Keeping your holiday state of mind.

It is Independence Day weekend, and we are all enjoying fun, rest, and relaxation with our family and friends. Because the 4th of July falls on a Tuesday this year, many of us are working in our clinics on Monday. Holding on to the relaxed feeling from the weekend may be difficult moving from Sunday evening to Monday’s work day and back into our Tuesday holiday.  

Congratulations, you are one smart cookie if you took Monday off as a vacation day. If you work ER, you may work the weekend and Tuesday. However, you can use these same mind hacks to help you stay in a holiday mindset for your next day off.

If you are like me and are working Monday, let's discuss how we can stay in a holiday mindset mode at work tomorrow so your weekend and Tuesday are not ruined. 

Why do we feel relaxed on the weekend and stressed as soon as we think about work tomorrow? The veterinary hospital setting is intense. There are life and death decisions, conflicts with clients, teammates to consider, and sometimes unruly or uncooperative patients. We have duties that require us to focus for long periods of time without breaks. Sometimes our leaders need to be more supportive and made aware of our struggles. If you are new to veterinary medicine, you may need to develop better-coping strategies to help you stay calm during times of stress. With all these factors affecting our stress levels, we need many accessible tools to remain relaxed enough to carry us through our holiday.

Start with remembering what relaxation feels like. Before you can change anything, you must understand it. All of your feelings, including peace, come from your thinking. What do you feel when genuinely enjoying a moment, and what is on your mind? Write down a few of these thoughts, so you can access them later as needed.  

When you are at work or just thinking about it (the “Sunday Scaries”), your body may become stressed. Stress is happening because you are imagining and anticipating going to work tomorrow. When you feel stressed, you can calm yourself by increasing your vagal tone. Yawning, stretching, deep or circular breathing, and even singing will help engage your parasympathetic nervous system and calm you.  

Once you feel calmer, engage your thoughts and use your mindset skills to think more clearly. You may come up with thoughts that feel more in control and relaxed. You can acknowledge difficulties and know that you have faced them before and thrived. Adopt thoughts about solutions and problems passing, and allow yourself to feel powerful in your training to care for your client. Ask yourself why you love your work and reflect on your purpose.  

You can also look forward to your next holiday and having time to reflect and recharge. Remember that you have the training, knowledge, courage, compassion, and talent to save animals and serve their people. Remember also that you have everything you need to feel powerful and excited about all of it.  You will remain calm, present, and in control if you adopt and embrace a holiday mindset.

Have a Happy Independence Day!

Dr. Julie Cappel