Many health care professionals discuss numbness to emotion and removal from sympathy towards patients as an achievement; as something for young nurses to strive for. The truth is, sensitivity makes you a better nurse. Patients and their families are scared and in need of compassion. Somebody that has just been diagnosed with leukemia or is recovering from an open-heart surgery is scared and it is important to remember that this may be their first time ever dealing with this type of adversity. Sensitive nurses are not weaker. Sensitivity allows nurses to empathize with their patients’ pain, offer guidance, condolence, and provides them an avenue of communication through the treatment process. Dismissive and numb nurses end up nullifying their patient’s’ emotions, and close off a very necessary line of communication and trust. However, sensitive nurses often suffer more from the job itself. For sensitive nurses, it is important to try and keep their work separated from their private life so that it does not have a serious effect on their mental health. If you are a highly sensitive nurse, consider doing some of these things to try and help you manage your emotions:

Realize outcomes are out of your control:

When dealing with patients suffering from ailments like pancreatic cancer, the outcome is usually bad. It never seems fair that a patient, or any human being, has to suffer from a terrible disease. It is important for nurses to remember that this is out of their control. It can be extremely challenging to watch a patient’s family suffer, while watching their loved one go through chemotherapy. Without a nurse, the patient would have less of a chance at survival. If they do pass away, it is not the nurse’s fault. As a nurse, as long as you are acting in the best interest of your patient, then you, your team and the doctor are acting based on statistics. Some statistical analysis conducted through a research institution has already found that the treatment that you are currently carrying out was more successful than prior treatment strategies. Nothing you are doing caused the outcome; you only helped prevent it.

Talk About It (HIPAA forbidding):

While avoiding specific details that would reveal the patient’s identity, talk vaguely about what is troubling you to a friend, spouse, or family member. When talking out loud to somebody else, it can help you realize why you are feeling the way you do. Talking about a situation is much healthier than keeping these emotions to yourself because it keeps you from feeling overwhelmed in the future. For somebody that is highly sensitive, getting these feelings out is cathartic, and compartmentalizing can lead to further anxiety and stress.

Exercise or Find a Hobby:

It is somewhat common for somebody who is highly sensitive to fixate on a certain issue. Sensitivity leads to fixation, which leads to depression and anxiety, as well as isolation and further obsessive fixation. The whole process, unfortunately, is cyclical. The best way to combat this process is to break the cycle. Instead of fixating, a great way to keep work and your personal life separate is to find a hobby. Hobbies can range widely from volunteering at a pet shelter, to reading, to crocheting, or woodworking. However, all hobbies have one thing in common; they keep you entertained and keep your mind occupied. Without fixating, the cycle of anxiety and depression can be broken. So, if you find yourself fixating, it may be a good idea to start pursuing some interests. If you don’t have any established hobbies, this could be a great time in your life to explore avenues and passions that you’ve never previously had time for or thought of seriously pursuing.

Avoid Patients on Social Media:

Your days off from the hospital should remain completely separate from what you accomplish there. When family members of patients and past patients send friend requests on social media, it is wise to consider both options before hitting the ‘accept’ button. Some nurses do not have any issue separating their personal and private life, so this does not cause much of an issue for them. However, if you are the highly sensitive nurse type, it may be wiser to ignore the request. If you are doing your best to engage in your personal life, and during this process you are seeing updates of patient, that barrier can easily be broken. Again, this all depends on your personality and isn’t a rule for all nurses, but avoiding patients on social media is a great way to establish a wall that stands between your professional and private life.