Stress management for nurses

[Istone]

I am a nurse and I could not be prouder. I have the knowledge and the skills to ease pain and suffering, to make my patients feel better, and to help families cope with healthcare issues. If I can provide adequate and reliant information to a patient's family, then I know I have accomplished something in my day.

Nursing is a rewarding and satisfying profession. It can also be extremely stressful. Nurses deal with pain and death with the young and the old. We are often caught as the middlemen between doctors and families. Long shift hours, constantly changing environment at work and home, and the fast rate of technological changes contribute to a stressful environment if we do not know how to properly organize and deal with new every day knowledge and information.

Today the rapidly changing world demands a higher level of adaptability. Our old reaction patterns will bring us nothing but problems and I am talking from my personal experience. It is extremely difficult to let go of old habits, especially if they were working for you all these years. Sometimes we do not look ahead to recognize that in the long run change is good.

As nurses we are exceptional caregivers and healers to others. Yet all too often we forget that we need care giving too. Time for self is often the last item on our to-do” list. We become fixated on the external stressors that we strive to control.

I believe the key to stress management actually resides within each of us. Some of us may suffer from variable degrees of health problems linked to work-related stress. Stress can negatively affect our personal lives.

So how can we decrease and manage every day stress of life and work all together? I am sure you heard a lot of suggestions about this matter, but let me share my own experiences with you.

I begin my day with a SMILE. Try it; it helps to get your day off to a good start. Put your best foot forward, one step at a time.

Here are some of my suggestions for stress relief in our hectic and busy lives. Let's start by changing one stressor at a time:

1. Keep a positive attitude, and accept each days offering.

2. Prioritize your tasks and responsibilities and delegate when appropriate or necessary.

3. Ask for help and accept it when it's offered.

4. Do not try to control people or events or expect certain outcomes.

Remember that service means enhancing another person's life, not giving yours away. At the end of the workday, acknowledge and congratulate yourself for what you have accomplished.

Please share your stress managing tips with us. Let's celebrate a Day without Stress.”