The other day, Dr. Essid spoke to our class about making sure that we keep on top of our stress levels and mental and emotional health while working as consultants. He warned us that several current consultants in some way burnt out this semester: some went on medical leave, others just got too stressed out with their current workloads.
He also made it clear that there are a lot of options for consultants who are feeling overwhelmed. There are on-call consultants and other consultants who are willing to take on a little extra to help out someone who needs the break from all the stresses. But none of these options can be useful if the consultant doesn't admit that they're feeling stressed out or overworked in the first place. A lot of Richmond students, especially the kind of students who would look into working as writing consultants, don't know how to admit they've taken on too much and they need help.
I guess it's fitting that I'm writing this post this week, because I spent a good portion of this week ill. And I feel like this might be an area that I, like a lot of Richmond students, struggle. My life seems to be a pretty constant cycle of alternating physical and emotional stresses. A stressful work week means less sleep, fewer regular meals, and just an all-around neglect for my physical well-being. And then, once the emotional stresses of a hectic week let up, my body responds with the physical stresses of fatigue and illness.
This is a pattern that I'm going to have to work hard to break if I want to be an effective consultant. I think it's important to recognize that it's okay to ask for help and to admit when you're too stressed. Before you enter burnout mode. I cannot possibly be effective at helping other people if I cannot take the time to help myself when I need to take care of myself. Sometimes I might get overwhelmed, but I think if I want to be a decent consultant, I am going to have to learn to admit when things are getting to be too much and when I need help. I just hope I haven't learned that lesson too late already.
I think that it is important that we, as consultants, recognize the connection between maintaining our emotional and physical well-being and providing the writers with the best consultation possible. If we run ourselves ragged, it is only a detriment to how well we are able to critique a student's work. Hope you feel better!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a good point to make. Especially this week during finals we students seem to really neglect our physical well-being. Some people barely even sleep for a couple of days. It is important that we try to find better methods of coping than this. Otherwise we will not have the mental capacity to do our own work and certainly not to help other students with theirs.
ReplyDeleteIt's a well defined characteristic of Millennials (especially those who go to schools like Richmond) that they've been trained to do everything well since birth. They do...at a huge price.
ReplyDeleteTrust me: know when to say "ENOUGH!" and say it early. This is why I and the Consultant-advisors are there.
Carly makes a good point, but the exam-week cram and collapse were as true 30 years ago as they are today. It's the rest of the term that so bothers me.
I do not want any more of our students to burn out, go to the hospital, or worse. Let the staff in the program know when you need backup.
Not everyone can be a superhero 100% of the time :)