 Stress affects everyone, particularly attorneys. Studies indicate
that attorneys are less likely to take care of themselves than medical doctors and other
professionals. Studies also indicate that attorneys experience extraordinarily high levels
of stress and depression and have a higher than normal level of job dissatisfaction with
their chosen career.
Emotional distress, if not managed or treated, can lead to attorney
impairment which adversely impacts an attorney’s professional practice, clients and
colleagues and an attorney’s personal life. The attorney who is in a state of
emotional distress may exhibit erratic behavior, phobic anxiety and depression which can
lead to suicide.
The symptoms of chronic stress include inappropriate anger or
impatience, overreaction to minor problems, anxiety, fear, irritability or resentment.
People under stress overload may be unable to concentrate, to make decisions or to think
clearly. They may be constantly active, yet accomplish little. Severe emotional distress
symptoms include erratic behavior, sexual difficulties, phobic anxiety and depression
which may lead to suicide.
Depression
Among members of the medical community, there is a growing acceptance
that stress from long working hours, such as 70 hours a week or more, may contribute to
the onset of clinical depression. A study of 10,000 adults by a team of researchers from
Johns Hopkins University discovered that among all the occupational groups represented in
that large sample, the attorneys had the highest prevalence of signs and symptoms of
clinical depression. In fact, the rate of depression among the attorneys studied was 3.6
times the norm for all occupations. Depressed and potentially suicidal individuals often
exhibit changes in their mood, appetite and energy level, which can be noticed by
colleagues, friends and family members.
Psychologists observe that attorneys, who are trained to be
impersonal and objective, often apply the same approach to their personal problems and are
reluctant to focus on their inner emotional lives. Concerned colleagues and friends,
therefore, must often encourage these depressed attorneys to seek treatment.
Stress management tips
Awareness is the first step toward managing stress. After an
individual has identified his or her particular stressors by examining what triggers the
symptoms of stress, he or she can develop positive solutions to manage these stressors.
The attorney’s first step is to reduce or eliminate those problems over which he or
she has some control. This requires some creativity and may include the acquisition of
additional skills such as time management or assertive communication. For stressors
particular to the practice of law that cannot be eliminated, the attorney can develop
techniques to alleviate his or her response to these stressors. With these techniques,
attorneys can learn to cope more effectively by minimizing their stress response.
Most of the common sources of stress for legal professionals —
deadlines, lack of control over time, difficult clients, fighting with opposing counsel,
no margin for error — are outside of an attorney’s personal control. What truly
determines how much stress these circumstances cause each individual attorney is the
degree to which these “givens” are perceived or interpreted as threatening. Any
perceived threat — real or not — triggers our body’s “fight-or-flight
response.” Over time, it is possible to modify how your body reacts by paying
attention to how you perceive situations as threatening. One approach is to pause and ask
yourself whether or not an issue really justifies your current reaction to it — or,
whether or not it will matter at all a month later. This approach, practiced regularly,
may help to keep matters in perspective so that the stress experienced is appropriate
relative to the importance of the situation. By responding to situations in a manner that
is appropriate to the potential long-term impact of each circumstance, attorneys may
reduce the stress and anxiety that such situations may previously have produced, thereby
reducing the overall amount of stress experienced. As suggested by cardiologist Robert
Elliot, “Rule Number One is don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule Number Two is it’s
all small stuff. And if you can’t fight and you can’t flee, flow.”
Most attorneys’ lives — both professional and personal
— move at a pace that was rare a mere 20 years ago. Many legal professionals feel
they have become a slave to the productivity enhancing devices that are deemed to be
essential tools of the modern legal office. What were supposed to be time-saving devices
have increased the pace at which attorneys are expected to produce. Attorneys need to
create regular periods where they allow themselves to slow down and experience life at a
different pace. Stephen Rechtschaffen, M.D., calls this process “time shifting”
(described thoroughly in his book, Timeshifting, Doubleday, 1996), which he suggests is
now more important for our emotional well-being than the time management principles that
were widely promoted during the 1980s and 1990s. It helps to remind oneself that life’s
work will never “be done,” no matter how fast we try to move through it. Or, as
Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small
Stuff (Hyperion, 1996), reminds us, it is important to remember that “when you die,
your in-basket won’t be empty.”
Relaxation exercises are one of the most effective techniques for
reducing tension and the physical effects of stress. In studies conducted at Harvard
Medical School, researchers monitored subjects who achieved a relaxed state through
meditation and noted that relaxation stimulates biochemical responses in the body which
are nearly the opposite of stress, the fight-or-flight response. Relaxation gives the body
an opportunity to rest and rebuild its resources. Relaxation is particularly helpful in
managing stress when practiced regularly. Methods of relaxation are as individual as what
constitutes stress. The key is to find and participate in those activities which create a
feeling of relaxation. This can be as simple as deep breathing exercises for a few minutes
or as involved as regular programs of exercise, meditation or biofeedback.
Since they work under time-pressed circumstances, attorneys in
particular may also benefit from learning effective time-management techniques. Attorneys
should strive to schedule time realistically, allow for possible last-minute changes and
learn how to say “no” to matters that do not fit within this schedule. It also
is important to learn how to minimize interruptions. Finally, attorneys often need to be
reminded to schedule time for personal needs such as recreation and time with family and
friends. Most attorneys will benefit from incorporating time-management techniques, not
only in improved efficiency, but also in reduced stress from a greater sense of control
over one’s time.
Substance abuse
Roughly 10 percent of the adult population experiences a problem at
some point in life as a result of the abuse of alcohol or drugs, according to national
estimates. Most of these individuals are believed to be susceptible to the disease known
as “chemical dependency.” Sometimes its symptoms manifest during adolescence or
the early adult years; others are much older before the problem becomes apparent.
Several studies suggest that the incidence of chemical dependency
among legal professionals may be as much as 50 percent higher than the incidence in the
general population. This apparent occupational hazard is most often attributed to the
stress of legal practice, though there may be a natural self-selection process at work as
well. The same personality traits that are over-represented in the population of adults
who are recovering from chemical dependency problems — high achievement orientation,
perfectionistic, obsessive-compulsive — also are common in the legal community.
Chemical dependency is a progressive, chronic disease that is
characterized by an obsessive, compulsive need to drink or use drugs irrationally despite
adverse consequences to the user’s own life. The late stage addict experiences pain
(both physical and emotional) after the effects of the alcohol or drugs have faded and
begins to use these substances in order to avoid the pain, rather than to experience
euphoria. The addict experiences total loss of control in the use of alcohol or drugs, and
this loss is permanent and progressive. It cannot be “cured,” only arrested
through treatment.
Denial
Denial is an important characteristic of the progression of the
disease of chemical dependency. As the disease develops, the afflicted individual becomes
increasingly unable to perceive accurately what is happening. Instead, the individual
denies any symptoms of abuse and continues his or her use. Denial, rationalization and
euphoric recall are natural ego-defense mechanisms that the mind of the addict employs to
avoid facing the embarrassment and shame that would otherwise follow each bout of use. The
individual also begins to need to defend against the criticism of others and avoid
admitting to them that he or she has a problem that cannot be overcome alone. This wall of
defense develops subtly and strengthens as the disease progresses.
The tragic result is that only a small percentage of those
individuals who need help with a chemical dependency problem are aware of their need;
accordingly, few seek help voluntarily. Without help, however, the disease can progress to
fatal complications or insanity. Before treatment for the chronic disease of chemical
dependency can begin, the affected individual must work through this denial of reality and
accept his or her illness. Typically, dependent individuals do not perceive the harm they
are causing themselves and those they care about through their continuing substance abuse
until a series of crises occur which impact upon the addicted individual’s life or
livelihood or the well-being of others. Often these crises do not occur until the
individual has already suffered tremendous harm from his or her dependency.
Enabling
Concerned colleagues should not engage in “enabling”
conduct which allows a chemically dependent attorney to continue living in an impaired
condition. If a person affiliated with a chemically dependent attorney covers up for his
or her mistakes, the impaired attorney is able to avoid direct consequences of his of her
problematic conduct and is able to prolong the period of denial and progress further into
addiction. Although it may seem harsh not to rescue or make excuses for an impaired colleague, the best way to help a
chemically dependent individual is to assist in early recognition of the disease and to
encourage treatment. Treatment is the only effective means to address the source of the
impaired attorney’s problem.
Intervention
Contrary to some popular myths, it is not necessary for those close
to an addicted attorney to wait for the addict to hit his or her own proverbial “bottom”
before help can be successfully rendered. Rather, those close to the addict or alcoholic
can join forces and intervene through a positive approach to creating what professional
interventionists have termed “insight and action.” The process involves a
progression of steps as follows:
 Identify a potential chemical
dependency problem based on signs and symptoms related to deteriorating professional
conduct.
Document objective verifiable
facts of specific and/or recurrent incidents of unacceptable professional conduct.
With the aid and guidance of
experienced counselors/peers, present the impaired attorney in a caring manner with the
documented facts pertaining to unprofessional conduct which may be due to abuse of alcohol
or drugs.
Provide incentives for the
impaired attorney to enter a treatment program and refer to professionals.
Have a plan for help available
immediately.
This process is called intervention. The purpose of an intervention
is to present the impaired attorney with a caring and compassionate message that clearly
communicates personal knowledge of the reality and extent of the attorney’s problem,
before the attorney or his or her clients, colleagues or family suffer irreparable harm.
In other words, an intervention is conducted as a “staged crisis” by concerned
individuals who observe the addict’s problem and try to persuade the addict to get
assistance before a real crisis and substantial harm has occurred.
An intervention also delivers a message of hope to a desperate,
hopeless person that a happier and healthier future is available and that recovery is the
ticket to that better future. Attorneys and concerned individuals who are educated about
how to conduct an intervention will be able to express their concern for potentially
addicted colleagues, not by tolerating continued inappropriate behavior, but rather by
assisting them to obtain the help that they need.
Referral to assistance
Chemical dependency is a serious disease, and the treatment and
recovery process should be monitored by experienced individuals. The State Bar of
California has contracted with two consultant organizations to offer an array of
confidential, free services and different treatment options to the legal community.
The Lawyers Personal Assistance Program provides professional
assessment of all personal problems, referral to appropriate treatment resources and
follow-up to manage the recovery process. All contact with the program is confidential,
regardless of whether contact is made by an attorney or by a concerned family member,
friend, colleague or employer. If any attorney or someone close to an attorney believes
that he or she is suffering from emotional distress and is unsure of what to do, he or she
may contact consultants by calling the following toll-free telephone number, which is
established by the program and operated 24 hours a day: 1-800/341- 0572.
The Other Bar provides a network of lawyers-helping-lawyers who
facilitate transition into recovery and provide an introduction to 12-step recovery
programs like Alcoholics Anonymous in a supportive peer environment. The Other Bar is a
free, confidential service which can be reached at 1-800/222-0767.
Richard Carlton is executive
director of the Center for Human Resources/West, providing consulting and counseling
services to California corporations and the State Bar in the areas of chemical dependency
and behavioral health. |
