Why Self-Care As A Lawyer Is Essential

It is no surprise that being a legal professional is a high-pressure career. When you deal with clients who have heavy problems, this can take a toll on your mental, emotional, and even physical health. With this in mind, self-care should be a priority as a lawyer. Understand why you should practice self-care and how to do it through this post.

All career paths have some type of stress you have to deal with. However, legal professionals have job stressors in a league of their own. According to US News, lawyers take one of the top spots of professionals experiencing a high burn-out rate.

For many lawyers, this isn’t breaking news–staying in the profession for a couple of years will prove this fact. When you have to represent clients in cases such as crimes, bankruptcy, divorce, and other life problems, these burdens can overflow even in your personal life.

Lawyers and Mental Health

In fact, it isn’t just stressors that affect lawyers. Job stressors are primary triggers, but there are also issues that legal professionals face as a result of their careers.

ABA Journal states that lawyers are 3.6 times more likely to suffer from depression compared to other professionals. Not only is the road to becoming a full-fledged legal professional full of challenging obstacles, but the job itself is riddled with hoops and hurdles that lawyers need to get past too.

Aside from mental health conditions, lawyers are also prone to substance abuse. It is shocking to discover that over 20.6 % of legal professionals have screened positive for hazardous use of addictive substances. These high numbers reported in rehabilitation centers for alcohol and drugs says something about the mental and physical state of today’s lawyers.

A Solution for Mental Health: Self-Care

Since lawyers cannot change the nature of their job, one thing that they can control is the way they handle themselves through self-care.

What is Self-Care?

Self-care in its core are activities, mindsets, and habits that legal professionals can do to improve their mental state. The idea of self-care is unique for each individual, but there are also evidence-based activities and techniques that work for the general population.

Whether it’s pursuing a hobby, learning to meditate, or exercising, there are some things that lawyers can do to curb the symptoms of depression or other mental health disorders.

Why Should Lawyers Practice Self-Care?

A healthy relationship with oneself

Self-care is a means for lawyers to establish a healthy relationship with themselves. Have you ever felt out-of-touch with yourself, a feeling like you don’t know yourself anymore? By doing self-care activities, legal professionals can get to know themselves better–what gives them peace, what fulfills their heart, and the things they can do to avoid mental health triggers.

A way to fill one’s cup

Lawyers have a service-oriented job. This means that they pour their energy and time towards their clients–like an image of someone full cup pouring over another. When one’s cup becomes empty, there’s no more left to give for others.

This simple illustration shows us that we must give to ourselves before we are deemed fit to give to others. Lawyers give much of themselves to their clients, which is why filling themselves up with self-care activities will energize them to serve better.

Having an overall quality of life

Self-care doesn’t just target one’s mental health. It could be anything that cultivates the whole being of an individual, such as their fitness, quality of relationships, or personal fulfillment.

Finding and practicing activities for self-care results in an overall quality of life, which fuels legal professionals to strike a healthy balance between their careers and personal endeavors.

Self-Care Strategies for Busy Lawyers

Making time for self-care is easier said than done. However, there is still a myriad of strategies and activities that busy professionals can integrate into their schedules.

Fitness on work breaks

If you don’t have enough energy or motivation to exercise after a tiring workday, perhaps you can incorporate a simple workout during your afternoon break.

Some exercises you can do during your work break includes:

Exercising is proven to have many physical health benefits. First off, it improves blood circulation, which improves your focus and attention throughout the remaining hours of the workday. Secondly, it keeps your heart pumping, lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Exercise is also helpful in one’s mental health, as it facilitates the release of neurochemicals responsible to elevate moods.

Pursuing a hobby

After a stressful week, what things do you look forward to doing? Hobbies are a great way to unwind and take your mind off work-related tasks. Some people think that hobbies are a waste of time, but this could never be further from the truth.

In fact, research has shown that people who have hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low moods, and other mental health issues. When you keep your mind busy with things that you enjoy, you are less likely to ruminate on thoughts and emotions that don’t serve you for good.

Some hobbies to explore as a legal professional can include:

Do-It-Yourself Items (DIY)
Watching Documentaries
Collecting Items
Photography
Music
Gardening

Any kind of activity that gives you a sense of peace and enjoyment can be a hobby. In fact, many drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers use the pursuit of hobbies to stop problems in self-medication. If you tend to drink or use drugs as a means to decompress, perhaps pursuing a hobby can help you deal with stressors in a healthier way.

Focusing on the present

Many of our worries, both personal and in our career are often rooted in things that aren’t occurring at the moment. It could be a looming deadline, a pending case, or even a leaking faucet yet to be fixed.

One simple strategy to practice self-care as a lawyer is to focus on the present. What are you doing at the moment? Focus on your movement, your breathing, and your surroundings. Being aware and living in the present can help you stay free from intangible worries.

Meaningful conversations

As a legal professional, you always have conversations between your clients, colleagues, and other people in your workplace. Most of these topics can drain your mind and heart especially if they are related to your job stressors.

Having meaningful conversations with friends and family is one simple way to practice self-care. Lawyers feel isolated when they are surrounded by people but they don’t have meaningful conversations. Talking about one’s feelings, struggles, and even topics that interest you outside of work can aid in your mental health.

Work Is Important, So Is Self-Care

You can’t shield yourself from the stresses of your career and life, but there are definitely ways to dampen its negative effects. Through self-care, you can allow yourself to have a sense of fulfillment outside of your legal work.