While social workers care about others, they tend to forget their own needs. The term "setting boundaries" is an important one but most of us do not get acquainted with the meaning of the term. Consequently, the social workers get overwhelmed. Here are some tips by Kayleigh to help them overcome when they feel disempowered.
1. Tackling anxiety triggers.
Self-care is not essential for every day but not caring about ourselves can make us feel depleted and exhausted. The author started observing little things that triggered her anxiety at first. She had a new role and she found some of the tasks very consuming and extremely challenging. So, she worked late every day without breaks often alone which eventually led to a panic attack. She felt ashamed but then realized people do not have to be "always in control" because of social pressure. It may seem a weakness to some people but Kayleigh chose to believe that It can be our greatest source of strength.
Good quality support is important in social work and people share similar experiences and good advice once you start to open to others. The actions that she made led to loneliness but she managed to build relationships with others and gain self-confidence.
2. Don’t catastrophize mistakes.
Rather than focusing on the mistake, taking a little break or speaking to a trustworthy person helps her to know other people's perspectives and points of view. When the pandemic was just starting, many changes were happening and the author made a sudden decision without consulting with the manager. To avoid risks of people getting exposed, she quickly got someone discharged but after, she realized her mistake and called her manager. The manager comforted her and told her not to over-emphasize the negatives and jump to conclusions. "As long as we are not putting people at risk and trying our best despite challenges, that’s all we can do", the author says.
3. Find a trusted confidant(e).
Social workers do not tend to tell that they are overloaded and it is important to tell others when you feel overwhelmed because no one can tell you need the support. Having someone with who you can be honest is very helpful in these cases.
4. Know how to access support from your organization.
It is also important that the support is available through the organization and the social workers should know how to access confidential support. The author needed help in processing the psychological impact from someone who knows about this. She received support from the employee assistance program, talked to her manager about the problem she was having, and ensured safety in the future for everyone.
"Once I started to be a better advocate for myself, I have become more confident and a better social worker", she says.
5. "Treat yourself like someone you are helping".
If you are being critical about yourself, try thinking if you would do the same to others in the same situation. It is assuring to think this way and stops the negative thoughts. Rather than feeling pressured due to all the responsibility that she had, she reminded herself that she was a part of a bigger system. Also, she made sure the people she cared for were accessible to support when necessary because it helped her to avoid the anxiety caused by missed phone calls.
6. Plan your week to minimize pressure on yourself.
How you plan your work and time helps you to improve productiveness and well-being. The author used to plan multiple complex visits and work late on Fridays. It used to get even worse when additional emergencies happened but now she manages her visits earlier in the week and makes more time for unexpected emergencies.
7. Take charge of prioritizing your work.
If you are overloaded with so many tasks, just stop doing them and list all the things that you have to get done. By doing this, you will have control, analyze if you need help from others or not and justify that you do not need additional tasks. The author recommends "using a table on Microsoft Word to break my caseload and tasks down, along with a color-coding system for priorities works well, as I prefer having visual aids. Setting aside 15 minutes at the end of the day to add to this helps to avoid worrying that something is going to be forgotten overnight."
8. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”.
Remember what a good advocate you can be for others and do that to yourself. As a result, it will help you to gain more confidence and become a better social worker. The author felt inadequate often and she reminds herself that she is valuable. You do not have to know everything but you should trust in your ability to work things out.
9. Keep on learning.
"No matter how successful you become at setting boundaries, some people will not respect them." To develop practical tools in this area, she recommended books that can be seen on the website.