Caring for the Caregiver

As nurses we care for others, however in order to provide the best care we must also care for ourselves. Nurses Announcements Archive

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I want to start by saying that I want to thank every nurse/aide/medic/healthcare worker. Truly, thank you for what you do and I'm glad to belong to a group of people who have a desire to help their fellow human.

I want us to be better at what we do, and sometimes we become so caught up in the grind we forget how to care for ourselves and elevate our bodies/minds/spirits.

#1 The art of self-love

Self-love is an art, it really is. It's an art I recently picked up and the primer behind this article. Self-love is the fuel on my personal path to wellness. When we learn to LOVE ourselves, to undoubtedly, unwavering, and unconditionally love ourselves; it is then that we learn how to truly love and care for other humans. Note, all following points are truly pillars that uphold this number one rule of self-love.

#2 Caring for your body

Caring for your body is a great act of self-love. From exterior to interior.

Providing our skin with the daily moisturizing it so loves.

Providing our faces with daily creams, nightly creams, and fun facials. You can find affordable masks at your local grocery store ranging from $2 to 6$ a mask. You can find a whole tube of cucumber clay for $5. Instead of spending that money on a greasy Big Mac, rather invest that money in a true act of love and kindness toward your self.

Feeding your body the right nutrients! Whether you're a low-carb advocate, high carb-vegan, or try to balance all your macronutrients - make sure your food is good quality.

Don't drive yourself crazy with this, but little efforts go a long way. I, for example, eat cage-free and non-antibiotic eggs and chickens. My butter is 100% grass-fed and free-range. I try to keep my vegetables organic and wash any fruits with wax really well in medicinal-grade essential oils with anti-microbial properties.

#3 Caring for your mind

Let go of negative people, just let them go! Life is all about seasons and some people are not meant to be in our lives forever - and that's OK. This is a lesson I've come to terms with. Some adults never learn this and persist in toxic relationships and partnerships their entire lives.

BE confident, BE cocky, BE the amazing being you were meant to be. We may be terrestrial beings, but remember that we all come from the cosmos. It may sound a little silly, but take pride in knowing that the hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen in our bodies once was part of a star, comet, or asteroid. We are not bound to the earth (although it is a beautiful earth), we are celestial beings!

Positive affirmations, I want to hear you give yourself positive affirmations from dawn to dusk (and dusk to dawn for those NOC Nurses!). "I am beautiful". "I am worth it" "I am amazing" "I am loved" "I am important" "I rock" "I am deserving"

Perform acts of kindness, honestly it works. Perform then and reap the feelings that come with these acts. Allow others the right of way when driving, allow someone else to sit on the bus, open the door for strangers, smile at strangers, buy someone their coffee behind you in line at the drive-through, add money to a parking that is about to expire on a stranger, switch a day with a co-worker that needs it, make your co-workers some goodies, or give someone a compliment. The thing is that these acts of kindness make us feel good, they make us feel better about ourselves, and they bring us closer to our full potential. As humans we have the capacity to show such outpouring love and support, we are intelligent and rational beings. This is why it feels good to perform good acts, it may even be written in our evolutionary necessity.

#4 Caring for your SPIRIT

Feed your spirit! Join communities with whom you identify. It doesn't matter what religion to adhere to or even if you are atheist.

Meditate or perform Yoga.

Remember that you are not alone, you are a part of the earth. The earth is part of this solar system, which is part of the galaxy, which is part of the vast universe. You are part of a community, your spirit and consciousness do not exist alone they are constantly interacting with the energies around you. From people, plants, animals, to the stars - we are all connected.

#5 Forgive yourself

Learn to forgive yourself, only then can you truly forgive others.

You don't have to be perfect. I still experience bouts of road rage, I still have days where I unexpectedly binge, I have days where I confuse selfishness with self-love.

I've come a long way but I have a long way to go. It's about the journey though, not the destination - right?

A few months ago I was hitting rock-bottom. Suffering from binge-eating, toxic relationships, and looking for validation in all the wrong places. Seeking validation from other humans - when the validation comes from within.

The truth is no other man or woman can bring us happiness, traveling thousands of miles to India for spiritual enlightenment won't bring us happiness, awakening your third-eye or kundalini won't bring you happiness, the fanciest cars on the market won't bring you happiness, and it goes without saying that food, drugs, or sex won't bring us true long-lasting happiness.

The happiness starts when you say this to yourself: "Dang, I freaking love you! You are deserving of happiness and health. Let me embrace you and assure you that I will always look out for you".

Even if this only helps ONE person, I am thrilled. I'm not sure what happened a few months ago but something just "clicked" for me. I want to share my personal insight and outlook on life with others. I am by no means perfect and that is perfectly OK.

Remember that you matter, you are worthy, beautiful, and you are an amazing nurse/healthcare professional.

Thank you, I don't know what prompted you to write this either .. Jerry Mcguire Ha!

But, it is awesome! It feels good just to read it!

I would just add to make sure you are balancing these "performing acts of kindness" . Don't expect people to always say thank you. Don't expect your good cupcakes to go noticed by all eaters lol.

Keep your batteries charged while you're giving people a jump!

Well overdue post to us Givers! Thanks again!

Specializes in Critical Care.
Thank you, I don't know what prompted you to write this either .. Jerry Mcguire Ha!

But, it is awesome! It feels good just to read it!

I would just add to make sure you are balancing these "performing acts of kindness" . Don't expect people to always say thank you. Don't expect your good cupcakes to go noticed by all eaters lol.

Keep your batteries charged while you're giving people a jump!

Well overdue post to us Givers! Thanks again!

Of course! :) The acts of kindness are not meant to be noticed and rewarded by other humans. The reward comes from within, when you do good acts you begin to feel better about yourself as a person. Not because someone rewards you or thanks you but because YOU thank yourself, you praise yourself, and you just feel better.

Blessings! I'm glad I could make someone's day even a little better with my article.

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