How can I work on being more relaxed and less stressed at my internship? Hex 1.3 > 10

[dancingfox]

How can I work on being more relaxed and less stressed at my internship? Hex 1.3 > 10

I am half way through my bachelors degree orthopedagogy. The program I follow puts as much emphasis on theoretical as practical modules. It seems that the theoretical modules are easier for me then the practical ones. I feel hampered by my own anxiety to perform on the work-floor. As an intern I can never truly feel relaxed. I am making progress though. I have found my confidence when working with my clients but whenever I am around the team I start feeling tense, which really shows. I have gotten feedback from the team to just try and chill. They describe my behavior towards the team as 'artificial' and a bit forced. Usually I am seen as a spontaneous, natural person and this also how I would describe myself. I would like to let go of my tension and just be myself. I feel frustrated because the more I think about it the more tension I feel about it

Also, last June my stepfather died in a car-crash, my mother survived but with severe injuries. I am still partly in chock from this event... Still dealing with the grief and the sorrow that ensued from all of this, which doesn't help my current anxiety. During September I was seriously considering quitting my studies. I decided to push on, but it's been a real challenge mentally.

So I asked the Yi
How can I work on being more relaxed and less stressed at my internship? Hex 1.3 > 10

I found a quote from Sooo in the hexagram forum threads section

1.3 is an unsettled and diligent dragon, which also implies an activated will to change or create something, but whose time hasn't yet come to actively do so.

This resonates with how I feel right now. My intention to release my anxiety has been set, but I can't just snap my fingers and unload my anxiety. I will have to let it happen in it's own good time.

Still, how can I release my tension?
All insights would be very welcome :bows:

 

[weaver]

No wonder you're anxious - it sounds like you've had a very tough year.

Maybe it would help, when seeing clients in front of the team, to focus on what the client is feeling or how he or she is behaving: notice as much as you can about his/her breathing, voice, body language, eyes, etc. And respond accordingly. Just be as aware and responsive as possible. It sounds as though you already are careful (10) to follow the rules about behaving appropriately. Now maybe you can let yourself feel a bit more, and be more open. If line 3 changes the bottom hexagram turns from heaven to lake - from doing to feeling and being open. So maybe simply opening up to receive the client's feelings will change the energy of your consultations. Instead of thinking about your performance focus on the emotions of the clients (who are children? I had to google orthopedagogy as I didn't know the term).

 

[diamanda]

1.3 = you have every reason to be stressed, don't blame yourself for that

How to alleviate the problem, 10, possible meanings here:
-- Be careful when you're with the team, and keep good manners
-- In anything you do, focus on the current step
-- Take long walks to release tension

 

[dancingfox]

Hi Weaver,

My clients are adults, I am an intern in a psychiatric nursing home. Yes, orthopedagogy is a rather new development in social-pedagogic work. Here in Belgium and the Netherlands it's a commonly known profession. You can describe my job/ internship as a combination of different rolls. We are coaches and caretakers, consultants, you name it. We stand in the field with our clients, working together on an equal basis towards the general well-being of our clients. Orthopedagogy started out with a specialization in children and people with a handicap, but the last decades it has evolved and extended to aid and support all vulnerable groups in society.

Funny you should mention the focus on the clients behavior, it is a very important part of my job. In psychiatry observation is everything.

Of course it's only logical that if my colleagues (the team) pick up my tension, then so must our clients. It is during interactions with my colleagues that I feel the performance anxiety though. Around the clients I can relax and be myself.

Letting myself feel a bit more, oh, I would love to be able to do that! The last months I could not allow myself to feel to much of the pain and the sorrow that ensued from the accident, as I was worried our clients would pick up on that. Our clients need warmth and support from me, and for that I needed to be mentally as strong as I could muster. I think maybe I try to hard to be strong in front of my colleagues as well?

 

[Tim K]

1.3 You are thinking too much, just concentrate on your work, on your interaction with patients.

I understand that you have performance anxiety, i.e. when someone watches you work.
As an intern you feel the need for approval of all your actions, you are conscious of the colleagues reaction/opinion of you. But they are just trying to be your support, trying to monitor your progress and seeking ways to improve it, not to judge or criticize.

The most important judge here is the patient - concentrate on him, if patient is happy - all are happy.

Keep on with good work, tread your path and do your best to create a happy environment for the patient.
But after leaving the hospital - relax, forget about it. Have a good evening and sound sleep.

 

[iams girl]

Actions (upper trigrams Heaven/Heaven):
Continue outwardly to do what you know as right and good for yourself and others.
☰ ☰

Mindset (lower trigrams Heaven/Lake):
However, thoughts precede action and, as shown below, the one Lake trigram down there among all the other Heaven trigrams suggests the key to being more relaxed is to introduce more positive self-talk into your "all business" thinking.
☰ ☱

Affirmations, prayers, candy bars , and such may have a place in the process, however, having gone through clinicals myself and also having my father die in my second year, I can relate to how much easier it might be said than done. I finally accepted that counseling (thankfully, free at my university) was the right path for me. It helped a great deal having a chance to "safely" talk it through and adding the positive influence I needed to get me through my last year which may be helpful for you as well.

 

[dancingfox]

Iams girl,

I didn't know that you could interpret the trigrams as mindset and action, very interesting!

The positive self-talk is certainly true for me. I am currently meditating the 21 day meditation experience from Deepak Chopra. It works a lot around setting intentions and self-acceptance in general.

Ash and Diamanda

Concentrating on the interactions with my clients and taking long walks would certainly help me to release some of that tension. Part of my job is to activate our clients, stimulating them to take up a hobby or to reclaim old hobbies. I love hiking and so do some of my clients. Taking them on a short hiking trip might be nice activity for them. Perhaps I could make this work for them as well as myself...

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[iams girl]

I didn't know that you could interpret the trigrams as mindset and action, very interesting!

I confess it's based on my own reflections of my readings related to commentary about lower trigrams being an inner focus and upper trigrams being an outer focus, so nothing official. I do, however, find it fascinatingly similar to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Adding Deepak Chopra into your life sounds like a good step toward lightening your heart and mind and hope you continue finding others in person as well to join you along your journey.