RESILIENCE: POWER OF

THE MICRO ACTION

DR ELLIE CANNON MA (CANTAB) MBBS MRCGP

CABA provides lifelong support to past and present ICAEW

members and their families – whether they’re training, in
practice or business, have left the profession or retired.
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ONLINE RESOURCES
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and advice 24 hours a day
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CAN YOU BUILD RESILIENCE?

• What is stress? • What can we do

about it?
WHAT IS STRESS?

• Well, to start with what it’s not…

• A recognized medical condition

WHAT IS STRESS?
• A NORMAL response to danger, fear, anticipation and
trauma
• Many people thrive on stress – deadlines, pressure,
responsibility are all motivators in high performance cultures
• Our bodies are designed for stress - adrenalin and cortisol
• We make stress hormones that help us run – through an
airport, away from danger
• Prepare us for ACTION
• Stress is VITAL…….
BUT ONLY AT THE RIGHT TIME…

• Stress is a problem when you feel like this ALL THE TIME
• Everyday, multiple times a day and night
• High state of alert waiting for the next threat

STRESS IS A PROBLEM WHEN

• That is all you feel
• No triumph
• No enjoyment
• No relaxation
• Fight or flight outweighs everything
HOW DOES ‘STRESS’ REALLY
FEEL?
• Feeling there is so much to think about, it stops you
concentrating well on a single task
• Feeling out of control & finding that feeling uncomfortable
• Not coping with demands at work
• Finding it hard to make decisions
• Dreading tomorrow
• Feeling like something is going to go dreadfully wrong
• Constantly feeling on edge
• Feeling irritable with no justifiable cause

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL…

• Stress

• Physical conditions
WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE…

• Physical symptoms may be

the only sign of stress BUTTERFLIES
AS CHILDREN

• ”but I don’t feel stressed”

INSOMNIA NAUSEA BEFORE

BEFORE A FLIGHT A JOB INTERVIEW

COMMON PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

OF STRESS
• High blood pressure
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Insomnia
• Worsening eczema or arthritis or pain conditions
• Headaches
• Recurrent illness
WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE
MORE COMFORTABLE TO DISCLOSE TO
COLLEAGUES?
• Mental health symptoms still
come with:
VERSUS
• Stigma
• Weakness Telling your team you have
• Shame high blood pressure
• Embarrassment
• Fear of job loss
• Loss of self esteem and job
confidence
• A label

WHAT CAUSES JOB RELATED

STRESS?
Across Europe, North America and
the UK the number one cause
across all data is always
Pressure
WORKLOAD
Tight
Support
deadlines

Accountancy
Workload
WHY WE NEED TO
RECONGNISE STRESS AT WORK
1. It’s not going to go away
2. It’s not good for you
3. It’s bad for business

• UK – 12.5 million days off annually

• Average sufferer in UK will take off 24 days

WHY WE NEED TO
RECONGNISE STRESS AT WORK
4. We can do something about it
BUILDING RESILIENCE
• Hugely realistic to face an increasing workload with personal
measures to avoid stress
• Recognition and wellness – staff who feel looked-after report
less stress & burnout
• Programmes within the workplace

BUILDING RESILIENCE
• Personal strategies to mitigate stress are vital

• The Micro Action

THE POWER OF THE MICRO
ACTION
• Small changes and small ideas that are easy to
implement
• ‘micro-actions’ are well known to effect change
• Easy to achieve and succeed
• Breed further success

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

• HEADLINE • MICROACTION

• I’M GOING TO LOSE 20 KG • I WILL LOSE 1KG A WEEK

❎ ✅
 MICROACTIONS FOR YOU TO
MITIGATE STRESS
1. JOURNEY
2. DIGITAL
3. SLEEP

JOURNEY MICRO ACTIONS (AND

WHY BOTHER…?)
• Longer journey Bad
• Leave earlier journey
• Indulge
• Exercise High blood
• Switch off pressure
• De-stress

Stress at
work
DIGITAL MICRO ACTIONS (AND
WHY BOTHER…?)
• Ring fence offline time
• Ring fence online time
• Digital detox
• Offline activities e.g. eating Faster
• Buy an alarm clock pulse
• Wear a watch

Stress

SLEEP MICRO ACTIONS (AND

WHY BOTHER…?)
• Test your sleep
Zzzz
• Schedule early nights
• Optimise the environment
• Sleep hygiene
Good health
• Ways to fix it
• How not to fix it

Resilience
SOCIAL SCAFFOLDING
Build relationships
• Good for our health
• Can protect against physical illness such as heart disease
and dementia
• Even in high performance work-based situations, the
effect will be lessened by having a good team giving
adequate support
• Increases capacity to deal with problems and fosters
resilience
• Prioritise your personal relationships at home
• Build time and space conducive to good work
relationships…the 10 minute coffee break

A LESSON FROM THE NHS

WHAT WILL BE YOUR MICRO
ACTION?

THANK YOU

@DR_ELLIE