Listen to Empower Your Wellness
You can find out more about Jen Schwytzer and her services at her website www.kindfulnesscoaching.com
As a Licensed Social Worker and Foster Parent, Jen brings a wealth of experience and dedication to guiding individuals toward achieving their goals and finding balance in their lives. As the founder of KINDfulness Coaching, she offers tailored coaching and consultation services designed to help foster parents and professionals manage stress, amplify their voices, and thrive. With 17 years of social work experience and a passion for mental health advocacy, Jen’s compassionate and expert approach supports you in creating a fulfilling life and career.
Jen, the founder of Kindfulness Coaching, offers her insights on managing stress based on her social work background and personal experiences with burnout. She emphasizes that while stress is inevitable, individuals can choose their responses, advocating for proactive strategies to turn stress into strength. The discussion covers the emotional and relational impacts of stress, including symptoms like fatigue and irritability, and the challenges of decision fatigue.
Jen shares her struggles with decision-making and unhealthy food choices when overwhelmed, underscoring the importance of personalized routines and meal planning, although it may not suit everyone. She highlights her own morning routine for stress relief and stresses self-care practices tailored to individual needs over prescribed methods.
The conversation addresses the unique challenges faced by caregivers and foster parents, highlighting the importance of therapy and a “time audit” to prioritize self-care. Jen advocates for mindfulness and being present in daily activities to better understand stress sources, suggesting simple, joyful activities as effective self-care rather than conventional treatments. A “nourishment menu” is proposed to help individuals identify joy-bringing activities during stressful times.
Jen discusses the difficulties of balancing self-care with home responsibilities as a foster parent, emphasizing the importance of boundaries, communication, and support from partners. The text also touches on the pressures from social media that create unrealistic standards, stressing the need to model desired behaviors rather than trying to change others.
The complexities of fostering traumatized children and the emotional toll of temporary attachments are also explored. Jen expresses frustration with the lack of rights and support for foster parents, offering group coaching to improve wellness in agencies with high burnout rates.
Finally, the discussion highlights the need for new routines to combat chronic stress among professionals, particularly in social work and healthcare, who have faced significant challenges during the pandemic. Jen concludes by advocating for self-kindness and care amidst these struggles.
In this insightful episode, Jen, the founder of Kindfulness Coaching, shares her expert advice on managing stress, drawing from her extensive background in social work and her personal experiences with burnout. The conversation delves into the inevitability of stress and how individuals can choose their responses, promoting proactive strategies to transform stress into strength.
Key Highlights:
- Emotional and Relational Impacts of Stress:
- Exploration of common stress symptoms such as fatigue and irritability.
- Discussion on decision fatigue and its influence on daily choices, particularly unhealthy eating habits.
- Personalized Self-Care Routines:
- Jen’s candid account of her struggles with decision-making and food choices under stress.
- Emphasis on creating personalized routines and meal plans, with an example of her own morning routine for stress relief.
- Unique Challenges for Caregivers and Foster Parents:
- Insight into the specific stressors faced by caregivers and foster parents.
- The importance of therapy and conducting a “time audit” to prioritize self-care.
- Mindfulness and Presence:
- Advocacy for mindfulness practices to better understand and manage stress.
- Encouragement to engage in simple, joyful activities as effective self-care alternatives.
- Balancing Self-Care with Responsibilities:
- The role of boundaries, communication, and partner support in maintaining self-care routines.
- Discussion on social media pressures and the importance of modeling desired behaviors rather than attempting to change others.
- Fostering Traumatized Children:
- The emotional complexities and temporary attachments involved in fostering.
- Frustration over the lack of rights and support for foster parents and Jen’s initiative to offer group coaching to mitigate burnout in high-stress environments.
- New Routines for Chronic Stress:
- The necessity of developing new routines to address chronic stress, especially among social work and healthcare professionals.
- The impact of the pandemic on these professions and the call for increased self-kindness and care.
Your Host – Shelly Drymon
My mission is to empower and inspire women to embrace their life transitions as opportunities for wellness, growth, and self-discovery and live their lives with clarity, purpose, and joy. Committed to honesty, integrity, and authenticity, I lead by example, showing that it’s never too late to live a life you love.
