As far as ways to manage stress, to do self-care, the Self-Care Assessment is amazing. When you look through the list of self-care ideas, what appeals to you? How do you already manage your stress? How does what you do to manage stress look with how you manifest stress? This list has so many great ideas for stress relief. I highly suggest you print it and keep it as a resource. I am going to print it (when I get ink for my printer) and hang it on my closet door. I currently use the glass sliding door to tape pictures, put sticky notes with quotes and ideas as well as use a dry erase marker to write ideas as I get ready in the morning.
I have some very hard set things I do to help manage stress. I penned in times on my schedule where I regularly get together with friends. I have one afternoon a week I will not ever plan anything in so that I always have that time for myself. Date night with my husband is also a must; at least twice a month.
Take the time to look over these three resources. Fortunately, you don’t have a deadline and an assessment paper deadline so meditate, journal, ponder, ask a friend or your spouse on their thoughts. Sit down with some colorful markers or pens, maybe do with a friend and go over the “Pie of Life” Exercises. Almost anything is better when you have the support of a great friend.
A friend reminded me today to not over thing everything. That is so difficult for me. I over think everything! She is right however. When working to manage stress becomes stressful, it is time to chill. Chocolate and Netflix may not be the best primary way to handle stress in the long run but it is not bad on occasion. I usually save my binge watch nights for the first night of my husband’s TDY’s (business trips). I have a tradition of easy dinner the first night, I don’t fully clean the kitchen and I binge watch a show. Then the rest of the time, I do all the things. Make it fun. Try things out. Don’t take yourself seriously and enjoy the adventure.