Keeping the Balance - excerpt

I am pleased to be quoted in an article by Jamie Santa Cruz in Social Work Today. The quotes selected do not only apply to social workers. Read the full article here: www.socialworktoday.com/archive/Spring25p14.shtml

By Jamie Santa Cruz

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Signs of Imbalance

A good way to tell if your work/life balance is off is to listen to your own body—literally, the physical pain signals it is sending, says Smullens, who is also the author of the book Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work: A Guidebook for Students and Those in Mental Health and Related Professions.

“The body speaks,” Smullens says. “When we can’t balance what’s necessary in our personal lives and our work, our bodies warn through pain and anxiety. When our work touches buried trauma, our soul never forgets. Once physical illness is ruled out, if our neck hurts for no apparent reason, we are wise to ask ourselves who or what is a pain in our neck, what are we itching for, what is breaking our backs, or what can’t we swallow. Our bodies offer an “emotional sense of direction,” she explains.⁸

Read Jamie’s full article in the Spring 2025 Issue of Social Work Today  Vol. 25 No. 2 P. 14

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