Defending people for a living is stressful. Not only are you fighting to preserve someone’s liberty (or life), chances are, you’re doing it for too little pay and with too little time. If you don’t find a way to manage the stress, you’ll burn out. That’s not good for you or your clients.
Here are some of the ways that I cope with the stress of this work. Keep in mind that I’m not a mental health specialist. These are just some things that work for me.
First, you have to stay on top of your workload by keeping organized. If you’re not organized, you’ll get overwhelmed. A large part of the stress of this work comes from the fear that you’re not prepared, or that you forgot to do something. Keeping organized is a big step toward resting easy, knowing that everything is done that needs to be done.
Second, I try to practice mindfulness throughout my day. Although I think “mindfulness” may be a mental health term, to me, it just means taking time throughout the day to appreciate what’s happening at that moment. [I find that this works best when I’m in nature, but it can happen at any time.]
Third, I get anxious if I don’t maintain a certain level of physical fitness. I don’t aspire to medal at the olympics; I’m just trying to stay fit enough so that I don’t feel old. I rely on two tools for this: kettlebells, and a bicycle.
Finally, I make sure that I make time to do the things that I like to do and be with the people that I like to spend time with. I read, play the guitar, go for long walks, listen to music, have nice dinners, etc.
So this is my recipe for staying sane:
• Organization
• Mindfulness
• Physical Fitness
• Fun
This job will kill you if you let it. Don’t let it.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is simply the act of appreciating the now. I love to go out into nature. I consider the sky and the birds. I feel the sun and the wind. I listen.
But, one doesn’t have to be outside to be mindful. In the car on the way to work, you can enjoy the feel of the forward motion. You can enjoy the sky. You can enjoy the sensation of of being alive. Just pay attention to what’s happening at that moment, and listen for its music.
Speaking of which, I find that listening to certain music helps me deal with stress.
There is a remarkable album of Ann Southam’s music called 5 by pianist Eve Egoyan. Listen.
I also am addicted to the music of Toru Takemitsu. Structured around silence, this music aims to create moments of contemplation. Listening to these compositions is like strolling through a Japanese garden, where you’re supposed to pause along the way ponder where you’ve been and where you’re going.
In addition to music, I look to poetry for inspiration, guidance, calm, and company. Whitman is a favorite, of course. [I kept this “You Felons on Trial in Courts” on my wall at work for a time.] Also, Mary Oliver’s New and Selected Poems, Volume 1, is filled with many gems.
Kettlebells
I love kettlebells. They’re simple and effective. I can’t recommend them enough.
When I’m feeling stressed, a few turkish get-ups or a round of swings usually cures it. Plus, they make me feel like a badass.
I lounge on the grass, that’s all. So simple. Then I lie back until I am inside the cloud that is just above me but very high, and shaped like a fish. Or, perhaps not. Then I enter the place of not-thinking, not-remembering, not-wanting. When the blue jay cries out his riddle in his carping voice, I return. But I go back, the threshold is always near. Over and back, over and back. Then I rise. Maybe I rub my face as though I have been asleep. But I have not been asleep. I have been, as I say, inside the cloud, or, perhaps, the lily floating on the water. Then I go back to town, to my own house, my own life, which has now become brighter and simpler, somewhere I have never been before.
— Mary Oliver, from “Six Recognitions of the Lord“