Managing Stress as a Care Manager

The role of a registered care manager comes with a lot of responsibility and can be stressful at times.

Throughout April, the Stress Management Society are running Stress Awareness Week.

This year their focus is on how people can take action to manage stress.

With this in mind, I have explored some of the resources, tools and methods that care managers can use to help manage stress.

There is no quick fix for managing stress, so find out what works for you.

What is Stress?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) define stress as:

‘A state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives.’

Stress can be good, and many people can thrive in a stressful work environment.

However, stress becomes a problem when things start to seem unmanageable. When this happens, it is easy to become overwhelmed and feel out of control.

The Impact of Stress

Stress can cause physical, behavioural and cognitive symptoms such as headaches, stomach problems, poor concentration, being short-tempered and snappy with others and feeling demotivated.

Unmanaged stress can lead to other long-term mental and physical health problems such as anxiety, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease or stroke.

Five Ways to Wellbeing for Care Managers

The New Economic Foundation created the Five Ways to Wellbeing and these are on the NHS and Mind websites as a way to improve well-being:

•  Connect
• Be Active
• Learn
• Take Notice
• Give and Act

Using the theme of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, Skills for Care created a resource for registered managers to help them improve their well-being and reduce stress.

It includes tools and techniques such as the ‘Three Positives log’ (related to Take Notice), where you note three positive things that have happened that day and how they made you feel.

Reduce Isolation

One of the main issues registered managers face is isolation. It can be lonely at the top as managers are required to keep a professional distance from their team.

Care staff can talk to each other about how they feel, but who can the manager talk to?

Connecting with others who appreciate what you are going through can help. Social media forums for registered managers are a great way to connect with peers. It provides a safe space to talk to others about how you feel. It can help to share coping mechanisms and ideas for managing stress.

Care managers every day make a positive difference in people’s lives, so share positive stories relating to your role or service. It can help remind you all why you do what you do and appreciate that you are doing a fantastic job!

Wellbeing Buddying

Connected to the concept of reducing isolation is well-being buddying. It is something that everyone can benefit from.

In a well-being buddying partnership, both partners can be equal in rank however it is emotional support rather than learning and development is the main purpose of having this partnership.

A registered manager would preferably have another registered manager as their buddy. If you work for a large care provider, a manager from another service within the organisation would be ideal.

In a buddy partnership, you should have agreed on times when you check in with each other. You should be open and honest about how you are feeling.

It can be a great way to motivate you to try different tools for managing stress. Start using them together, and agree on a date to come back and discuss their effectiveness.

Exercise

Exercise is scientifically proven to reduce stress by stimulating the production of feel-good endorphins.

Fitting in exercise for care managers can be difficult due to their long hours. There are, however, ways to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle.

Depending on where you live, you could walk or cycle to work on some days.

Make sure you take your lunch break and use this as an opportunity to go for a walk. Let someone know you are going, then leave your phone behind and enjoy the fresh air and exercise.

Consider starting a weekly exercise class in your service that all staff benefit from.

Building Resilience

How we manage stress is linked to our resilience. We can cope with the stresses of everyday life. Two people facing the same stressful situation may cope with it very differently. Everything we have looked at so far will help to improve your resilience. 

Other ways include:

• Build your self-confidence by understanding and appreciating the value of what you do.
• Face new and challenging situations with a positive attitude and, with difficulties you face, take a problem-solving approach.
• Those we struggle to get along with – still look for the best in others and focus on their positive points.
• Keep a sense of perspective when things go wrong and see these as a learning curve.
• Know your limitations and admit when you need help and ask for it.
• Being willing to persevere when the going gets tough with the knowledge that things will improve.
• Don’t dwell on things you can’t change, focus on how to make the best of things.

Mindfulness and breathing exercises can also help with stress and enable you to develop greater resilience. Visit the NHS website to learn about these using these techniques.

On a final note

The Mental charity Mind provides support by telephone or email. If you feel your stress is out of control, please talk to someone and book an appointment with your GP. Nobody should feel like they have to cope with their stress alone.