OWN It: Dr. Fields Shares Strategies to Manage Stress and Promote Mental Health

When it comes to finding balance and managing stress in the fast-moving world of public relations, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news: You’ll never get everything done. The good news: You’re far from alone.

Lindy Fields, Ph.D., clinical neuropsychologist at Methodist Health System and founder of Brain Doc On Demand, joined the PRSA Nebraska November 2024 program to talk about managing stress and using science-backed strategies to build resilience, boost joy, and lead with a clearer, more focused mind. “We all know about healthier habits and what we should be doing, but we know it’s easier said than done,” Fields said.

For the stressed out, burned out, and zoned out PR professional, the “OWN it” framework Fields developed can help you make positive changes to help. It breaks down to:

Opportunities can be as simple as finding small windows of time to do something healthy. Making a healthier choice does not need to be an all or nothing endeavor. If you want to exercise for 30 minutes but only have 5 minutes open, exercise for those 5 minutes. Little changes and embracing these microhabits can all add up to big shifts in your mindset.

Wellbeing habits require leaning into the activities that help you de-stress. If you’re a mover, get out and exercise or make your next meeting into a walking meeting. If you’re an escaper, find ways to create, socialize, read, or journal to break away from the day to day. If thinking helps you de-stress, it’s great to practice mindfulness through guided meditation, breathwork, nature walks, and yoga.

New mindsets can come to you as easily as finding the positive. Rather than saying you don’t have time for something, look at how you can rearrange your time to make it happen. Rather than saying you have to do something, think about how you get to do something. You can even get yourself excited to do something that you’re not excited to do if you find a way to plan ahead for it. For example, loading up a playlist or podcast to enjoy on your commute can help you dread that morning or evening commute a little bit less. Finding your why can help you find your way to mental health and stress management!

PRSA Nebraska thanks Lindy Fields, Ph.D., for sharing her work and stress management tactics with public relations professionals. For more information on Dr. Fields’ OWN It model or to explore online courses that use science-backed strategies to help you level up your wellbeing, visit her website at BrainDocOnDemand.com.