What do you do for YOU every day, to keep sane..

zambezi, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2005

Things I do to unwind:

#1 Try not to stress about work in the first place.

#2 Workout/spend time outdoors

#3 Hang out with my husband (and in many months our new baby)

#4 Online- I usually find myself here or some other website.

#5 Read a book.

#6 Hang out/Talk on the phone with other friends.

#7 Poker (especially when I am winning)

#8 When I wasn't pregnant, a good martini never hurt (or 3 or 4 martinis on poker night :) )

#9 I like warm baths too but I like them hot- so I haven't been doing that option so much since I got pregnant- usually just a nice shower with good body wash in the dark.

#10 Light a good smelling candle- I am ready for fall scents- pumpkin spice, mmm...

#11 I love TV-especially fall TV- survivor/csi/law&order/24/football- I am so excited!

#12 Whatever sounds good at the time!

(these not necessarily in this order!)

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Sep 17, 2005

One of the things I do to stay sane is to never, ever start a shift without first talking it over with the Lord. :specs: I'm not conventionally 'religious', but I am a spiritual person, and I find this helps me relax BEFORE the day begins. Then, on the way home, I thank Him if it was a good shift, or whine if it was a bad one.......I think He understands.

Family and home also provide a haven.......I come home at night and play with my grandson, listen to my husband and sons talk about their days, then curl up in bed with my big back pillow, dh, and the five cats, and do the crossword puzzle. He and I chat for awhile, then it's lights out.........These brief but important encounters with family are what keep me grounded in reality and help me to keep a perspective on why I do what I do. Sometimes I think I must have been insane in the first place to go through four years of college to become an RN, but then I look around my beautiful home and at the faces of those whom I love, and I know why I'm doing this.

I also like to concentrate on the positive, rather than the negative, in my work life.........I have had many more "good" patients than "bad", who were appreciative of the care I gave them and let me know it in one way or another. I've received cards, flowers, candy, and compliments, and all it takes is one patient expressing gratitude to make me forget the ones who are nasty. Again, it's a matter of perspective.......you can look at the glass as half-empty, or as half-full. I prefer the latter.

Gardening is yet another 'therapeutic' activity for me.........there is perhaps nothing more satisfying than digging in the dirt, planting a seed and watching its progress from nothing to a beautiful flowering plant or something nourishing to eat. It's great exercise, too!

Then, there's allnurses, where I can come and 'talk' with other nurses, who are the only people on earth who understand this job and what it can do to the human psyche. No matter what I experience in the course of a shift, there's always someone here who's been through the same thing and knows how it feels.

And THAT'S how I keep from losing it.

talaxandra · Sep 17, 2005

Wow, some good suggestions - and reminders about the things I forgot!

Allnurses for sure :)

Counting my blessings and giving thanks, because otherwise it's too easy to dwell on the negative

sun_chica · Sep 17, 2005

I make time for sleep, playing w/ my rottie, spending time w/ my hubby, & trying to find time for exercising. I love to take an evening walk w/ my hubby & dog at the park.... ahhh relaxation!!! :yeah:

elizabells, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2005

Baths are the greatest - did you know that in ancient Rome, long hot baths were given as a treatment for what we now know as bipolar disorder? If it can calm someone in a manic state, imagine what it can do for YOU!!!

JoBug · Sep 18, 2005

These are GREAT! I am so happy to see that some of you are taking care of YOU!!! Woo HOO!! Now for me to find time too...hehehe...

JoBug