Are You Stressed Out?

Massage Therapists work  in what the general public would call a calm environment.   Dim lights, relaxing music, blissful clients, no worries.

*the lights blare along with the sound of screeching tires bringing you to a halting stop*

If you are reading this right now, chances are that is not the case in your practice or at your job.  And, as we all know, that scenario is not a realistic view anyway. 

The problem with stress is that it can eventually lead to burn-out and the potential for the therapist to quit practice completely if a healthy alternative is not found soon enough.  When this happens, we loose a gifted individual who could have impacted many lives in a positive fashion within our profession.

Below are the basic types of practice many of us find ourselves in:

• Therapist practicing in a spa or group setting.
• Therapist  in private practice.
• On call therapist.
• Therapist with multiple jobs and/or any combination of the above.

So, where do you fit in?  And, what are your potential and given stressors on any day? 

The potential for stress as a therapist is expansive.  I suggest we take a look at some of the highlights.

• If you are practicing in a group setting the  dynamics can be difficult when you  have a conflict with one or more of the other therapists. 
• In private practice you can easily have the weight and worry of the entire business resting on your shoulders.
• If you are on-call and working site to site, how often do you fight traffic and the weight of your table?
• And, let’s consider the therapist who is juggling two jobs and their private practice, or one totally unrelated job + massage at night or on the weekends.
• Yet another possibility is taking on stress from clients or maintaining an unruly client who continues to make a session miserable.

Step one – Evaluate:

• Ask yourself pointed questions and reflect.  Write in a journal.

Step two – Identify:

• Look for trends and patterns within your personal reflections, questions and journal.

Step three – Find Ways to Correct and/or Remove the Stress:

• Locate a mentor (preferably within the profession).
• Find a group of therapists you can talk with.  Bodywork Online is one of many useful sources.
• Exercise.
• Get the proper amount of sleep.
• Watch your eating habits.  Pay attention to good nutrition.

Step four – Follow Through:

• Even the best laid plans are useless if you don’t follow through.  Take steps to ensure that you make a conscious effort to decrease the stressors one at a time.  Baby steps.  And, if you can kill two birds with one stone, by all means do so.

Encourage others by letting us know how you kicked a stressor in your practice with a reply below.

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3. Ten Favorite Things (To Do)
4. You’re Never Too Old to Learn Something
5. Building A Private Practice
6. Communications Policy & Business Practices
7. Interview With Confidence

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Tags: postaweek2011, practice issues