Everyday Registered Nurses care for people in pain. Their patients may be full of fear while family members struggle with feelings of helplessness and an inability to cope. Nurses can feel inadequate and alone. Their emotions run to extremes: the euphoria of success, the devastation of failure and loss. Peace of mind can seem elusive or non-existent.
Causes of Stress
According to the American Nurses Association, Registered Nurses report that intense workload, poor co-worker relationships, lack of supervisory support, and the emotional needs of patients as the top stressors in the workplace. Added to lack of sleep, a fast-paced eat-on-the-go lifestyle, and neglected family relationships, it's no wonder many nurses crash-and-burn emotionally.
Registered Nurses can Learn to Identify Feelings
Breaking through denial and admitting there's a problem is a step toward finding solutions to stress. Feelings can be named in one word: betrayal, guilt, anger, sadness, frustration, etc... Registered Nurses are trained to treat others with compassion, but unless they identify their own emotions they can't generate compassion for themselves and begin to heal.
Isolation Makes Things Worse
Registered Nurses may believe they should be smart enough to handle things on their own. That is a mistake that cuts them off from supportive listeners who can offer constructive feedback. A safe place to talk without fear of judgment, reprisal, or breech of confidentiality is a key tool of good self-care for nurses. Peer support groups may offer the best chance to feel understood, but self-help meetings such as Emotions Anonymous (EA) and Codependents Anonymous (Coda), where anonymity is protected, can also fill nurses' needs. One-on-one sessions with a minister or therapist may be appropriate as well.
Writing Brings Clarity
Keeping a daily journal where Registered Nurses write about feelings and painful situations is a private way to get to the bottom of issues. Getting emotions down on paper takes the power and mystery out of them. A journal can be a place to discover the dignity and opportunity to make choices, and that less responsibility for others feelings means more energy to enjoy life.
Rest and Relaxation are Vital
Recreation and hobbies are not luxuries. No one has to earn the right to have fun. If Registered Nurses have forgotten how to play, they can make an effort to try new things or rediscover activities they used to enjoy. Listening to music while taking a hot bath with scented candles can provide a mini-vacation. A healthy sex life is a good way to relieve stress and to get in touch with what it's like to be human. By renewing and recharging their "batteries" with enjoyable experiences, Registered Nurses will find it easier to keep a healthy emotional balance when workplace stress threatens to overwhelm them.
Mary Earhart - Mary Earhart, RN, BSN, is a Licensed Midwife. She has written articles for professional journals and grants for non-profit agencies as ...
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