{"id":765,"date":"2017-02-20T19:48:55","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T00:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/?p=765"},"modified":"2017-02-20T19:50:32","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T00:50:32","slug":"radical-self-care-3-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/20\/radical-self-care-3-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"Radical Self-Care: 3 Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pace of life in today\u2019s world and a cultural focus on productivity and outcomes leave little time for self-care. Taking time for mental hygiene is not embedded in our culture in the way physical hygiene is; I would argue that both are equally important. You\u2019ve probably heard or even used the phrase, \u201cI thrive on stress.\u201d In our scientific culture, long days and nights in the lab or in front of the computer are worn as a badge of honor, of dedication to the cause, or simply what must be done. And while low levels of temporary stress do lead to increases in some measures of performance and productivity, our bodies did not evolve to \u201cthrive\u201d on high levels of chronic stress<\/a>. This leads to decreases in output and creativity, but is also correlated to long-term risks to your cardiovascular and immune health. Functioning on low levels of emotional energy and high levels of stress for long periods of time can feel like we\u2019re treading water: we\u2019re still breathing, but it\u2019s not sustainable.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes us sinking to notice that something is wrong and feel required to take action. And while some of us notice the issues while we\u2019re treading water, there\u2019s a fear that putting in more energy to fix things followed by failure will only make things worse. Many things have been said about the PhD (and academic science in general) and whether or not continuing is worth it, including this recent blog<\/a> in Science and this one on the \u201cValley of Sh*t.\u201d<\/a> As someone who was recently in that place, and has hit rock bottom at other points in my life, I\u2019ve developed a three point strategy for turning discomfort and stress into personal growth, ultimately leading to what one of my past counselors has called \u201cRadical Self-Care\u201d, and a recognition of what my needs are in a situation. Though these three points are listed in the order that makes sense for me, sometimes there is a clear need for one over another. Care must be taken however, to not get stuck on one solution if it fails to get us where we want it to:<\/p>\n

1. Change your perspective:<\/em><\/p>\n

As a creative writer and biomedical scientist also interested in psychology, I get stuck in my head\u2026a lot. It\u2019s easy to lose perspective, and to forget that every stressor in our lives is filtered through the bias of our own experience. Sometimes, the stressor is a perceived conflict with someone who is on the same page as us, and communication is the issue. Other times, the stressors are so ingrained into our lives that we forget they\u2019re stressors at all. As a recent example from my own life, I had to resort to start leaving my phone at home and make a conscious effort to stay off Facebook. Not only was it distracting me and breaking my focus, the constant barrage of political information and news along with other stressors was causing me high levels of anxiety.<\/p>\n

Talking to friends, family, mentors you trust, or even trained counselors, can help give you a fresh perspective. The caveat is that these people in your life must understand that they\u2019re there to actively listen and non-judgmentally check your perception of reality, not to unconditionally support your position and rile you up even more. Questions to them like, \u201cdoes that make sense to you?\u201d and \u201cWhat does this sound like to you, from your perspective,\u201d can help tease that role out of them. Counseling, mindfulness<\/a>, and CBT<\/a> from trained professionals also fall into this first category.<\/p>\n

2. Change your environment:<\/em><\/p>\n

As human beings, we have needs, both emotional and physical. When those needs aren\u2019t being met, our emotional or physical energy levels can also go down. This is the part where you start prioritizing YOU, and it\u2019s not selfish. This is the important distinction between self-esteem and self-compassion<\/a>. If your needs for exercise and free play aren\u2019t being met, take more time from work to do these things. Have conversations with your supervisors, loved ones, and colleagues about your need for (autonomy, respect, independence, security\u2026fill in the blank with this list of needs<\/a>.) Learn to say \u201cNO\u201d, and your schedule will begin not only to open up due to increased autonomy, but also because with higher emotional energy, you will be much more productive to finish the things you cannot say no to. Of course, many who are stuck in toxic relationships or environments spend plenty of years and energy in trying to change their own outlook (Strategy #1) or their partners, employers, environments, etc. (Strategy #2). Which brings me to Strategy #3.<\/p>\n

3. Leave:<\/em><\/p>\n

Leaving is NOT failure, and it is also not a last-minute option. Leaving is what we do when our essential needs as human beings are not being met, when our common humanity is not being respected, and when those who we are involved in relationships with fail to pull their weight of the relationship. Figuring out when to leave is difficult, and again, having a good support network is essential to help us manage difficult transitions. If you are considering leaving, I recommend you practice what I call \u201cProactive Patience\u201d: waiting for the best moment\/opportunity for an exit, but actively working towards creating and attracting that opportunity. In the case of a PhD or Postdoc, it means looking at lab, department, or career alternatives, while at the same time building a network of people you trust who will advocate for you and support you through the transition.<\/p>\n

Regardless of which Self-Care strategy is appropriate for your situation, know that being in a position where you feel more comfortable and confident in yourself will lead to greater life satisfaction and therefore success in your passions and career. As human beings, we are neither meant to tread water endlessly nor sink. We are meant to float, to swim, to fly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pace of life in today\u2019s world and a cultural focus on productivity and outcomes leave little time for self-care. Taking time for mental hygiene is not embedded in our culture in the way physical hygiene is; I would argue that both are equally important. You\u2019ve probably heard or even used the phrase, \u201cI thrive … Continue reading Radical Self-Care: 3 Strategies<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[84,83,82,18],"coauthors":[38],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7z5Ki-cl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2016\/04\/28\/burnout-in-academia\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":0},"title":"Burnout in Academia","date":"April 28, 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"The Greater Good Science Center\u00a0has recently published this article\u00a0on risk factors for Burnout. What struck me most about the article\u00a0is that in three out of the four risk factors, author Tchiki Davis mentions her experiences in graduate school. Does the culture at your institute perpetuate these risks? Does your own\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interesting Articles"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":558,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/26\/in-search-of-truth-and-happiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":1},"title":"In Search of Truth and Happiness","date":"June 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently found myself at the King's Arms pub at Oxford, across the street from the newly opened Weston Library, where works such as the Gutenberg Bible and Dorothy Hodgkin's drawings of the structure of penicillin are on display. I was\u00a0there discussing happiness with\u00a0Michael Plant, a DPhil student in philosophy\u00a0studying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":853,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/04\/scismic-lab-seeker\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":2},"title":"Scismic Lab Seeker","date":"January 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A great new resource that has been in development for some time and recently released its Beta version, Scismic, aims to \u201cempower scientists to develop and take charge of their careers.\u201d With this aim, Scismic founders Danika Khong, Elizabeth Wu, and Claudia Dall\u2019Osso have developed and released Scismic Forum and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":726,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/04\/academia-incompatible-with-family-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":3},"title":"Academia Incompatible with Family Life","date":"December 4, 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"Here is yet another article pointing to the larger issue in academia of increasing competitiveness and a focus and glorification of an unhealthy lifestyle.\u00a0While social scientists continue to correlate mental well-being and balanced time spent with loved ones with creativity and productivity, our culture continues to push us away from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interesting Articles"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":239,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/02\/dividing-and-conquering\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":4},"title":"Dividing and Conquering","date":"May 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I've found it quite interesting lately that a few of the students and lab heads I talk to about the issues in science immediately shut down and say, \"that's just the way science is.\" Other times when discussing one issue, all the other issues inevitably come up due to their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":708,"url":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/10\/redefining-success-stories-barbara\/","url_meta":{"origin":765,"position":5},"title":"Redefining Success Stories – Barbara","date":"November 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Barbara is a currently a Research Assistant at Oxford University, and is also the mother of two children, aged 6 and 10. 1) In which ways does your definition of success align with those currently put forth by our scientific culture, and in which ways does it differ? My personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Redefining Scientific Success"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":769,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/765\/revisions\/769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=765"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmosphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}