The Weekly Exchange: Session 4
Topic: Managing Anxiety and Fears in an Uncertain Time
Facilitators: Ginger Haggerty; Senior Associate & Stephanie Brueck-Cassoli; Director of Curriculum & Instruction

Future Topics
4/28: Beth Babcock: How a recession might impact the future of work: 21st Century Skills
5/5: Supporting Staff and Participants with Grief
5/12: Maintaining Boundaries
5/19: COVID-19 as a public health concern with Dr. Charlie Homer

How do we manage anxiety and fears in uncertain times?

Examples of identified anxieties

• Client-related (connects back to Session 1 discussion about self-care)
• Communicating with clients and not being able to get ahold of them and fear that they’re not doing well
• Working with families that do not like asking for help – we need to keep trying
• Not having answers or enough resources for clients
• Sadness with clients having to “reset” on a new normal
• Managing responsibilities (taking care of family and friends, teaching kids during distance learning) while also taking care of yourself
• Having anxiety about being anxious
• Struggling with so many unknowns

Concerns

• Organization’s leadership isn’t addressing staff anxiety and fear and can feel colleagues’ burn out
• Self-advocacy is important! If possible, start with building space to have those discussions within your team

Tips

• Start off meetings with meditation practice (Headspace has free resources)
• Build in time in between meetings to check in with yourself
• If your team has the environment where you feel comfortable sharing your feelings of anxiety do so or make that space with your colleagues
• Self-compassion: be patient and kind to yourself!

Tara Brach’s RAIN acronym R - Recognize what is happening A – Allow life to be just as it is I – Investigate inner experience with kindness N – Non-Identification

• Take PTO if it would help – that way you can have a day entirely for yourself
• Important to let go of the idea of doing things right or perfect
• We’re kind towards others, but need to make sure that we extend that to ourselves
• Have moments of gratitude throughout the day
• Creating a schedule/routine (personally and for work)
• Doing an online course as a team – good community building and provides structure

---

Referenced Resources:

Headspace Weathering the Storm is a collection of exercises to help support you through this time of crisis; Headspace for Work supports your teams health and happiness

Michelle Charfen shares her personal journey towards Unconditional Positive Regard and self-acceptance through the lens of parenting in a TEDx Talk titled Unconditional Positive Regard – The Power of Self-Acceptance

Webinar in Spanish by Josymar Chacin: Gestion del estres ante el Coronavirus: Herramientas de la psiconeuroinmunologia (translation: Psychoneuroimmunology and how to self-care during COVID-19)

Start with Yourself: Tools and Strategies for Coping With Stress and Trauma During the Pandemic with Denese Shervington on Wednesday April, 22 from 2:30 – 4pm ET provides strategies for stress management and self-care tools, and informing the planning for working with traumatized customers and communities