Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

COVID-19 has been making our work and personal lives more difficult for close to a year now. During that time, you’ve probably hit a few walls of exhaustion. You might not be sure how you’ll keep going. And you’ve maybe hit this kind of wall more than once throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

of a team at home and at work, and especially when you’re charged with leading any of those squads, hitting your own wall is more than inconvenient; it can present a feeling of crisis. And this crisis comes at a time you feel depleted of mental and physical energy to face it.

Hitting a wall is so much a part of muddling through this crisis, it is noted across financial, mental health, medical and social agencies and broadcasts. One thing is for certain: you are not alone. The good news is that another certainty comes with the wall – that you can get through it and build resilience for yourself and your teams in the process. 

Tips for knocking down the COVID walls as they come:

• Depersonalize it: Hitting the wall is not a reflection on your personal strength or abilities. It is a natural part of coping with chronic stress that has no certain ending. Repeat that statement to yourself, even if you don’t believe it.
• Cheer yourself on: Again, you don’t have to believe you’ll get through this in order for self-statements like “you got this” and “I can handle this” to be effective in helping you do so.
• Instead of working harder to get around the wall, do what your body and mind are suggesting: put on the brakes. You’ll actually be more efficient if you pause even briefly. As a bonus, those around you at work and at home can gain resilience from seeing you do this for yourself.

How do you do this? Here are a few ideas:

• Disengage on purpose: unplug from media and news for a few hours or days.
• Protect a five-minute period around transitions (e.g., to/from work and home) when you aren’t available to anyone, perhaps outside, perhaps in your vehicle or office.
• Embrace imperfection: acknowledge you won’t feel at your best and that’s normal and more than okay, even if it doesn’t feel that way. Having some compassion for yourself can improve your ability to bounce back and show others that they, too, can be kind to themselves in order to remain resilient.

For more information about stress relief during COVID-19, go to www.leadingagemncoaching.com.

At no charge, you can arrange virtual staff support groups through LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s COVID-19 Staff Coping & Support Line project. Contact Terri Foley at tfoley@leadingagemn.org or 651-815-8137.