Most human beings experience varying levels of stress, even under the most normal circumstances, and for healthcare professionals and nurses, job-related stress can at times be overwhelming.
As a group, we nurses are generally caring, compassionate, hard-working people who like to put others first. This is lovely, but we can frequently forget about a very important person---ourselves.
Some nurses experience stress-related illness, depression, anxiety, burnout, and other symptoms and conditions (at least from time to time). Meanwhile, other nurses may find that such symptoms and problems crop up frequently, or even become chronic and apparently inextricably linked to their work as nurses. What to do?
Be Honest
You see, I was a burned out nurse for quite a few years, and I just wasn't honest with myself (or anyone else, for that matter) about what was going on. I burned myself to a crisp, and it was my long-suffering, compassionate wife who finally put her foot down and demanded that I be honest with myself. And I was.
Are you honest with yourself? Is your work running you into the ground? Are you, as I like to say, burning your wick at three ends? Sometimes, we nurses don't want to admit it, but we have to, folks. We can be the worst patients in the world, but when push comes to shove, we eventually have to pay the Piper, so why not pay in advance with self-care, instead of paying later on with chronic illness---or worse?
Be Proactive
If your work is beating you up, you must decide to be proactive. Here are some examples of things you can do:
Be Kind
If you're experiencing high levels of stress---or you're actually in the midst of burnout---it's really okay to be honest about it. It's not your fault, it's reversible, and what you need most from yourself is kindness and compassion.
Being kind to yourself is the first step in overcoming burnout or extreme stress, and that kindness is what will propel you to do some of the things that I've suggested above. If you truly care about yourself, then you'll find a way to decrease your stress and remove that stress cadet helmet from your head.
Be Consistent
Realistically speaking, while we all can't be 100% consistent with our exercise, nutrition, and sleep hygiene, we can indeed strive to be consistent in approaching our own self-care and wellness with kindness, self-love, and self-compassion. Even if you slip up and don't do so well on a particular day, you can still express gratitude and love towards yourself; and believe me, it works much better than self-recrimination.
Be consistent in expressing kindness towards yourself in the midst of your stress, and you'll have made the first step towards getting ahead of the effects of that stress on your body, mind, spirit, and soul.
Being a nurse stress cadet is no fun, but being able to control and overcome your stress is empowering, valuable, enlivening, and a great boost to your professional nursing career and your personal well-being.
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As a group, we nurses are generally caring, compassionate, hard-working people who like to put others first. This is lovely, but we can frequently forget about a very important person---ourselves.
Some nurses experience stress-related illness, depression, anxiety, burnout, and other symptoms and conditions (at least from time to time). Meanwhile, other nurses may find that such symptoms and problems crop up frequently, or even become chronic and apparently inextricably linked to their work as nurses. What to do?
Be Honest
You see, I was a burned out nurse for quite a few years, and I just wasn't honest with myself (or anyone else, for that matter) about what was going on. I burned myself to a crisp, and it was my long-suffering, compassionate wife who finally put her foot down and demanded that I be honest with myself. And I was.
Are you honest with yourself? Is your work running you into the ground? Are you, as I like to say, burning your wick at three ends? Sometimes, we nurses don't want to admit it, but we have to, folks. We can be the worst patients in the world, but when push comes to shove, we eventually have to pay the Piper, so why not pay in advance with self-care, instead of paying later on with chronic illness---or worse?
Be Proactive
If your work is beating you up, you must decide to be proactive. Here are some examples of things you can do:
- Talk to a therapist, counselor, or faith leader
- Go to your employer's Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Enlist the support of your friends and family
- Talk to trusted colleagues
- Take a medical leave of absence
- Change to a different floor/unit/shift
- Request a change in work duties
- Look for another job
- Contact a career coach or consultant
- Exercise
- Journal, write, document how you're feeling and what's happening to you
- Improve your nutrition and hydration
- Take up yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or other contemplative practices
Be Kind
If you're experiencing high levels of stress---or you're actually in the midst of burnout---it's really okay to be honest about it. It's not your fault, it's reversible, and what you need most from yourself is kindness and compassion.
Being kind to yourself is the first step in overcoming burnout or extreme stress, and that kindness is what will propel you to do some of the things that I've suggested above. If you truly care about yourself, then you'll find a way to decrease your stress and remove that stress cadet helmet from your head.
Be Consistent
Realistically speaking, while we all can't be 100% consistent with our exercise, nutrition, and sleep hygiene, we can indeed strive to be consistent in approaching our own self-care and wellness with kindness, self-love, and self-compassion. Even if you slip up and don't do so well on a particular day, you can still express gratitude and love towards yourself; and believe me, it works much better than self-recrimination.
Be consistent in expressing kindness towards yourself in the midst of your stress, and you'll have made the first step towards getting ahead of the effects of that stress on your body, mind, spirit, and soul.
Being a nurse stress cadet is no fun, but being able to control and overcome your stress is empowering, valuable, enlivening, and a great boost to your professional nursing career and your personal well-being.
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Keith Carlson, RN, BSN, NC-BC, is the Board Certified Nurse Coach behind NurseKeith.com and the well-known nursing blog, Digital Doorway. Please visit his online platforms and reach out for his support when you need it most.
Keith is co-host of RNFMRadio.com, a wildly popular nursing podcast; he also hosts The Nurse Keith Show, his own podcast focused on career advice and inspiration for nurses.
A widely published nurse writer, Keith is the author of "Savvy Networking For Nurses: Getting Connected and Staying Connected in the 21st Century" and "Aspire to be Inspired: Creating a Nursing Career That Matters". He has contributed chapters to a number of books related to the nursing profession. Keith has written for Nurse.com, Nurse.org, MultiViews News Service, LPNtoBSNOnline, StaffGarden, AusMed, American Sentinel University, the ANA blog, Working Nurse Magazine, and other online publications.
Mr. Carlson brings a plethora of experience as a nurse thought leader, online nurse personality, podcaster, holistic career coach, writer, and well-known successful nurse entrepreneur. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his lovely and talented wife, Mary Rives.
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