D.C. Bar Voices

Tough Profession, Tough People--Speak Up!

Written by Tom Gilbertsen, Member of the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee

As folks were pushing back from the conference table after a recent litigation section meeting at my firm, a senior partner asked us to hold on for a second. He then shared with us the story of his good friend – a partner at another leading firm in town – who recently committed suicide.

“This is a tough profession, and I know we’re all tough people,” my partner said.  “But we need to be mindful of each other. When you see a colleague who seems to be suffering, go ahead and knock on that closed door. Walk into that office. Ask how they’re doing. Speak up.” 

That guidance is pitch-perfect, especially in a profession that presents heightened risks of suicidal behavior. Although suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for adults aged 25-54,[1] it is the third leading cause of death among lawyers of all ages. In one state study, 11% of attorneys surveyed said that they had thought about suicide at least monthly within the past year.[2] 

The law can be a labor of love for many, but the personality traits driving our success as lawyers also drive increased suicide risks. Lawyers tend to be perfectionistic, aggressive, see the problems in a given situation (pessimistic) and often exhibit a low interest in feelings and unwilling to seek help (or admit to the need for help). Makes sense right?

That’s why people hire us:  to get things done perfectly, aggressively, without help. It should come as no surprise that lawyers as a group display a high need for autonomy, but we score much lower than the general population for traits such as resilience and sociability.[3]  

So the flip side of the coin, according to a number of studies, is that successful lawyers tend to isolate in the face of difficulty, which exposes our community to heightened risks of suicidal behavior. And while attorneys suffer heightened risks for suicidal behavior in the best of times, recent times have been anything but the best in our profession.

Last year the American Bar Association presented an important program called “Recognizing the Warning Signs of Suicide in Your Clients and Colleagues,” which remains available for free at the ABA website.[4]  In addition to sharing research about the heightened suicide risks in our profession, the program identifies several warning signs and risk factors about which all of us should be aware.

There are a number of “perpetuating” risk factors -- unchangeable aspects of a person’s family history or own medical, developmental and emotional illness or traumas (history of abuse, neglect, family violence, previous suicidal behavior) that increase the likelihood for suicidal behavior. And there are “predisposing” risk factors that increase a person’s vulnerability to suicidal behavior, but which can be changed or alleviated through intervention – such as psychiatric illness and substance abuse.

Approximately half of all those who die by suicide are legally intoxicated at the time of death. Among the behavioral observations that a person’s suicide risk may be increasing are (a) indirect references to one’s own death or arrangements being made; (b) expressing shame or guilt or threat of exposure; (c) recent significant medical care with anxiety-provoking diagnosis; (d) expressions of hopelessness, being “trapped,” or anger; (e) dramatic mood swings; (f) complaints of sleeplessness; (g) increasing use of drugs, including alcohol; (h) withdrawing from friends or family; and (i) anxious, agitated or reckless behaviors.

While any one of these risk factors or behaviors might not raise alarms alone, we should be concerned when they present together (“co-morbidity”) in a colleague or loved one.[5]  Most important is the guidance my colleague offered:  “Speak up.”

A list of suicide hotlines in the Washington, D.C. area may be found at www.suicidehotlines.com; another resource is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; additional information is at www.afsp.org. 

The District of Columbia Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) is a vital resource for attorneys in crisis, offering free and confidential counseling and referral resources. The LAP staff can be reached at (202) 347-3131. 

[1]  Centers for Disease Control (2010), available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/default.htm

[2] Schlitz, Vanderbilt Law Rev. (1999)

[3] See generally, Dr. Larry Richard, “What Makes Lawyers Tick?” available at http://www.lawyerbrainblog.com

[4] See generally  “Recognizing the Warning Signs of Suicide in Your Clients and Colleagues,”  American Bar Association

READ MORE: Why Are Lawyers Killing Themselves? (via CNN)

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5 Ways to Help You Improve Work-Life Balance

Here are five tips from the Lawyer Assistance Program on how you can work toward a better work-life balance:

1.  Achieving a better Work-Life balance doesn’t just happen.  It requires changing your behavior and setting new boundaries.  Take a walk at lunchtime - a change of scenery, moving your body and breathing fresh air will give you more energy.  Leave work in the evening when you are tired.  Working long hours after the dinner hour brings diminishing returns - your productivity will decline with each passing minute.  If you must work longer hours, do so only when an urgent project demands it, and not as a rule.

2.  If you have an urgent project and must work more than 8 hours in a day, make it a priority to take time for both a lunch break and a dinner break and a stretch or a walk.  Remember the old saying about traveling on an airplane and using the air mask if the oxygen gets low?  You must put the air mask on yourself first and then assist others who may need help with their mask.  If you do not take care of yourself, you will not be able to be your best at work or at home.  

3.  If you are not taking care of yourself and your needs are at the bottom of your priorities, please do yourself a favor and take stock to figure out why. You may be depressed, or have low self-esteem, or you may place priority on your ability to care for others and as a result, you let your own needs go unmet.  There is a reason you do this, and it will benefit you to find out the reason and start changing. 

 4.  Setting new boundaries between work and home will feel uncomfortable at first, until you get used to it. It is like breaking in a new pair of shoes.  It is difficult for us to change, but they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  This applies to the problem of an imbalance between work and home.  You will need to change your behavior in order to get different results.  If you say you want more balance, you must follow up with action. 

5.  Place a priority on your relationships with friends and family, especially those who have known you for a long time. Nourish your relationships with people in your home life, and carve out time to be with them.  Go on a “technology fast” and instead of spending time on Facebook or Twitter, connect the old-fashioned way by arranging a date to get together with a friend for face-to-face time during a lunch break or on a weekend.

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Remembering Charles L. Reischel: Committed Advocate and Tireless Worker for the Lawyer Assistance Program

 

Photo Courtesy of the Charles L. Reischel Family

 

“A great human being,” and  “A tireless worker for the cause,” are how longtime volunteers for the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Committee describe the late Charles L. Reischel, a former chair of the Lawyer Assistance Committee (LAC), and a strong advocate of the revolving loan fund that bears his name.  

The Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund of the District of Columbia Bar provides loans to D.C. Bar members who are clients of the Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP). The clients are highly motivated to change and committed to treatment, but lack health insurance and/or financial resources to pay for treatment for behavioral health disorders such as alcohol addiction. The revolving loan fund is supported entirely through unsolicited, voluntary contributions.

Mr. Reischel served on the LAC from 1995 to 2001, and as its chair from 1999 to 2000.  On July 13, 2004, the D.C. Bar approved a special resolution posthumously to rename the revolving loan fund the Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund of the District of Columbia Bar. On the eve of what would be Mr. Reischel’s 70^th birthday on May 8, 2013, the LAC and the LAP are highlighting Mr. Reischel’s leadership of the LAC, his commitment to helping lawyers who struggled with alcohol addiction, and the revolving loan fund that he worked to support and that was renamed in his honor.

Charles L. “Chuck” Reischel was born on May 8, 1943.  He was raised in Minnesota, where he was a football star and valedictorian at St. Paul's Cretin High School. Mr. Reischel attended Harvard College, where he also played football, and Harvard Law School. He also attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge University in England for one year as a Lionel de Jersey Harvard scholar. He went on to a distinguished career as a lawyer in government service.

At the time of his death in July 2003, Mr. Reischel was the chief lawyer in the appellate division of the D.C. Office of the Corporation Counsel, now the Office of the Attorney General, where he had worked for 23 years. He had previously worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and for the former Civil Aeronautics Board. In 1991, Mr. Reischel became the second recipient of the D.C. Bar’s Beatrice Rosenberg Award for Excellence in Government Service.

The Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund has assisted LAP clients by providing interest-free loans to help with the cost of treatment.  A former LAP client and loan recipient stated, “The fund truly helped me. I remain, to this day, forever grateful to the Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund and to the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program.”

Another former LAP client and loan recipient shared the following about her experience: “I write to express my appreciation and gratitude for the LAP and the Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund.  Throughout my recovery, the Fund has been there. It provided  . . . vital treatment support as I returned to work and began the process of rebuilding my law practice. The Fund saved me. Without treatment, I would not be back in practice.”

Both individuals are now LAC volunteers, serving as mentors for other D.C. Bar members who are struggling with substance abuse and mental health disorders. They and former LAP clients have been able to receive addiction treatment and establish a solid recovery program with the help of the Charles L. Reischel Memorial Revolving Loan Fund.

 

10 Questions That Will Help You Effectively Combat Stress

April is Stress Awareness Month. Do you know the effects of long term stress, how to recognize it, and how to just RELAX? While you can’t always control all stress, you can control and alter how you respond to it. Taking time to implement healthy coping strategies can lead to a healthier, more balanced life with time for work, family and friends, and fun.

Take a moment today to ask yourself some questions about how effective you have been in combating stress in your daily life.

1. Am I aware of what is going on around me?  Taking the time to be present and developing a daily practice of mindfulness has been shown to lessen stress reaction, increase inner calm, and improve concentration. 
2. Have I smiled today? Smiling after doing something stressful may help lower your heart rate, according to a new study in the Journal ofPsychological Science. But don’t just stop there; laughter has many health benefits too.
3. When did I last volunteer for a cause I cared about? Volunteering helps distract us from our own worries by focusing on others. It also can cultivate a positive attitude by providing perspective to our own stressors as well as generating a sense of accomplishment by helping someone else.
4. Am I working straight through the day? Taking a break is shown to improve productivity and concentration while skipping breaks can be draining and lead to increased stress and fatigue. The brain is like any other muscle; it needs time to rest and recover.
5. Do I have a hobby? A hobby is another form of a mental breather. It provides relaxation, enjoyment, and distraction, all the while allowing your mind a break from the tension you have been under. Stress can come from feeling as though things are out of control; the beauty of a hobby is it gives a sense of competence and confidence that we don’t have in other areas of our lives.  
6. When is the last time I updated my playlist? According to a study out of the University of Gothenburg, listening to music you like decreases perceived stress levels and lowers your body’s level of the stress hormone cortisol.  
7. Am I coping with too many to-dos? We can easily be overwhelmed when too many things are causing us stress, when each to-do item is just adding to our load which is already past capacity. It can feel like everything is happening at once, which actually makes us less effective and feel diminished in our ability to tackle problems.  If this sounds familiar to you, try these steps to create a more manageable list.
8. Who have I talked to lately? Research has shown that talking about how you feel can help relieve stress by letting go of the emotion(s). Having supportive relationships, where you can talk about issues and problems is a healthy form of channeling the stress and can create a more positive outlook. Even better is talking in person which creates oxytocin, a “feel good” hormone that helps calm you down.
9. When did I last exercise? Exercise clears the body’s “flight or fight” response chemicals that result from stress, and the good news is that almost any amount and form of exercise can act as a stress reliever. The key is to find an activity you enjoy and make it a part of your regular routine.
10. Am I answering emails as they pop into my box? A study released by the University of California, Irvine showed that people who constantly check emails were on high alert, experiencing elevated heart rates and lower levels of concentration. Try controlling your email time. Block off five or ten minutes at set times per day to open and answer messages.

If you need help with developing better stress management skills, please give the D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) a call at 202-347-3131. Visit http://www.dcbar.org/lap for more information on LAP resources available through the D.C. Bar.

Taking a Pause in our Busy Lives

By Hugh Byrne, Insight Meditation Senior Teacher

We live in a culture that is increasingly fast-paced with numerous competing demands on our time, energy, and attention.  These external pressures can be compounded by our internal drives—to achieve, be successful, and meet all our responsibilities.  It is very easy for the demands of work, family, health, and finances to lead to a build-up of stress, worry, and anxiety that can have serious effects on our health.

Seventy-five to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints, according to a recent estimate. Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety. One of the most effective ways of dealing with stress is through meditation and the practice of mindfulness.

Mindfulness involves bringing a kind and non-judging awareness to our experience, just as it is, moment by moment.  Mindfulness allows us to pause between a stimulus and our reaction to it.  As Victor Frankl noted, “Between the stimulus and the response, there is a pause, and in that pause lies our power and our freedom.”

Mindfulness has been shown to provide significant physical, mental and emotional health benefits, including:

• lowering susceptibility to colds and flu;
• lessening the intensity and unpleasantness of physical pain;
• lowering blood pressure;
• improving focus and concentration;
• slowing the progression of the HIV virus;
• changing the structure of the brain in just eight weeks of practice, increasing gray-matter density in areas linked to self-awareness and introspection and lowering density in areas associated with stress and anxiety.

Here are some tips for using mindfulness to help find peace and well-being even in the midst of a busy work day:

• Begin the day with 5-10 minutes of silent meditation:  Set a timer for the length of time you wish to sit.  Sit in a relaxed and alert way. Allow your eyes to gently close. Let your attention come inward.  Feel your body in contact with the surface beneath you.  Scan your body and see if you can relax and soften areas of tension.  Let your awareness come to your breath—feel the sensations of the breath entering the nostrils, your chest and belly expanding and contracting with the in-breath and out-breath, and the feeling of the exhalation at your nostrils or mouth.  Experience the breath just as it is. If your mind moves into thought, gently return to your breathing.  Bring a kind and non-judging awareness to whatever you experience, and come back to the breath whenever your mind moves into discursive thought.  When you’ve finished the meditation, calmly begin or return to your daily activities.

• Find times during the day to take a mindful pause: Between clients or meetings or a project you are working on, pause for 30-60 seconds or for 3 or 4 full breaths.  For this short time put aside whatever you may have been doing and let your awareness come inward. Let your attention come into your body.  Feel whatever sensations are present—tension, warmth, pressure, tingling—breathing into whatever you are experiencing.  Bring awareness to your breathing and take a few full and deep in-breaths and out-breaths.  Notice whatever mood or emotions may be present and let them come and go.  At the end of this short pause, return calmly to the activities of the day.  Take a mindful pause several times a day.

• Carry out a regular activity with mindfulness during the day: Take an activity you do regularly but perhaps without awareness—such as walking to or from your car or metro, or going to the restroom or kitchen or cafeteria—and bring conscious attention during this space in your day.  Invite a softening of any tensions in your body.  Breathe in a relaxed and easy way.  Bring conscious awareness to the sensations of walking—lifting, moving, and placing your foot on the ground.  If thoughts from the day come up, let them come and go and bring your attention back to your bodily sensations. Let this be a time when you pause, relax, and take a mindful break during your day.

• Take in and appreciate positive experiences during your day: Neuroscientific studies have established that our brains are biased towards negative experiences—for example, our brains detect negative information faster than positive and hold it longer, and it typically takes about five positive interactions to overcome the effects of a single negative one. As a leading researcher, Rick Hanson, says, ‘our brains are like Velcro for the negative and like Teflon for the positive.’  So it is important to take in and appreciate positive experiences.  You might take time in the day to reflect on things that you are grateful for in your life and allow yourself time to experience the appreciation in your body and emotions.  If something positive happens—for example, someone says something kind or complimentary to you—allow yourself to take this in for 20-30 seconds.  If you successfully complete a project or activity, take time to take in the positive feelings of accomplishment.  In these ways you balance and regulate the brain’s tendency to emphasize the negative.

These simple mindfulness practices can have a profound effect, lessening stress and increasing our sense of well-being and inner calm.

About Hugh Byrne:

Hugh Byrne is a senior teacher with the Insight Meditation of Washington (IMCW). He has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over twenty years and teaching since 2000. Hugh teaches courses on Buddhism and meditation for the Smithsonian Resident Associates Program and leads courses, workshops, and retreats for individuals and groups nationwide. He has a law degree from London University and a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA. 

He will be leading a workshop titled Introducing Lawyers to the Power and Serenity of Mindfulness Meditation on Monday, January 7 for the DC Bar Lawyer Assistance Program. Please go here to register: http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/events/event_Detail.cfm?eventCD=3401330LAP&isPackage=0&showAllButtons=1 

What to Read? Top 3 Books Recommended by The D.C. Bar Lawyer Assistance Program

1. The Gifts of Imperfection By Brene Brown

2. A Lawyer’s Guide to Healing by Don Carroll

3. Staring at the Sun by Irvin Yalom