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ViewsUnder Pressure: Managing Stress as a Nurse
By Shannon Truax, RN
Pressure: A very familiar word in the medical field, right? When I hear “pressure” I think of blood pressure, venous pressure, arterial pressure, and the like. All of these refer to some kind of pressure measurement that tells us how our body is doing or how our patients are reacting to a disease or treatment.
My fun side hears the word pressure and automatically starts singing Queen. You can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head. But “pressure” is a synonym for “stress”. Just like high blood pressure is known as the “silent killer”, so is its cousin, stress!
Now, we don’t talk about stress in the sense of medical terms as frequently as pressure, but stress does wreak havoc on our bodies and it is almost as sneaky as high blood pressure. In fact, high blood pressure is sometimes secondary to stress.
Although we have monitors, cuffs, and devices to tell us what’s happening with our body’s pressures, there really is no stress gauge telling us when our top’s about to blow. This is why stress is often overlooked or pushed to the side in order to keep us keepin’ on. I mean, we have a job to do, right? We have a life to live. No one has time to deal with stress and yet it roams the hallways and gets inside of us like a bad virus. Stress that is left untreated will fester and grow within us if we let it.
So what triggers stress and are nurses immune to stress because they are health care providers who have studied and learned so much about the human body and how to treat it? Surely, they of all people know how to handle stress, right? WRONG! Nurses are humans too, and sometimes are the worst at taking care of themselves. Nurses make sacrifices and most often the first things sacrificed are themselves. Think about it: If a patient turns blue and needs emergency care and a nurse needs to use the restroom, guess who gets the attention at that moment? The patient, not the nurse’s bladder. Besides, the stress response kicks in and the adrenals get going in order to deal with the situation. Soon the bladder is quiet and the adrenaline is roaring loud and clear. Problem solved, or so it appears. This is just one of the many ways stress appears in our lives. What about the doctor yelling down the hallway, the never-ending list of orders to be addressed, or all the call bells? Not to mention the “C” word: charting. The never-ending charting. And all along, stress is there weaving its way through our day.
The reality is no one is immune to stress. Does this mean we are all in trouble? Not necessarily. There are ways to outsmart stress. In fact, not all stress is bad stress. Just like anything else, stress in moderation or low amounts is actually beneficial. Think about the original purpose of stress. It was and is designed to protect us from harm. For example, let’s pretend you were walking through the woods and you came across a bear. All of a sudden your stress response goes off, making your heart rate faster, your muscles powered up, your mind sharpened, and your fight or flight response dialed up to full power. This is a good thing. Then you either run like heck out of the forest or you fight the bear. Either way, you escape becoming dinner and your fight or flight response returns to normal levels. All is well. Now fast forward to modern-day out of the woods. There is traffic, bosses, deadlines, audits, and that all-consuming pressure of adulthood. So that stress response does not only go up, but it stays up. The body does not know there isn’t a bear in sight, it just knows that you are stressed and it needs to respond. Chronic stress, just like most chronic conditions, is a real problem.
How do we win the war on stress? Just like any other disease or issue, you’ve got to manage it. The body needs to be trained and tamed on how to handle stress. If stress is a perception of something bad or a danger lurking, then we need to retrain it to know what is real danger and what is perceived as danger in our minds. In essence, you have to train your mind to “choose its battles”. Don’t get yourself worked up over the little things. Your body needs that energy for more productive purposes. When you’ve got to act and move while under stress, the time spent before and after the stressful event can be very important to reduce the impact on your stress levels. During a code situation, you can’t fully meditate your way out of it. However, knowing that anything is possible during your shift, you can prepare your times before and after to reduce stress.
Everyone reacts to stress differently and everyone recovers from stress differently. It is a balance of relaxing, low-key activities, and exciting new adventures. What are the things you enjoy? What brings you peace? Put more of these things in your life. It may be hard at first, but scheduling in “me time” can be one of the best things you ever do for your own health and for the health of your body. Don’t let stress and pressure win.
A few tips:
- Carve out time in the morning for you to prepare for the day. Sit silently in your room, say a prayer, meditate, play music that makes you feel happy. Remind yourself that you are awesome!
- Fuel up your body with power foods: a healthy blend of protein, complex carbs, veggies, fruit, and lots of water! You are going to need fuel for energy.
- Spend time outdoors. There is something about nature that brings us peace. Put away the phone and absorb the sights.
- Prioritize “me time”. What you do during “me time” is up to you, but some examples are getting a massage, reading a book curled up with a comfy blanket, a nice hot shower, or going for a walk.
- Exercise by doing the activities you love to do. Dancing counts!
- Sleep- go to bed and let your mind and body rest. Seriously- power down.
- Find the humor in your stresses. Laugh it off or make a fun story about your day.
Bio – Shannon Truax, RN
After working in the healthcare field for over 11 years as a Registered Nurse, Shannon has seen her fair share of what happens when we do not take care of our health. She was working in a cardiac ICU and living on adrenaline for fuel. After becoming a patient herself due to lifestyle related arrhythmias, she decided to pursue health coaching as a way to learn how to better take care of her health. However, this journey led her to making a career shift towards helping others with disease prevention and teaching others how to have a healthier path.
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Under Pressure: Managing Stress as a Nurse
By Nurse Advisor Magazine (Official)
Pressure: A very familiar word in the medical field, right? When I hear “pressure” I think of blood pressure, venous pressure, arterial pressure, and the like.
Great tips
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