Your Listening Partner: Strategies for Overcoming Overwhelm in High-Stress Environments

As part of our Full Circle of Support, we provide our travelers with mental health resources so they can focus on their assignments with peace of mind. We've partnered with Dr. Clare at Your Listening Partner, to provide travelers with free, confidential 1:1 listening sessions. She has her Ph.D. in Listening and over 21 years of experience listening to Health Care Professionals. We care about your well-being and want to make sure you have all the necessary tools and resources to succeed in your career while on assignment with us.

In a recent collaboration with Your Listening Partner, Dr. Clare shares practical approaches to managing overwhelming situations, helping healthcare professionals navigate high-stress environments with clarity and calm.

How can I help myself when I feel overwhelmed?

Sometimes a sense of overwhelm comes from trying to do too much. In our fast-paced world information and images can come so fast we might feel like we are directly standing in front of a firehose shooting water. There’s too much to take in! Here are a few ways to tackle the overwhelm.

What does it mean when your TV or computer sort of flickers and hesitates? That means that your internet server can’t, handle all the information coming in at one time. Its bandwidth, the signal that carries the information is too full. Its bandwidth is overwhelmed. That can happen to us too. We live in a busy, frantic world and when our personal bandwidth is too full bucket we say, “I’m on overload.” Your bandwidth is at full capacity. You have nothing else to give and the demands keep coming.

Our world view is distorted when we feel overwhelmed. Studies show that when we feel like we don’t have enough we focus on the lack. Focusing on the lack of resources affects our brain and the overwhelm can clog our ability to make good decisions. So first, ask yourself if your stress level is affecting your ability to make clear decisions. Then:

• Take a breath and make a list of all the stimuli confronting you.
• Prioritize. What needs immediate attention? Attend to that one thing and scratch it off the list.
• Release anything not directly connected to the immediate need. Let it go. Don’t look back.

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When new to a unit (floating, starting new position, etc), how do I build trust with my coworkers?

Being the new person is sometimes challenging. After all, you are walking into a new place where the routine and the people are generally already established. There are set routines and subtle social cues to learn. And first impressions are made in the first seven seconds. So it’s good to be prepared.

Every time you meet someone just as you are assessing them, they are doing the same to you. “Is this someone I can trust?” “Is this someone I can work well with?” Judgement happens before words are even exchanged. Confirmation bias means that each of us looks for elements that support what we already believe. If someone isn’t instantly open to you, it might not be personal. It may take a while for them to sync up their personal expectations to who you are in reality. That’s their work and not yours. Give it some time.

First trust yourself. You are a well-trained professional. Be confident of your skills. Show yourself to be a ‘safe’ person. By that I mean what kind of energy do you bring with you? Are you scared or expect problems in working in this unit? Have you come with a set of expectations? Or are you a confident person who expects to be an important part of the team? “Read the room.” That means get a sense of energy in the place. How can you best fit in? Follow up on your promises. Show them that you are worthy of their trust.

There is a timeless listening model that builds connection with patients and co-workers alike as you ask open, honest questions. Open questions that you don’t know the answer to and can’t be answered yes or no. A question opens the door to engagement.

Remember SALT:

• Smile
• Ask open questions
• Listen and respond to what the person said
• Try it again

When you respond to the person’s answer your question, you are saying, “I heard what you said. You are an important person.”

That’s a good way to begin building a relationship.