Description
This book describes key skills that allow us to thrive both at work and in our personal lives. Making time to boost our wellbeing is realistic and achievable, and making small changes in key life areas can have a surprisingly significant impact on mood.
Key Features:
- Practical guidance to combat stress and burnout in primary care
- 10-minute techniques, to fit in with busy lifestyles
- Features, CBT, Mindfulness and Behavioural Action techniques
Working in primary care can be stressful and exhausting and our connection is easily broken with the aspects that made it rewarding and worthwhile. Once broken, it is all too easy to slip into a negative spiral of over-working, failing to switch off, and not spending enough time on rest and recuperation.
The book introduces six GROWTH steps, all possible in 10 minutes. These are based on techniques such as CBT, mindfulness and behavioural activation, that help lead to positive mental health and significantly improved wellbeing.
The first half of the book includes exercises and activities to help you practise and learn more about each of the GROWTH steps. The second half then focuses on applying the steps to some of the common difficulties that we all experience in primary care, such as:
- overcoming low mood, low motivation and burnout
- coping with anxiety, uncertainty and worry, especially if you are training, taking exams or simply feeling overwhelmed
- managing change and loss
The book can help you avoid imposter syndrome, strengthen important relationships, navigate tricky encounters, and cope better with trauma and complaints.
The book cannot remove all the stress that comes from working on the front-line, but it does offer you simple practical help to manage stress much better by boosting your resilience and improving your coping strategies. And it only needs to take 10 minutes a day!
Acknowledgements; About the authors; Introduction
PART I
Chapter 1 Follow your inner Guide
1.1 What do we mean by your inner Guide?
1.2 Finding your values
1.3 Living your values
1.4 Recognising your needs
1.5 Purpose and meaning
1.6 Personal qualities
1.7 Troubleshooting finding your inner Guide
Chapter summary: using your Guide
Chapter 2 Ready for Action
2.1 The importance of taking action
2.2 What is taking action?
2.3 From values to actions
2.4 Are you living according to your values?
2.5 Plans, goals and actions
2.6 What gets in the way?
2.7 Taking a Towards step
2.8 Planning for the long term
Chapter summary: Ready for Action
Chapter 3 Open and Observe
3.1 Open and Observe skills
3.2 Observe this moment: notice the ‘NOW’
3.3 Finding flow
3.4 Flexible attention
3.5 Practising mindfulness
3.6 Practising your Open and Observe skills
3.7 Understanding our reactions
3.8 Stepping back and making space
3.9 Finding enjoyment and contentment
Chapter summary: Open and Observe
Chapter 4 Wise Mind
4.1 What is Wise Mind?
4.2 We are not our thoughts
4.3 Thoughts and emotions
4.4 Negative thinking patterns
4.5 Let go of the struggle
4.6 ‘Defuse’ from unhelpful thoughts
4.7 Wise choices
4.8 Support and encouragement
4.9 Repetitive and intrusive thoughts
Chapter summary: Wise Mind
Chapter 5 Thrive and Balance
5.1 The impact of stress
5.2 What is stress?
5.3 Factors influencing stress
5.4 Stress, pressure and performance
5.5 Coping with stress
5.6 Three circles model of emotions
5.7 The role of self-compassion
5.8 Developing self-compassion
5.9 Balancing the circles
Chapter summary: Thrive and Balance
Chapter 6 Healthy Life Habits
6.1 What are Healthy Life Habits?
6.2 What gets in the way?
6.3 Finding motivation to change
6.4 Physical activity
6.5 Healthy eating habits
6.6 Healthy sleep habits
6.7 Other unhealthy habits
6.8 Caring for physical health
6.9 Overcoming unhelpful life habits
6.10 GROWTH skills for healthy life habits
Chapter summary: Healthy Life Habits
PART II
Chapter 7 Personality traits and traps
7.1 Personality traits: strengths and vulnerabilities
7.2 Unhealthy perfectionism
7.3 Imposter syndrome
7.4 The ‘chronic hero’: excessive responsibility and guilt
Chapter summary: Personality traits and traps
Chapter 8 Low mood
8.1 Recognising low mood
8.2 When low mood becomes depression
8.3 What are the causes of low mood?
8.4 Different responses to the same situation
8.5 The route out of the swamp
8.6 Activity diary
8.7 Keeping it going
8.8 Managing negative thinking
Chapter summary: Low mood
Chapter 9 Anxiety and uncertainty
9.1 What is anxiety?
9.2 Are you struggling with anxiety?
9.3 Why do we have anxiety?
9.4 Anxiety is not dangerous!
9.5 Anxious mind visitors
9.6 Anxiety and Away actions
9.7 Uncertainty in primary care
9.8 GROWTH skills to cope with anxiety and uncertainty
Chapter summary: Anxiety and uncertainty
Chapter 10 Connecting and communicating
10.1 The importance of connection
10.2 Personality traits and relationships
10.3 Relationship circles
10.4 Strengthening important relationships
10.5 Expanding relationship circles
10.6 Social and performance stress
10.7 What gets in the way?
10.8 Communication and managing conflict
Chapter summary: Connecting and communicating
Chapter 11 Surviving significant events
11.1 Coping in hard times
11.2 Experiences of trauma
11.3 Loss and grief
11.4 Moral distress and injury
Chapter summary: Surviving significant events
Chapter 12 Putting it all together
12.1 Where are you now?
12.2 Recapping the GROWTH steps
12.3 Future forward plan
Glossary of key terms; References and further reading; Support for health professionals
Very engaging, helpful and an easy read!
‘A practical book which allows its readers to digest information in small steps and take the useful tips provided and apply them in our working days. A great read for healthcare professionals like myself!' Amazon reviewer
Reminded me of why I became a GP
‘This book is tailor-made for primary care health professionals. A lot if it may be stuff that deep down we know or think we know (!) but it is beautifully laid out and a wonderful reminder of the importance of reflecting on core values, future goals, things to be grateful for and self-care to help promote our wellbeing in an ever changing and challenging NHS. It is a book which will equip you to look after yourself and your patients. Like Lee David's 10 minute CBT book I will be coming back to this repeatedly as a reference for myself and to pass on the tips to help others.' Amazon reviewer
Thoughtful, handy and an important tool for busy, dedicated GPs
‘If the conundrum is "How do GPs learn to look after themselves?" then what is the answer?
As a full-time NHS GP Partner for over 25yrs, I still feel very invested in this question.
Reading the book has given me fresh insight into how to protect my emotional well-being, faced with the constant pressure of full-time clinical practice in a busy urban setting.
The first problem is, how does one identify, define or quantify the pressure we face? It is insidious yet glacial; amorphous yet cumulative. But the strange truth is that even as highly-trained professionals, the very skills we use every day with patients, to provide incisive and authoritative care, empathy and compassion, are not so easily applied to ourselves.
So my main surprise takeaway lessons are that a little bit of practice stepping back to re-frame the problem - engaging a 'wise mind' - enables me to give of my best to patients whilst also caring better for myself as a GP (and that self-compassion really is all that it is cracked up to be); and that taking micro-steps in a positive direction may be all that is required to achieve meaningful change over time.
Change may indeed be needed in personal, organisational and political spheres, and in my own career NHS pressures have never felt greater than they do now. But I would urge all front-line GPs to do yourself a big favour and read this book: strip back some of your old habits and thought processes, adopt some simple new techniques, and learn to care for yourself: it is important and actually not that difficult. And nobody is going to offer to do this for you!' Amazon reviewer
Clear, concise, life-changing
‘As a specialist in this field I found this book refreshingly clear and easy to read, and jam-packed with great evidence based tips and tools to make your life a bit less stressful
There’s so much packed in, but in a way that can be easily digested, reused, worked through, dipped in and out of in simple 10 minute chunks…
I wish I’d had this book years ago to help me with my own well-being as a doctor.' Amazon reviewer
Practical toolkit for those pressed for time. Drawn from a range of psychological approaches.
‘The NHS is currently under a lot of pressure and staff are feeling the strain. The reality of working in the NHS (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic) was also traumatic for many professionals. While systems need to change, there are things we can all do to manage our stress and help take the edge off. This is an excellent book which includes some very useful and proven techniques from a variety of psychological approaches including traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and third wave approaches (more rooted in mindfulness and acceptance) such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectial Behavioural Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy. The latter approaches may be particularly more useful than traditional CBT to develop psychological flexibility, cultivate self-compassion and help manage difficult emotions in the context of working in a highly stressful environment. The book has some useful skills from these different therapeutic models and something for everyone to take away and practice. There is also a section specifically covering some very common reactions to difficult or traumatic events. The book is well structured and easy to follow for those who are pressed for time.’
(By James Pittman - Trainee Clinical Psychologist) Amazon reviewer
A must for all healthcare professionals
‘An extremely useful book for anyone in the caring profession, working in the NHS in the current climate is an incredibly stressful time for many people. This book shows ways in which to deal, and cope with day to day difficulties and provides support and exercises to really boost your mental wellbeing.’ Amazon reviewer
An excellent book
‘I would highly recommend it for anyone working in healthcare (or anyone working with people!) The chapters are engaging and designed to work through with thought and consideration to meet your own personal circumstances. It certainly helped me feel rebalanced.’ Amazon reviewer
A must read for health professionals and anyone experiencing stressful work and life situations
‘I was recommended this book by a healthcare colleague who had found it life changing in helping her to manage her stressful NHS role. As a CBT and ACT therapist I was curious to see what the authors had to contribute to the area of workplace stress, as it has been an increasing issue for many of my clients and colleagues. What I particularly liked about the book was the easy to understand GROWTH model, which was explained in bite-sized pieces making it simple to apply to the individual's particular situation and priorities.
The authors have comprehensively included well researched, tried and tested strategies that have been proven to work, in a format that is easy to follow with relatable vignettes to bring the content to life. I have found the book easy to use both personally and as a therapist with my clients from all walks of life. It helps you to reflect and evaluate what is important to you and how to work towards living the life you would like amidst all the busyness and challenges. I would recommend it to both healthcare professionals and anyone finding their work stressful or struggling with the demands of modern living - a real treasure trove of a book.' Amazon reviewer
No resources currently available for this title.
