Nursing can take a serious emotional toll on almost anyone involved in the field. Anyone who works in an emergency or crisis setting is better off being resilient, but even then it’s easy to slip up and get burned out because of how emotionally invested people become when their lives are at stake. When you spend your workdays helping people through the worst of times, it takes a toll on your mental health and physical wellbeing too. It’s vital for nurses to remember that they need to keep themselves in good physical shape too. Whether you’re a newly minted graduate or someone who has been around for a while, there are many ways that every nurse can take care of themselves physically and mentally throughout the day depending on their personality type.

Connect with mother nature

It’s important to take time for yourself after a certain amount of time being in the fast-paced world of business. This means you’ll need to find a way to take a break from everything and be able to sit back and relax in order to decompress from what you have been working on for so long. It’s important when it comes down to your health because when this affects your well-being so much, it will affect your productivity and be detrimental to your work and personal life too. Make sure you’re getting some quality time away from your job and stressors by taking some days off or perhaps go on vacation! It doesn’t always mean that you have to go very far; we recommend that you see how often you can get into nature if possible because even if it means going out once a week for an hour during lunchtime, make sure to connect with your mother nature!

On average people spend 93% of their lives indoors, and it can be difficult to find pockets of peace and quiet. So take a little time to step outside and appreciate the beauty around you. If there’s no green space nearby, find somewhere you feel comfortable. To help yourself relax, put your headphones on pause, pause the podcast, or mute your phone. It can be challenging at first, but be patient with yourself and use the practice as an opportunity to notice things like how good it feels to stretch your legs, or how fresh the air smells. Even if you only take a few short minutes out of each day for this – it will make a big difference in your day-to-day.” – Joshua Long.”

Journaling

If you tend to be anxious, you may have tried cognitive-behavioral therapy. This is a form of talk therapy that can help manage unhealthy anxieties in your day-to-day life. It’s a great way for anyone who feels overwhelmed, exhausted, or overextended to regain a sense of peace and control.

Keeping a journal and writing down things that you’re grateful for can help give you perspective on all of the things that matter most in your life. Take some time out after work to take care of things like keeping this journal and write down 3-5 things per day until you feel like you’ve hit a balance. It doesn’t have to be deep; maybe you value your dog, or your computer, or your auto-correct setting. If we never took the time to actually think about the things we needed to appreciate most in our lives, we might end up becoming selfish, draining people who can’t be bothered with getting along with others or putting ourselves last when it comes to priorities. By way of practicing gratitude on a regular basis, we can keep ourselves from self destructing as workaholics or mentally checking out of responsibilities by distracting ourselves with futile activities so as not to have time for introspection.

Finding the right balance

Helping others and putting others first is a thrilling venture, but so is finding a balance. When was the last time you did something just for yourself? It doesn’t have to be extreme, just remember to do little things that will make you happy from time to time and don’t feel guilty about doing it. Our hands go through a great deal of work and can get dry if we constantly wash them like nurses do. So why not treat yourself every once in while with getting a manicure or having someone else take care of your hands for a few days. They obviously deserve some attention too! Or maybe you love sport and find the feel-good endorphins in exercise? Carve out that time no matter how tired you are because it’s precious.It’s easy for the things that bring us joy to fall behind when we’re busy.Putting them off because we’re too tired but they are really important in keeping us balanced after all!

There are no hard and fast rules, but there are plenty of things that have been shown to help nurses stay well, do their jobs effectively, and feel fulfilled. Put the methods that work best for you into practice at home and at work, lean into them – try not to let your stress take hold! Remember that being kind to yourself is essential. There will be rough patches along the way or even longer downtimes due to illness or personal challenges. #KeepFighting