Nurses Begin Trauma Recovery from COVID: 5 Ways to Cope

[jeastridge]

Amidst the havoc created by the pandemic, nurses have been a steady influence for good. Our profession continues to represent caring and compassion, ministering to the sick in difficult circumstances, and doing our best to preserve dignity and respect for those who suffer and for their loved ones. Nurses have risen to the occasion and led the way in compassionate care. But, at what cost? As the pandemic abates, we begin to see co-workers facing and processing the trauma of this year of COVID-19.

Hopeful signs

The pandemic is certainly not behind us but there are hopeful signs that the increases are abating and that mass vaccinations are taking hold to break the grip of the virus on our nation. Worldwide, the situation remains perilous and we simply hope that the vaccine will continue to be effective and give the global community relief.

Slow Process of Recovery

The deleterious effects of the pandemic are well-known: death and disaster all around. The USA alone mourns the loss of 550 thousand people, each a person who leaves a space to be filled with grief. With known cases at 30 million (possibly many more undiagnosed), we have a sizable portion of our population directly affected by the virus. Currently, about 10% of the total adult population in this country is fully vaccinated with about 1/3 having received at least one shot. We see signs of progress but aligned against these words of hope are the threatening presence of variants and the risks of letting our guard down too quickly. 

The Trauma of the Pandemic

Nurses experienced a variety of traumas from the pandemic.

• Losing patients even with the best care possible
• Being overworked and having to push through intense fatigue
• Facing political and social upheaval with our country and communities divided on how to approach the virus
• How to treat it and how to prevent it

On all fronts, nurses were right there at Ground Zero, dealing with all of it in the best way they could, all the time keeping to focus on advocating for and doing our very best to provide exceptional care every time to every patient. 

Back to Normal? How?

As we see glimmers of "normalcy" we begin to process the trauma of the past few months. Sleeplessness, general anxiety, and disruption of routines contribute to many mental health issues. How do we best cope?

Acknowledge it was hard

We cannot move on and dismiss. Sometimes we have to sit with our troubles and turn them over and analyze them a bit to find a way to process. To deal effectively, we might need to first offer each other the space to say it was hard. How can you and those around you feel safe in discussing the difficult times of treating patients with COVID-19?

Talk about it

There may be one particular death or story or time that keeps going through your mind. Talking about it with a professional or a trained listener can help in dealing with a troubling time. Mental health professionals acknowledge that verbalization can help consolidate and reconcile disparate memories. Who might you enlist for a confidential conversation about specific traumas of the pandemic?

Notice if you are having trouble

Are you sleeping as well as you used to? Are you struggling with difficulty concentrating? Are you feeling low or "blue"? Sometimes we need to permit ourselves to not be OK. And to get help. When we go through traumatic times in our lives, the trauma doesn't go away afterward. It is still there, living in our minds. We have to find ways to work with it and to talk about it and incorporate it into our new, post-pandemic selves. We may need to seek out professional treatment and encourage each other to do so.

Revisit old routines

This may be a time to take back some parts of life that were disrupted: revisiting exercise routines by going back to the gym (if safe), or resuming evening walks, or volunteering at the animal shelter. What is the old routine that you want to restart?

Re-engage

You may be depleted professionally after the pandemic. The weariness may be making you wonder about moving on to a different line of work. While it may be time to explore further, it may also be a good time to take stock, to re-build professional interest, and to re-connect professionally. This could be the perfect time to engage in a learning activity online. Learning can rejuvenate and re-ignite our passion for our profession. How can you re-engage with nursing in a meaningful way?

Whether you work in a COVID ICU, a health department, an ED, a school, a testing site, a mass vaccination location, every nurse has experienced the pandemic as it approached, surged, and now subsides. We have all dealt with our version of trauma. As we acknowledge and process our trauma we can take hold of lessons learned and move forward, even better professionals than before. 

What is Your Experience?

How are you dealing with your experience during COVID-19? Can you share some of your experiences and how you are processing your trauma?

[jeastridge, BSN, RN]

20 hours ago, Crojo1501 said:

I'm glad many nurses didn't experience the wrath of " covid" or got covid " and are still alive", for some patients and healthcare workers are not alive today. It doesn't surprise me that some nurses believe it is a hoax or it is  just the "FLU". Last time I checked, flu doesn't give you Sp02s % in the 20s or 30s.  

 Reality is, covid hit many areas of the U.S differently. My area got destroyed by COVID, our ED was full of  positives and PUIs. Non- covid patients were seen in outdoor disaster tents. Intubations/ BIPAPS left and right, codes, daily EMS bypass.  I am know working in a different unit, the other night, I was almost assigned a COVID-19 patient and something weird overcame me. In my head, I  began to panic a bit and got palpitations, never has this happened to me, not even under the worst of covid times. 

 

Thank you for sharing your story. It sure is a lot to process. And you are right. COVID affected different hospitals and different locations very differently. Like you, most of us will need some time to recover. Joy

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Used to working with vents since 1979.. My husband had Pulmonary HTN, despite 8L oxygen, would still dip into 60's regularly, once to 34 spo2 --applied Triligy vent +10L Nasal cannula in mouth to resolve. He died a year ago, April 1st  at home  post 2 years palliative care support, at the start of the COVID pandemic.    The worst time I had working on a Respiratory/telemetry unit was 3rd code and death in 2 days, was granted next day off to decompress from the emotional stress.

Can only imagine stress in dealing with this on a weekly basis caring for multiple COVID patients, dealing with inadequate PPE, wearing mask 12 +hrs/day, multiple codes with frequent deaths, face timing families so they can say goodby --- that's what many nurses dealt with this past year --- so PTSD  is the lived experience of many nurses.

 

Been needlepointing up a storm the past year, as my way of destressing; pulling threads though canvass is soothing along with arranging colors and stitch types to create stunning design.  Supported a women owned small business too!  Keep masking up!

 

[jeastridge, BSN, RN]

13 hours ago, NRSKarenRN said:

Used to working with vents since 1979.. My husband had Pulmonary HTN, despite 8L oxygen, would still dip into 60's regularly, once to 34 spo2 --applied Triligy vent +10L Nasal cannula in mouth to resolve. He died a year ago, April 1st  at home  post 2 years palliative care support, at the start of the COVID pandemic.    The worst time I had working on a Respiratory/telemetry unit was 3rd code and death in 2 days, was granted next day off to decompress from the emotional stress.

Can only imagine stress in dealing with this on a weekly basis caring for multiple COVID patients, dealing with inadequate PPE, wearing mask 12 +hrs/day, multiple codes with frequent deaths, face timing families so they can say goodby --- that's what many nurses dealt with this past year --- so PTSD  is the lived experience of many nurses.

 

Been needlepointing up a storm the past year, as my way of destressing; pulling threads though canvass is soothing along with arranging colors and stitch types to create stunning design.  Supported a women owned small business too!  Keep masking up!

 

Thank you for your comment. So sorry for your loss. Your approach to de-stressing is inspiring. It has been a tough time...Joy

[KiusLady, ASN, RN]

I worked as a COVID nurse for about six months. It got a little too much for me (not so much because I was losing patients - I was in a department that took care of *stable* COVID patients); it was the staffing (lack of), the constant policy changes (sometimes several w/in the same shift) and the general lack of support from administration after the pandemic had been trucking along for a while.
I switched departments and am now in MH. Liking it much better.

COVID is still very much a thing in my hospital, but things are slowly easing up thanks to the vaccine. We just started allow visitors again, but that could lock back down again at any moment if we get another surge in our area.

[BSN-to-MSN, ADN, BSN, RN]

Caring for the COVID patients while trying to avoid bringing it home is certainly a struggle but I would not call it "trauma". I have been thru worse things. That being sad, it takes a mental toll, and depending how resilient the nurse is, it can affect mental and physical health.

Definitely talk to someone about it.

What irks me, is the hospital's big wigs hailing us as heroes from the comfort of their desks, and now... chastising us for multiple re-discovered problems, such as incomplete stroke documentation, increase in pressure ulcers, falls, etc. We were short-staffed for MONTHS. Of course there was not enough helping hands to turn, ambulate and PROPERLY care for the patients for MONTHS. Now, we've gone from hero to zero. Great job. In come endless trainings assigned, audits and checklists for us to complete.

We have gone form max 50 COVIDs in 128 bed hospital to 6. I think it's great.

Now, if only I could have some wine, it would be even better ( but I'm preggo, so not yet).

[jeastridge, BSN, RN]

6 hours ago, RN-to- BSN said:

Caring for the COVID patients while trying to avoid bringing it home is certainly a struggle but I would not call it "trauma". I have been thru worse things. That being sad, it takes a mental toll, and depending how resilient the nurse is, it can affect mental and physical health.

Definitely talk to someone about it.

What irks me, is the hospital's big wigs hailing us as heroes from the comfort of their desks, and now... chastising us for multiple re-discovered problems, such as incomplete stroke documentation, increase in pressure ulcers, falls, etc. We were short-staffed for MONTHS. Of course there was not enough helping hands to turn, ambulate and PROPERLY care for the patients for MONTHS. Now, we've gone from hero to zero. Great job. In come endless trainings assigned, audits and checklists for us to complete.

We have gone form max 50 COVIDs in 128 bed hospital to 6. I think it's great.

Now, if only I could have some wine, it would be even better ( but I'm preggo, so not yet).

You make some great points: "hero to zero." Yep. Happens a lot, doesn't it? Cheers for your pregnancy! Hope it goes really well. Joy

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

There were parts of the country where nurses and doctors were on their hands and knees begging people to be careful and do what they can to mitigate disease because it was so bad.

I don't think this was media hype but reality in many parts of the country.  It started in New York, then we saw health care workers saying the same thing in Arizona and South Florida, then later the exact same thing in the Dakotas, and then in California and El Paso, Texas.  

These rest of us, maybe not so bad.  We had a bad surge where I worked and we watched with horror and wondered what it would be like when we no longer had beds or staff, would we be the ones on the media begging for help and for the population to use some common sense mitigation.  Fortunately it leveled off before all that happened.  We worked long hard hours shorted staffed in all departments so covid patients could be taken care of.   I worked on a floor that had a lot of elective surgeries and no covid patients, so I lucked out.  I floated to the covid unit and had covid patients a few times and didn't feel traumatized.  

I live in Florida where we've had no lock down since May of last year, so that aspect has been fine for me as well.

We are still having 5 to 7 thousands positive cases a day and the county I live in has a rate of positivity of 6%.  So it hasn't gone away.  What is different is that nursing home cases have plummeted, and hospitalizations are down due to better understandings and vaccinations.  We've closed down our covid unit and the covid patient are scattered around and they are younger.

I had a good 2020.  I was never laid off, made a boatload of money (to my detriment when stimulus money was handed out and I didn't get any), never got covid, and am now vaccinated, and lived in an area of no restrictions.  

But I believe my peers in other parts of the country that it was like a war zone, that they are stressed, having PTSD, and need help and compassion and that it was just the luck of my job description and location that this didn't happen to me.

I have a friend that lost both of his vibrant parents on the same day due to covid.  A coworker lost an aunt.  A coworker caught covid and brought it home to her grandfather who later died.  

There's a real human toll and as nurses we need to help one another through it with understanding and compassion.