New research has established that artificial activation of memories stored during a positive experience can suppress the effects of stress-induced depression. Read the News
Recalling Positive Memories Reverses Stress-induced Depression
Building Resilience in the Law Makes Good Sense
Paula M. Davis-Laack writes in the Wisconsin Lawyer magazine, “When lawyers are disengaged and lack the resilience to withstand challenge and pressure, productivity goes down, turnover goes up, billiable hours and profits shrink, and the bottom line is affected.” Read the News
Anxiety Management for Lawyers
From the Anxious Lawyer website, bloggers Jenna Cho and Karen Gifford write, “Frequently, when we experience anxiety, our first reaction is to ignore, dismiss, or to deny. This reaction to our anxiety, may be temporary and make the feeling and somatic experiences go away, but long-term leads to unhappiness, depression and additional anxiety”. Read the Blog
Demanding Work Schedules Are Damaging Their Health, Say 82% of Surveyed Lawyers
The demands of work at leading law firms in the United States and United Kingdom are quantified in a new survey that found 22 percent of senior lawyers and partners work every weekend, and more than 10 percent work an average of 70 or more hours a week. Read the Story
Perfectionism and Depression: Nobody’s Perfect
We often mix-up a drive to excel and perfectionism; they’re not the same thing. A drive to be your very best can leads to a sense of self-satisfaction and self-esteem. It feels good to give it all we got. Perfectionism? It’s a horse of a different color. People who feel driven in this direction tend to be more motivated by external forces – such as the desire to please others rather than themselves. Common and recurring thoughts of perfectionists include:
- Anything short of excellent is terrible
- I should be able to do/solve this quickly/easily
- I am best handling this myself
- I must find the one right answer
- Errors, failure, and mistakes are unacceptable
- I have to do it all at once
One depression/perfectionist suffer writes:
My name’s Paul and I am a recovering perfectionist.
I am also recovering from depression. The two are connected.
I’d been trying to do too much, too well, trying to please too many people, expecting too much of myself for too long, putting too much pressure on myself, creating too much stress. That’s a lot of ‘too muches’ for one person. My self-esteem took a battering, I stopped looking forward to anything and I felt like I was useless and hopeless.”
Psychologist Dr. Gordon Flett has studied perfectionists and found that they set excessively high personal standards for themselves and others then harshly evaluate their performance on these benchmarks. Often, perfectionists believe it’s their parents, bosses, or spouses who expect them to be perfect. They believe that such people will value them only if they’re perfect. The constant demand to appear as if they have it all tougher is draining.
Others tend to see them as harsh and unforgiving – rigid and unkind – though the truth on the inside is they are vulnerable people who lack resilience. Flett fund that physicians, lawyers, and architects, whose occupations demand precision, are at higher risk for perfectionism, depression and suicide.
Causes of perfectionism run from parenting to a genetic link, but whatever it’s origins, try these fixes:
Separate self-worth from the requirement to do things perfectly.
Dr. Nicholas Jenner writes: Perfectionism is addressable by using and applying cognitive tools. Positive change can be had when thinking is changed and self worth is separated from the requirement to do things perfectly. If you constantly hear your inner critic berating you for not getting or doing that extra 20%, you have noticed your perfectionist beliefs. Discrediting and disputing these values and finding realistic evidence to prove them wrong is a key part of recovery. As humans, we are inherently imperfect. We have the ability to fail without ever being a failure. We sometimes just need to think it and believe it.
Put people first.
Before tasks and “stuff,” put your heart into connecting with the people you love.
Come out as a human being.
Authenticity, although messy, is required for the pleasure of love, joy, fun and overall happiness.
Pay attention to your own signs of trouble.
Perfectionists get more anxious and rigid when they are hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Use prevention strategies to manage this tendency.
Let go of high expectations. Try to accept people as they are. We are all unique and flawed as human beings.
The great songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen once wrote and sang, “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light get’s in.”
We’re cracked open when stress, anxiety and depression become just too painful and perhaps begin to see this eternal truth about others and ourselves:
Nobody is perfect.
Why Being a Perfectionist Can Make You Depressed
Perfectionism is a trait that causes us to find comfort in order. When it is overused as a way to cope with anxiety or stress, it can have serious consequences. Read the Blog
New ABA Book Leads Lawyers to Less Stress Through Yoga
The legal profession can be extraordinarily stressful. Lawyers need techniques to dial down pain, worry and stress, and now an American Bar Association book helps them to do so through yoga. Read the News
Ketamine Praised For Speedily Alleviating Depression
It seems like the positive news about Ketamine efficacy in treating depression is everywhere and supported by recent studies. Read the News
Are Lawyers More Prone to Stress/Depression?
“A ‘work/life’ balance isn’t possible anymore. It’s really become a concept of ‘work/life blend’ because with technology people now carry their work around with them on their iphone/ipads so its difficult to shut off.” Read the Blog
Depression at Work: Is it You or the Job?
It’s helpful to separate out where your depression is coming from? 5.6 percent of full-time Amercian workers said they were depressed. Is the cause their job, something else or a combination of both? Read the Blog
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