Social care staff coping with anger during coronavirus crisis

To all social care staff, please don’t forget how important you are.

This is a series of blogs sharing tips and resources to cope with common issues that our staff tell us they are experiencing during the coronavirus crisis.

We recently carried out a staff temperature check, to ask our staff to describe how they are feeling during this crisis. There were lots of positive responses, but staff also told us they were tired and anxious and some said they were dealing with anger and frustration.

We all feel angry at times, it is part of being human. Anger is a normal healthy emotion we all experience and given the current worries about our own, our loved ones and the health of the people we support, coupled with the restrictions placed on all of our lives, it is understandable that at times our emotions erupt with a sense of anger.

Coping with feelings of anger 

Everyone has their own triggers for what makes them angry, do you know yours?

I hope these resources provide you with some support. Let’s not forget too, that the routines for the people we support in our services have also significantly changed. These resources could enable us and them to better understand and respond to their feelings of anger too.

Therapist Aid produce worksheets and tools for mental health professionals – this anger worksheet covers triggers and coping skills for managing anger.

This short video offers a simple and quick way to get your body to relax – based on Jacobson’s progressive relaxation technique, which involves contracting and relaxing the muscles to
make you feel calmer.

Mind produces a range of anger resources, including coping strategies, and advice for families and friends.

The NHS has a useful page linking to lots of great resources too.

Please take the time out to look after yourselves, and stay safe and healthy. If you are struggling at any time, take a deep breath and ask for help, we are all in this together and need to look out for each other.

Kirsty Millward

FitzRoy Head of Quality