Social Change Training Manual

STRESS MANAGEMENT & BURNOUT PREVENTION

Presenter: Katrina Shields

Why is training / workshopping On this topic needed?

High stress levels and burnout are very common among environmental activists - both paid and voluntary workers. High stress levels are, obviously, bad for individuals, for those close to them, and for the organisations in which they work. Turnover can become high, with loss of skilled and experienced people. Stressed people are not effective and can often create conflict and contribute to low morale. They also often act in ways which make it unattractive for new members to join the organisation. Cynicism, negativity and rigid thinking are side effects of chronic stress. Serious anguish and long term physical, emotional and motivational effects that are suffered privately are not unusual amongst activists who have worked for several years.

Taking care of the part of the environment over which we have the most control - that is, ourselves, is a vital part of effective activism. Putting some attention into stress management and physical, emotional and spiritual renewal is, to use Covey's analogy, "taking time to sharpen the saw".

Symptoms of long term stress and burnout

Physical

• Chronic tiredness - sleep does not refresh
• Decreased immunity - susceptible to colds, flu, allergies
• Aches and pains in joints, muscles, stomach or back
• Sleep affected - hard to get to sleep or wake early
• Weight loss / weight gain
• Decreased interest in sex

Behavioural

• Withdrawal and isolating oneself from friends and colleagues
• Rejecting help
• Lack of effectiveness
• Paranoid reaction, overly suspicious of others
• Not turning up to work / keeping commitments/decreased responsibility / professionalism

Mental / Emotional

• Depression
• Rigid thinking, lack of problem solving ability
• Resentfulness
• Negative mind set and irritability
• Crying or getting angry easily and inappropriately
• Forgetfulness
• Anxiety

Spiritual

• Cynicism about previously valued things
• Devoid of joy and unable to laugh
• Sense of futility and loss of meaning
• Inner sense of emptiness - nothing left to 'give'

Which of these symptoms if they occurred in your life would you certainly pay attention to and motivate you to change the stressful pattern that caused it?

Burnout Rating Scale

Think over the past 3 months and score the following questions according to how often you have experienced these symptoms.

0 = Never
1 = Very rarely
2 = Rarely
3 = Sometimes
4 = Often
5 = Very often

Adding up your total score will give you some indications whether you are likely to burn out or not.

1. Do you feel fatigued in a way that rest or sleep does not relieve?
2. Do you feel more cynical, pessimistic or disillusioned about things you used to feel positive about?
3. Do you feel a sadness or emptiness inside?
4. Do you have physical symptoms of stress, eg insomnia, stomach pains, headaches, migraines?
5. Is your memory unreliable?
6. Are you irritable or emotional with a short fuse?
7. Have you been more susceptible to illness lately, eg colds, 'flu, food allergies, hay fever?
8. Do you feel like isolating yourself from colleagues, friends or family?
9. Is it hard to enjoy yourself, have fun, relax and experience joy in your life?
10. Do you feel that you are accomplishing less in your work?

Scoring:

0 - 15 You are doing well.
16 - 25 Some attention needed, you may be a candidate.
26 - 35 You are on the road to burnout. Make changes now.
36 - 50 You need to take action immediately - your health and well-being are threatened.

Contributing Factors To Stress

There are many potential contributing factors to stress. They can be grouped in four ways: the nature of our work; personal or individual factors; organisational factors - the nature of our organisation (which the whole group and particularly the management is responsible for) ; and larger socio-political factors over which we have little control

Nature of our work

Much environmental work involves some or all of the following:

• Prolonged attention on disturbing and negative information and future projections Crisis work with a short term focus
• Apparent lack of results - sometimes unrealistic expectations due to lack of understanding of the long-term nature of social movements
• Working against resistance
• Lack of resources
• Personal factors

These interact with stressors related to personal relationships, identity, state of health:

• Motives / sense of identity (who we are) / personal values are equated with what we get done (or are seen to be doing)
• Accumulation, of emotions that are not dealt with for instance: grief, disappointment, conflict, uncertainty, frustration and obsession
• Denial of basic needs, for example the needs for adequate nutrition, exercise, sleep, time-out, recreation, creativity, intimacy, spirituality, or privacy
• Lack of personal planning / time management skills
• Inability to set boundaries and limits - staying focussed and effective (see page on effective stress managers / passive victims of stress

Organisational factors

• A group culture or ethos (often set by role models) of working too hard, competitiveness, overly-task focused, with a low process orientation
• Lack of clear and achievable goal setting, prioritising or realistic expectations
• Lack of review, evaluation, feedback or celebration
• Low team morale or support for individuals
• Unresolved conflicts or unawareness of oppressive attitudes or practices
• Chaotic, noisy, cramped or unaesthetic work environments
• Insufficient induction to jobs/roles and/or lack of training

Sociopolitical factors

• Patriarchal values such as: an attitude that workers are expendable, focussing on feelings or relationships is a waste of time, productivity is everything etc.
• Lack of resources for environmental work
• Early stages of a campaign or setbacks, etc
• Larger political climate

Qualities of Effective and Ineffective Stress Managers

Personal Strategies for Managing Stress

Alter / Remove Stressors

• Learn to recognise / anticipate your potential stressor
• Remove yourself from stress inducing situations if feasible
  Take action to manage your environment
• Take organisational / political / social action
• Build up conflict resolution / communication skills
• Life planning, eg set priorities
• Manage your time

Reduce Individual Vulnerability & Build Resistance

Develop self exploration / self awareness to rework attitudes, beliefs and self talk

• Talk, investigate check out perceptions
• Increase self confidence and assertiveness skills
• Improve social supports
• Balance work and leisure
• Get enough sleep
• Improve health status through nutrition and exercise
• Decrease use of alcohol, drugs, caffeine and nicotine

Reduce Impact of Stress Reactions

• Recognise symptoms - link to causes
• Modify negative self talk and self criticism
• Learn and use calming techniques and stress releasers eg:
• Relaxation training
• Meditation
• Massage
• Exercise
• Give priority to self renewal activities
• Be willing to seek professional help and other support
• Increase the amount of fun!

Preventing Stress & Burnout as part of Organisational Culture

Some Recommendations

1. Create a group culture / ethos that supports self-care, balance and sustainable work loads and patterns.
2. Take a long-term perspective of planning and working for the long haul, to keep experienced / skilled group members for as long as possible
3. Balance task focus with process and relationship / maintenance focus - in meetings, in daily work, in planning, and in evaluation
4. Provide workshops / training in stress management and burnout prevention - can be as part of conferences, gatherings or ongoing training / orientation.
5. Use regular planning and evaluation as a tool to reduce stress
6. Build stress level checks into reviews and evaluations - how stressed do people feel? What is contributing? What do we need to do about these?
7. Put stress prevention strategies on the agenda for meetings.
8. Allow people to express feelings of distress, grief and loss and frustration - regard them as normal and healthy responses to unhealthy situations and state of the world.
9. Provide individual or group debriefing after critical incidents or high stress campaigns. Keep an eye open for vulnerable individuals and see intervention as valid.
10. Create support structures, eg supervision, mentoring, support / affinity groups, larger group workshops.
11. Put value on socialising, fun, humour, relaxation time as a group.

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SUSTAINABLE ACTIVISM - Goals and Resources Worksheet

1. Goals and Priorities In order to be effective in my work, sustain myself and enjoy a balanced life what I will change is:
   
   
   
   
2. Action Plans Exactly what I have to do or find out (who, where, when etc.) to put these into action is:
   
   
   
   
3. Support The people I need support or cooperation from, or to communicate with to assist my action plans are:
   
   
   
   
4. The ways I might sabotage my changes are:
   
   
   
   
5. What I will do about my goals in the next 48 hours is:
   
   
   
   
6. What I will do in the next 2 weeks is:
   
   
   
   
7. What I will do in the next 3 months is:
   
   
   
   
8. I will reward myself for achieving my goals by:
   
   
   

Suggested Readings On Stress Management And Burnout Prevention

Shields, Katrina (1991) - In the Tiger's Mouth: An Empowerment Guide For Social Action, Millenium Books, Newtown, NSW

Oriented to social change activists, and contains worksheets and exercises that can be done individually or used to create workshops for groups. Deals with personal and organisational aspects of burnout prevention and recovering from burnout. Also other aspects of working well together.

Green, T & Woodrow, P (1993) - Insight & Action - How to Discover & Support a Life of Integrity and Commitment to Change, New Society Publishers, Philadelphia

Good ideas for creating support groups; how to create a "Clearness Process" for personal decision-making. And other useful tools.

Covey, S (1989) - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Business Library, Information Australia, Melbourne

Covey, S & Merrill, A (1994) - First Things First Simon & Schuster NY

Both the above provide good strategies for prioritising and working more effectively in all aspects of your life.

Ryan, R & Travis, J (1981) - Wellness Workbook - Creating Vibrant Health, Alternatives to Illness and Burnout, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley Ca.

Encouraging self-responsibility for long-term wellbeing.

Jaffe, D & Scott, C (1984) - From Burnout to Balance - a Workbook for Peak Performance and Self-Renewal, McGraw Hill, New York

A lot of good self-assessment tools and strategies, oriented to the business world.

Katrina Shields
Social Change Training Resource Centre
2 Terania Street
The Channon

Phone: 02 66886196

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