Wellness Team Publishes Stress-Relief Tool for Frontline Workers

The Bainbridge Prepares Wellness Team has just released a new publication to help frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in fact, during any large-scale emergency. The publication details ten strategies for stress relief.For each strategy, the team has listed exercises and specific practices. For example, the second strategy—Practice Mindfulness as Relaxation—is accompanied by three specific practices including one called S.T.O.P.:

Practice the S.T.O.P (Stop :: Take a breath :: Observe :: Proceed) mindfulness acronym throughout the day when stressed or during transitions. Being present and mindful relaxes/disables the stress response.

For the Dissolve Self-Sacrifice strategy, the team includes a discussion of lateral violence:

Lateral violence (lashing out and projection) can be a cycle for those serving and caregiving in the frontlines. It is easy to project anger on others if it is not properly processed and handled since the stress has to go somewhere if not diffused. If you are doing this, stop. Reset yourself, and practice kindness. Alleviate the stress and bottled-up emotions through one or more of these: less work/fewer volunteer hours, better sleep, seeking therapy, eating healthy, and implementing stress relief strategies found in this document.

Susan James (MSSW, LICSW, BCC), one of the two Wellness Team Leads, says that the publication is designed to help "anyone like first responders, volunteers, emergency responders, city staff, BIFD, BIPD, essential workers, teachers, nursing assistants, and other critical care workers during this time."Click here to download a pdf of 10 Simple Stress-Relief Strategies for Frontline Workers.