Tips to Help Lawyers Avoid Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • December 02, 2020
  • Shiva Bakhtiary, lawyer, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Working remotely can allow the flexibility to find a good work-life balance, but mental health advocates warn that more time spent at home can also lead to stress and feelings of isolation. Here are some tips to help lawyers avoid stress while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. Practice embracing uncertainty. As the corona virus has shown us, uncertainty is a natural and unavoidable part of life. Many of us use worrying as a tool to cope with uncertainty, to find a solution, and try to predict the future. Such intolerance of uncertainty makes us vulnerable to anxiety and stress. However, there are healthier ways to cope with uncertainty, such as easing back on certainty-seeking behaviour and challenging your need for certainty. Instead, try focusing on what you can control and learn to tolerate, and better yet embrace, the inevitable uncertainty of life.

2. Practice gratitude daily. Take the time to notice and reflect on the things and the people you are grateful for. Granted, the pandemic came with its challenges, but many good things came out of it too. Expressing gratitude helps to develop a positive state of mind, build resiliency, boost productivity, and reduce depression. To make gratitude a part of your daily life, try keeping a gratitude journal, be present, compliment others, meditate, smile more often, and live mindfully. Gratitude releases us from toxic thoughts and emotions, and can help even if you don’t share it.