Self Care for Lawyers II- Lawyer Wellness Newsletter Summer 2017

The Great Balancing Act

Welcome to the Summer 2017 issue of Balance, NJLAP’s e-newsletter about Lawyer Wellness and Well Being. You may have noticed that we have renamed the newsletter. Balance more accurately describes the goal we all have for our lives: dealing with the sometimes opposing facets of life–work life, home life, public life, private life–and all the various tasks, activities and responsibilities that go with them.

How would you describe your efforts to maintain balance?
For me, I have settled on picturing myself juggling flaming chainsaws, while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Blindfolded. That image has worked for me for years, not only accurately describing how I feel at times, but also putting a humorous spin on it. In fact, finding humor on a daily basis can be a big stress reliever as you try to juggle your day.

For lawyers, Balance also has a special meaning.
The famous balance beam scale is an important symbol to Law professionals. The Scales of Justice represent the opposing sides of a case, weighed out impartially by an often-blindfolded Lady Justice— signifying fairness. But unlike in a legal case, lawyers want their Scales of Life not to tip too much to one side or the other.

Part of NJLAP’s vision is to help lawyers achieve that balance through prevention, education and risk reduction. This newsletter is part of that vision.

If you have any questions about how to maintain balance in your life, or would like more information about a particular wellness or well being subject, please email us at info@njlap.org

And, no matter what the problem, you need not manage alone.
NJLAP is a phone call away at 800-246-5527.

Until the fall issue,

Noreen Braman
NJLAP Program Manager & Publications Editor

If you are reading this newsletter on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and would like to get it delivered directly to your email box, please request to subscribe by emailing info@njlap.org. As always, our email lists and your correspondence with us, are kept completely confidential. We look forward to hearing from you!

In this issue: Self Care for Lawyers

Taking a mental health day to hit the beach?
Science may actually support this!

By Denise Golonka, NJLAP Clinical Manager

Ah, summer, when many of us are dreaming of spending time at the beach instead of sitting at our desks, harking back to a time of no worries or cares and endless days of relaxation and fun stretched before us. But now we have bills to pay, families to care for and jobs that often judge and compensate us by the amount of time spent in the office. What if you knew that spending some time at the shore could actually improve your mental health?

I already lost some of you didn’t I? That is actually one of the hardest parts of my job as a counselor, convincing people to invest in their health—both physical and mental. Especially after law school, when enormous debt can fuel the drive to work as much as possible. Taking time for oneself is easily dismissed.

But science tells us that taking time for self-car makes us more productive and effective in the both at work and at home.

So how does the beach fit in?

Vitamin D – 5 to 10 mins, 2 to 3 times a week can satisfy your bodies’ Vitamin D requirements[i].
Sound of the waves—whether it is crashing surf or lapping waves, the rhythmic pattern of the waves has been found to be calming[ii]
Ocean views linked to reduced psychological distress[iii]
Being by the ocean can increase creativity[iv]

It doesn’t have to be a week-long vacation in the islands. Take a day or even an afternoon at the shore. Sit on a bench, put your toes in the sand or walk along the boardwalk or water’s edge. Mark it on your calendar as a meeting, set an alarm, do whatever it takes to make it a priority. Can you technically use a sick day for this? Probably not. But your need to take sick days could be reduced by this!

Read More:
Healing Waters? It's what beach life does for us
Sources:
[i] Vitamin D: vital role in your health
[ii] Why Sounds of Water Help You Sleep
[iii] Lower Psychological Distress Linked to Ocean Views
[iv] Why being near the ocean can make you calmer and more creative

More Information About Self Care

Why Self Care is Critical to Being a Good Lawyer

The Price of Getting it All Done - Women Lawyers Online

Self Care: Berkeley Law

Why Lawyers should embrace, not ridicule, mindfulness

Creating a Self-Care Toolkit

Compassion Fatigue and Attorneys

A Sample of Laughter Wellness with NJLAP Program Manager, Noreen Braman

What wellness topics are you interested in learning more about? What questions can we answer for you about stress, substance use, or depression? Email us at i nfo@njlap.org and we will answer your question in an upcoming newsletter. And of course you will be anonymous!

NJLAP
One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ
800-246-5527
www.NJLAP.org

Recovery Corner - Words of Encouragement and Thought Provocation for our Colleagues and Friends in Recovery
submitted each newsletter by an attendee from Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers

What does it take to use the life we already have in order to make us wiser than more stuck? What is the source of wisdom at a personal, individual level?

The answer to these questions seems to have to do with bringing everything that we encounter to the path. Everything naturally has a ground, a path and a fruition. This is life saying that everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. But it is also said that the path itself is both the ground and the fruition. The path is the goal.

The path has one very distinct characteristic: it is not prefabricated It doesn’t already exist. The path that we’re talking about is the moment-by-moment evolution of our experience, the moment-by-moment evolution of the world of phenomena, the moment-by-moment evolution of our thoughts and emotions. The path is uncharted. It comes into existence moment by moment and at the same time drops away behind us.

When we realize that the path is the goal, there’s a sense of workability. Everything that occurs in our confused mind we can regard as the path. Everything is workable.

- Comfortable With Uncertainty, Pema Chodrun, at 199 (Shambala 2008)

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