OTLA Trial Lawyer Winter 2021

43 Trial Lawyer • Winter 2021 See Burnout p 44 And, of no small consequence, we also rank remarkably low in the frequency with which we seek professional assis- tance when personally faced with any of these conditions. See https://oaap.org/ wp-content/uploads/2018/06/National- Study-on-Lawyer-Substance-Use-and- Mental-Health.pdf. Out goes the flame A major consequence of our fre- quently being tone-deaf to our own well-being is we inadvertently set our- selves up for burnout. This term, though often misused and overused, is an apt metaphor. The flame is gone, or at least it’s significantly flickering. While burn- out can present itself in many different ways, its ultimate effect, if not addressed, can be to rob a lawyer of the motivation, interest, enthusiasm, perhaps even the passion, the professional once had for the practice of law. It typically has a global impact on a lawyer’s life, well beyond just the practice of law. It can negatively impact the lawyer’s personal health, re- lationships with family, friends, and colleagues, and fundamentally the law- yer’s enjoyment of life. And, in 2020, add to these challenges the unfolding and uncertain impact of COVID-19. Now, the good news. Burnout can be avoided, stopped or mitigated in nearly all cases. I’d like to give you the recipe, if you will, for this to happen. Let me first comment on a few truisms. • Burnout is an equal opportunity condition. Success in the practice (by whatever metric you use) is no guar- antee of immunity. • Burnout does not happen overnight. It’s an insidious process that is gener- ally the end-product of chronic, un- remitting stress or compassion fatigue (see below) over an extended period of time. • To successfully address burnout, we must do something that can be very difficult for many lawyers. We must pay attention — really pay attention! — to what is going on with (and within) us. Our minds, our bodies, our behaviors, our feelings, our prac- tices, our relationships, as well as what other people are telling us about us. We have to be, or learn to be, intro- spective. That’s a tall order! Red flags So, what are some red flags, some warning signs that we may be heading for burnout or are in the midst of it? Remember, burnout is the consequence of long-term, unremitting stress or re- lated conditions — so we need to watch for those conditions widely recognized as the most common human responses to stress. Recognizing these in ourselves is not complicated, but it does require genuine introspection, seriously looking at one’s self. (If in doubt, spouses, part- ners, trusted friends and professional assistants are invaluable resources.) Below are some of the benchmarks of burnout. • Exhaustion and fatigue — feeling emotionally, mentally and/or physi- cally spent. Being without energy or vigor to deal with life’s daily chal- lenges. Absenteeism, indecisiveness, and task avoidance are common consequences. • Cognitive problems — difficulties with focus, concentration, attention, and forgetfulness are common, often resulting in reduced job performance and/or having to work harder to get things done. • Lack of motivation — absence of enthusiasm about or interest in people and activities once considered impor- tant. A lack of satisfaction about important areas of one’s life. • Emotional disturbance — anger, anxiety, depression and related condi- tions. Very often accompanying these conditions is excessive rumination and preoccupation with work-related issues, which in turn negatively impact one’s personal and profes- sional life.