Scott Webb (Host): I'm sure many of us have heard the word mindfulness in the past few years and wondered, "What is that and how do I do it?" Well, I'm pleased to welcome certified mindfulness teacher and ICF Certified Life Coach, Shannon Speaks, back to the podcast today. She's here to explain mindfulness and help us to understand why it's such an important tool for healthcare workers and caregivers.

 This is Healthy Vitals, a podcast from Summa Health. I'm Scott Webb. Shannon, it's so nice to have you back today. We're going to talk about mindfulness again as we did last time. But today, we're going to focus more on mindfulness at work. So, why is mindfulness such an important tool for healthcare workers and caregivers in particular?

Shannon Speaks: You know, healthcare work or the work of caregivers, it's meaningful, it's really meaningful work, but it can also be very high pressure, emotionally draining at times, maybe super fast-paced. And we're humans, after all, dealing with other humans. And that brings, you know, this mixed bag of experiences to every single minute of every day.

And so, mindfulness, like we talked about in 2023, is really present moment awareness, which is offered with kindness, hopefully to ourselves, and it can really help us in any line of work, but especially in healthcare, it can help us pause long enough to notice what's actually happening. Maybe we notice what's happening in our bodies, what's happening in our minds, what's happening in our hearts, and it brings our awareness back to what's right in front of us right now so that we can respond with clarity and skillful action instead of out of like reactivity or autopilot. I mean, when you're a patient, you want your caregiver to really be with you. You don't want them to be still up in their head playing out an argument that they had on their way to work or super distracted by their to-do list of what's going to happen after work.

But the truth is that we're super distracted by the past or by the future. That's really automatic for us. And so, in order for us to be in the present moment, we really need to be intentional about it. And when we can do that, we get to support not only our own well-being, but also we create a better space for the people we're serving, our patients, and even our colleagues. So, it's a win-win-win.

Host: Yeah, totally. Many wins there. And I was just thinking about that, patients, providers, everybody involved, you know, benefits from this. So, what does it really look like then, you know, mindfulness during the workday, like how do we put that into practice?

Shannon Speaks: Yeah, I know. Because it's one thing to talk about and it's a whole 'nother thing to do, especially in healthcare or when you're a caregiver. So, the first thing I want to mention is what it doesn't have to look like. It does not have to look like grabbing a cushion, sitting down, lighting incense, and you know, listening to singing bowls. Well, it doesn't have to look that way. And so, in case when you're thinking to yourself, "Oh my gosh, my day is so busy, it's so full. There's no way I can do this practically," I want to say maybe you can, maybe you can. So, it might look like just one slow breath before you enter into a patient's room. It could look like noticing your feet if you have feet on the floor in whatever moment you're in, and just sensing into the felt sense of what it's like to feel your actual body in that moment. It could mean even just taking a moment to check in with yourself emotionally, like, "Oh my gosh, that was a really tough interaction I just had with this person. How am I feeling about it right now?" And then, finally, another really practical way to weave it into your workday when you're washing your hands for the millionth time, maybe this time you actually feel the water on your hands.

Host: Yeah, I recall the conversation that we had before, and I've thought about it a lot over the years since then. And sometimes for me, after our conversation, it'll just be simply like closing my phone, closing my eyes, and just taking some deep breaths. I remember when I was a kid, there were these commercials for Calgon. I don't know if they still make Calgon, right?

Shannon Speaks: Of course, I remember.

Host: Yeah. And it was that "Calgon, take me away."

Shannon Speaks: Take me away.

Host: Right. So, I always think about that, you know, because I'm old enough to remember that. And I always think about just, like, let me just go to a happy place just for a couple of minutes.

Shannon Speaks: Yeah. You know what's so interesting about that? I love that you brought that up, because the truth is that our living lives tend to take us away. Like in any moment, we're being taken away in our own mind about what just happened or what's about to happen in that time travel? So, what's so funny about what you just said, Scott, is like, when we're practicing mindfulness, it's almost the opposite of "Take me away," and it could be instead like "Bring me back."

Host: Right.

Shannon Speaks: Bring me back to right here, right now. Because this moment, the one we're in, this is the only one we're actually living in.

Host: Right. This is the one I want to be in.

Shannon Speaks: And especially at work, especially when we are working with patients and delivering care, that's entirely different than slipping into the bathtub with Calgon.

Host: Now, I just have that commercial in my head. I can remember them so vividly. "Oh, Calgon, take me away." Let's talk about, as you're saying, like the small mindful breaks that most of us hopefully can make time for during the day. How do they help build resilience over time?

Shannon Speaks: I love talking about resilience. Can I share a definition of resilience with you that I learned recently?

Host: Of course.

Shannon Speaks: All right. There's a scholar and an Army veteran. Her name is Elizabeth Stanley, Dr. Elizabeth Stanley. And here's how she explains resilience, and I'll tie it back to mindfulness. Okay. So, she explains it as an equation, and she says, "Stress plus recovery equals resilience."

Now, many caregivers and healthcare workers are really nailing one side of that equation, the stress side. They're like, "Okay, yes, A plus on that part of the equation." And stress itself isn't bad. However, the equation isn't stress equals resilience. It's stress plus recovery equals resilience. And what we don't tend to learn is how to best recover. And so, mindfulness is a really amazing opportunity to bring to both sides of the equation. So when we can bring mindful awareness to, "Whoa, this is stressful. This is-- Wow, I my heart rate going up. I'm super activated right now. I didn't even notice I was, but I can tell my jaw is clenched and my shoulders are up in my ears," whatever the case may be in the moment that you're in, mindful awareness of the truth of the moment, okay, that's super helpful, so then you can decide what to do. And then, also mindful awareness on the recovery side, like, "What's going to help me? What's going to help me feel like I can have a moment to recover while I'm yet still here at work?"

Host: Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: When we can build more resilience in our daily life, we can build our capacity to manage ourselves a little more wisely, especially in stressful moments. So, how do we build those little mindful breaks? I think the first thing is just noticing we need them, noticing we had a moment that was tough. And so, that might mean stepping into the hallway, the stairwell for a minute and having a breath or two. That might mean instead of getting on your phone on your lunch break, going outside and look at a tree.

Host: Listen to the birds, whatever, right?

Shannon Speaks: Oh my gosh, yes. There's actually so much really great research on bird's song what it does for our brain. It 100% helps our mental health when we can hear birds singing. It's so great.

Host: It makes me wonder if there are some misconceptions. I'm thinking, you know, for most folks that when they think of mindfulness, they think of it as maybe sort of a big production, as you say, get some pillows and some incense and, you know, all of that. Like, what are some of those misconceptions that you tackle in these busy healthcare environments?

Shannon Speaks: I think one of the biggest ones-- well, there's two I want to highlight. The biggest one is time. People will say, "Look, I do not have time. I don't have time for that." And I have so much compassion for the person who feels like they don't have time. In the meditation world, they say, if you do not have one minute in your day for meditation or mindfulness, then you better give yourself two.

Host: Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: Like, they really highlight the fact that if you feel like you can't, then you absolutely must. And it is just a matter of seconds that once you start to fold this in on purpose with intention into your daily life, you'll notice time will expand. Opportunities will come that you didn't notice even before. And so, time tends to be a big misconception around it that it has to take a lot of time. It does not. It can take just a few seconds.

Another misconception is that actually the one that you mentioned about being calm in the bathtub is the only way that you are practicing mindfulness. As a matter of fact, if you are having a moment where you're like, "Wow, I'm super overwhelmed in this moment," that's mindful awareness. All mindfulness is, is bringing awareness to the present moment without judgment. And so if you all of a sudden come back to the truth of the moment and go, "Wow, I am so distracted this morning," congratulations, you just came back.

Host: Yeah. Just even as you say, like just recognizing the need for mindfulness in your life is being mindful, right? Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: Yes. Exactly. Exactly.

Host: Let's talk about-- putting in quotes here-- micropractices, right? Because we're talking about-- it can be really small. It can be a minute, right? So, what some just practical micropractices that we could try right away?

Shannon Speaks: Okay. Well, here's one that as long as you're alive, you can do.

Host: I like it. I'm here. I'm with you. Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: Anybody with us? Okay. So, the cool thing about the fact that we're breathing. So if we're breathing, that means we're alive. Yay! That's a great start. A micropractice is just make the exhale longer than the inhale. That simple. And you can multitask and do this while you're doing other stuff. Nobody even has to know you're doing it. So, you might just all of a sudden bring awareness to how many seconds your natural inhale is in this moment. It might only be three seconds of an inhale. And then so, on purpose, let that exhale just be four seconds instead of three.

Host: Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: Then you follow that with another inhale. And what you'll notice is they're both getting extended, they're getting longer. And the thing about-- remember that equation that I was sharing with you that was, like, stress plus recovery equals resilience? Well, the inhale is kind of like the stress part, it's activating. When we take a deep breath in, our nervous system is like, "Here we go. We're about to do something." And so, that's the activated part. Well, then, the exhale is when we pump the brakes and we recover. And so, every day, all day, and every night, thank goodness we don't have to think about it, our body is already organically practicing activation and recovery, activation and recovery for us. And so, what's really great about that is we don't have to do anything extra. We're already breathing, but just bring awareness to the fact that we're breathing, like, "Wow, how cool is this? I'm breathing." Notice the activation and extend the recovery time.

Host: Yeah. Yeah. As you say, you know, some of this is involuntary, I guess, is the way to put it, right? We don't have to be conscious of every part of it because our bodies, our minds will kick in and they'll say, "Oh, I see what you're doing here, right?" And they'll hopefully support us in this and do their part.

Shannon Speaks: Yes, exactly. It's just about bringing that awareness to it.

Host: Right. Let's talk a little bit more then about how mindfulness supports both the personal well-being of the healthcare providers, but also then, you know, impacts their ability to show up for patients and colleagues.

Shannon Speaks: Yeah. And I want to highlight the fact that this is not about perfection, you know? Again, because we're humans, perfection is impossible. So, it's not about somehow you're supposed to be doing everything right all the time. Mindful awareness is especially helpful when we blow it and when we make errors, because we can bring mindful awareness to how we're responding, how we're feeling about it. So even though I'm about to highlight, you know, how it helps us when we're doing it right, it also helps us when we're doing it "wrong" too.

Host: Right. Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: So when we're more regulated in our breath, in our presence, and we're more present, we're more grounded, we're able to listen better. We actually hear the other person talking.

Host: That's a novel concept, huh?

Shannon Speaks: Right? What do you know? Oh, I'm not up in my head thinking about the next thing I'm going to say. We can catch some subtle cues from our patients and their families, like looks exchange between them or somebody's now wincing their face and we go, "Oh my gosh, are you okay? Did something just happen there?" We can offer more compassionate care. That's how we can use these practices to help others. But the truth is that we're also helping ourselves. So when we can bring mindful awareness to ourselves and the work that we're doing and how it affects us, we're also less likely to carry the work stress home. And that's going to support our long-term well-being too.

Actually, can I share a quick story about a Summa health worker?

Host: Of course, yeah.

Shannon Speaks: Yeah. So, it was actually during COVID when I heard the story, it was an employee who was working at the breast center and checking clients in who were getting their screenings and different followup appointments. And because it was during COVID, you know, everybody was wearing masks and it was rough, it was hard. And so, there was a particular patient who was coming in who was just mad, super mad about the masks, not happy, very uptight. And so, the patient herself was highly activated. And it was really clear to the person checking her in, "Oh boy, this is to something else."

Host: "This may not go well."

Shannon Speaks: Yeah. And so, a really wise action that she had was she said, "Oh my gosh. Wow. I can tell that you're upset. And I have to be honest, I myself feel kind of worked up." She said, "Would it be okay with you if I could just take a couple of breaths so that I can like really do my best to serve you in this moment?" And the woman was like, "Yeah, I guess so." And so, the worker, you know, she took a minute and she took a few deep breaths, okay? So, not only was she regulating her own nervous system in that moment, but she was doing something so wise, she was co-regulating with this person who was so activated. And by the time she was done, they both had a little more clarity. They were able to be with each other in a better way. And it just went a heck of a lot smoother because she took some time to assess her needs and do what she needed to do for herself.

Host: Right. Yeah. That sounds like the Jedi mind trick.

Shannon Speaks: I know.

Host: She sounds like a real Jedi.

Shannon Speaks: She is.

Host: She helped herself, she helped the woman who was upset about masks and all of that. You touched in there about sort of giving ourselves some grace or self-compassion. It makes me wonder like what is that? What role does that play in mindfulness and resilience?

Shannon Speaks: Oh my gosh. Just as much as I love talking about resilience, I love talking about self-compassion. It's so critical. If we're trying to figure out, "All right, how might we build our own resilience?" Key pillars that hold up resilience are mindfulness that we're talking about and self-compassion. And self-compassion is really a way to be with yourself in light of your own suffering and struggles. And again, if you're human and if you're alive, it is a given that suffering and struggle is a part of our living life. And so, when we can bring a more self-compassionate way of being with ourselves, it changes everything. Just like the Jedi Summa Health employee who decided that she was like, "Oh wow. I feel super some kind of way right now." So, she didn't judge herself, like she wasn't judging the other person." She just met herself with compassion and gave herself what she needed in that moment. And that changed everything. You know, self-compassion is what keeps mindfulness from becoming another thing I should be doing or on my to-do list. It's really just saying to yourself, "Wow, this is hard. This thing is hard." Whatever it is that I'm in the middle of, and how might I be with myself in this moment?

Host: Is there any value in scheduling mindfulness, if that makes sense, right? Do you see any value for folks to say, "Okay, I've got a window of time here between noon and 12:30 where I would normally do this. But today, you know, I'm going to put in my calendar, be mindful, make time for mindfulness." Do folks do that? And is there value in that?

Shannon Speaks: I do think there's value in that. And I think the way we go about practicing it is so unique to each and every one of us. If that's your style, like if you're the type who enjoys time-blocking events and if you know the only way it's going to happen is if you put it in a time block and schedule it, by all means, go for it. But you bring up an interesting point where it makes me think about when in the world can I do this? And I often talk about the value of transitions in your day. So even if you don't time block it, if you instead think about, "Okay, in the course of a day, where are my transition points?" And especially when it comes to like showing up, pulling into the hospital parking lot or the physician's office, wherever it is that someone's working, there's a transition between putting your car in park and getting out of the car. That's a transition point. And so, maybe that's a point where you just get in the habit of taking a couple breaths before you get out of the car. Even reminding yourself, "I'm at work now."

Host: Right.

Shannon Speaks: You know, like saying it out loud.

Host: I'm not at Costco. I'm at work. I have to-- Yeah. Right.

Shannon Speaks: It's time to shift. There's a different way I need to be when I'm here at work. I'm at work now. Or when you swipe your badge, when you swipe your badge and you clock in, again, "Okay, what am I here for? What are my intentions today? How do I want to be with myself, with my colleagues, with the people I serve today?" Just thinking about that for a minute. Honestly, in between the people that we serve, there's a teeny tiny little window in there. There's a transition point.

Host: Right. Just a little one, right?

Shannon Speaks: Yeah. It's a little micromoment where you can decide to rush through it and make it not count, or maybe you make it count and you go, "How am I doing? What do I need?" So, there's in between patients, there's in between phone calls. If you're one of the healthcare workers who's just making phone calls all day, there are moments that really count if we can just find them.

Host: Yeah. I just want to give you a chance here at the end, if someone is skeptical or maybe they feel like they just don't have time, what's the one thing you would say? How would you encourage them?

Shannon Speaks: I think the first thing I would say is I totally get it, like it makes perfect sense that you're thinking right now, "No way, lady."

Host: Yeah.

Shannon Speaks: "There is no way."

Host: "I'm just too busy. No," right? Yeah. 

Shannon Speaks: It's just not going to happen. And so that's where folding it into what you're already doing is at least a good place to start. And so, you might even fold in like the, again, the Jedi master who folded it into her work experience, bring the patient along with you. Do it together. Co-regulate along with your colleagues and coworkers. I will say too that, at Summa Health, we do offer a once-a-month meeting the moment, 30-minute session virtual for anybody who can do it during their lunch if their is at noon. Come on in, join us. We all meet the moment together. Sometimes people are multitasking. I've had people in there who are in like two other meetings at the same time. It's not ideal.

Host: Not ideal, but you know...

Shannon Speaks: Not ideal, but it's something. You know, because every once in a while they can actually let go of things that are in their hands of other screens and they can go, "Okay, this time, I can actually be here in just a little bit of time of carving out. It's really about including yourself in the care. So if you're a healthcare worker listening, a caregiver of some kind, the truth is you probably do this well beyond your work life. Most of us do it at home, and then we show up, we do it at work, and then we go right back to doing it at home. And so, here's another Jedi mind trick, which is if it's too hard for you to think to yourself, "I want to do this on my own behalf," if that just doesn't feel comfortable right now, then we do it on behalf of those we serve.

Host: Right. Do it for others, right?

Shannon Speaks: Yes, the truth is when we do include ourselves in our own care, when we have compassion for ourself too, it only benefits the people that we're serving. It could start there and then maybe eventually you'll start to realize, "Hey, wait a minute. I'm realizing I can actually do this on my own behalf too."

Host: Right. Yeah. And then, with the end game of everybody winning, of course, "winning across the board" or benefiting across the board. Well, it's been great having you here. Always thought-provoking. I'm going to be thinking about this the rest of the day. I'm sure listeners will as well. So, thank you so much.

Shannon Speaks: Thank you, Scott. It's always great to be with you. I appreciate it.

Host: And for more information, go to summahealth.org/mindfulness. And if you enjoyed this episode of Healthy Vitals, we'd love it if you'd leave us a review. Your review helps others find our educational content. I'm Scott Webb. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk again next time.