From Morning Routines to Mindset Shifting, Wellness Summit Offers Actionable Tips for Lawyers
June 16, 2023
Wellness leaders gathered virtually on June 14 for the third annual Wellness Summit, hosted by the D.C. Bar Communities and D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP). Attracting more than 200 attendees, the daylong event consisted of five sessions offering practical tips for lawyers, which ranged from embracing a healthier work–life balance to shifting away from negative mindsets.
“Given our long work hours, the often-adversarial nature of our jobs, and the competitiveness of our profession, it’s no surprise that we attorneys often experience stress at debilitating levels,” said D.C. Bar President Ellen Jakovic during her welcoming remarks, delivered remotely. “It’s also no surprise that attorneys are used to helping others, and typically we don’t prioritize our own well-being.”
Daily Tips to ‘Fill Your Cup’
AmiCietta Duche Clarke, an attorney and holistic health coach for Clean Body Living, spoke to attendees about ways to build calmness and wellness into their daily routines. She talked about her own journey as a corporate attorney working 80 to 100 hours per week while also dealing with myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes severe muscle weakness throughout the body. During that time of her life, she engaged in unhealthy eating habits and poor sleep patterns while keeping up with the high demands of being a lawyer. She ignored many of her debilitating physical symptoms by taking prescription drugs, and her condition worsened, progressing to steroid-induced osteoporosis. That diagnosis forced Clarke to take control of her health.
Clarke began her interactive session by instructing attendees to recite three affirmations: “I am healthy and whole; I can prioritize my health; and I will prioritize my health with the little that I have.” To reiterate the importance of self-care while serving others, either in the legal profession or in our personal lives, she said, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
She then offered daily tips for lawyers on “filling their daily cups.” Clarke told attendees that “[people] can’t out-medicate [their] lifestyle. Medications won’t counteract the symptoms and the crazy-busy lifestyle that you’re living. Eventually, those medications will stop working.”
Clarke reflected on some of the initial changes she made in her recovery, which included eating more organic foods, reducing environmental toxins, meditating, and exercising. She recommended developing a morning routine, consisting of exercising for about five minutes, reflecting on the intentions of the day through meditation and journaling, and crafting a growth mindset by listening to inspirational and informative podcasts and audiobooks. She also talked about maximizing sleep by establishing bedtime routines like taking a warm shower, putting away the smartphone, and sleeping in pure darkness.
“We can all take a few minutes for ourselves,” Clarke said, suggesting that people tailor healthy routines to their own needs. She also said that people should start incorporating these tips slowly before attempting to take on a mountain of lifestyle changes. And lastly, she noted the benefits of recruiting “an accountability partner.”
Mindset Shifting
Niki Irish, outreach and education coordinator for the D.C. Bar LAP, moderated an illuminating session titled “Moving From Surviving to Thriving.” The panelists presented a chart with five markers ranging from “in crisis” (feeling very anxious, very low mood, exhausted, etc.) to “excelling,” in which individuals are cheerful and energetic and are fully realizing their potential. The markers in between those ends are “struggling,” “surviving,” and “thriving.” The results of an informal poll was telling: Half of attendees indicated they were “surviving.”
However, it’s unlikely that a practitioner will remain at one point of the scale indefinitely. “Life is not stagnant,” Irish said. But if one wants to move from a lower to a higher end of that spectrum, she said, “it takes time to recover, move, and change. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Sarah Endres, the Northern Virginia region manager for the Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, said that “thriving” is the area where people are most comfortable and spend the most time in. “It’s the most normal, healthy state of being,” she said. “That’s where life is not perfect, but if something comes up, you adapt and handle it. And you know what to do. It’s a little speedbump. But when you’re surviving, you have issues with sleep, eating, and you’re not getting to things that you want to.”
To help people move up the scale, Denise Perme, associate director of the D.C. Bar LAP, talked about the concept of “mind shift.” “Our mindsets encompass our thoughts and beliefs and shape how we think of ourselves and how we view the world,” Perme said. “There are these stories that we tell ourselves about how things work and about other people, and very often we are not aware of our thoughts and beliefs because they are kind of below the surface. Most of our mindsets are formed when we are children.”
Perme continued by offering examples of mindsets — “abundance,” in which there is enough love, money, friendship, and success in the world for everybody, versus “scarcity,” which translates into having a limited supply. She also talked about “curiosity” mindset versus a “fear” mindset.
She mentioned that a “fixed” mindset versus a “growth” mindset has the biggest influence on how and if we reach our goals. People with a fixed mindset have an underlying belief that they are either born with talent or not. “They have the most trouble reaching their goals because that mindset interferes with their efforts,” said Perme. “A person with a growth mindset will look at a setback as just an obstacle that they have to work harder to overcome. They believe that success comes through effort.”
“One of the things that helps people move on the scale toward thriving is having a good sense of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-worth,” Perme continued. “You [can] develop more of a growth mindset that will build your self-esteem because when we challenge ourselves to improve at something and keep trying, it raises our feelings of self-worth.”
Lisa Caplan, director of the Maryland State Bar Association LAP, mentioned that lawyers are more prone to negative thinking than most people. “Lawyers can be very judgmental to themselves,” Caplan said. “They will say harsh things to themselves that they would never say to a friend.”
Endres echoed Clarke’s comments on slowly embracing lifestyle changes. “Rewiring is not going to happen all at once. Do not set yourself up for failure for trying to do all the big things at once,” said Endres.
Other sessions included “Managing the Stressors of Caregiving,” directed mostly at mothers juggling childcare with the practice of law, especially during and after the pandemic. That session touched upon the challenges of setting personal boundaries and prioritizing one’s own self-care. Another interactive session involved emotional freedom techniques like tapping on various parts of one’s body to remove subconscious blocks and stressors. At the end of the day, attendees had a wealth of resources and tips to draw from to support their well-being.
Check out the Bar’s website for a recording of the sessions (coming soon).
