Like all of us nurses, I know we all have our BAD shifts where everything under the sun can go wrong...so I was just curious, what do you guys do to relieve that stress after the shift is over?
I was thinking about joining a gun club so I could shoot off a couple rounds after a shift since I am not a drinker, smoker, or exerciser...haha! Then, I was wondering if that makes me psychotic because you know I'd imagine certain people's faces
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
the gun range idea sounds fabulous -- i have a few faces i can imagine on the target! in fact, dh and i went so far as to plaster our old boss's picture on the coke cans we were going to shoot up on my folks' farm. that was enormously relaxing and stress-relieving but my mother sorta freaked out over it.
i go for the nice long walk in the winter; swim in the summer. the dog has hip dysplasia and cannot walk with me more than a mile, which is majorly disappointing, but he can swim with me so we do that. across the creek and back, dodging power boats the whole way. and then if still stressed, we do it again. i've got a bright orange life jacket for the dog so the boaters see him, and it provides a handy dandy handle when i need to drag him out of the water.
I have been nursing for 20 years in a public intensive care unit. Mate, this is the answer: big big glass of red wine and hot bubbly bath. Leave the troubles at the hospital door. It's not worth the hassle!
Watch a scary movie...hard to be upset when you're home alone, sitting in the dark, whipping your head around going, "what was that sound?!?!?!"
I got a Nook, and I'm slowly working thru a lot of the old (and now public domain) books I read as a child.
Pet the cat. Cats are serenity on 4 feet.
Watch a "medical" tv drama and pick the science apart. This is why I have been banned from watching such shows with family and friends...
Do something creative - paint, draw, use crayons and a coloring book if that's what gives you a kick. I knit for a charity group. I also make rosaries, and have sent them to missions requesting them on all continents except Antarctica. When you get a letter from India where they ask for more rosaries, but ask that they be long enough to be slipped over the parishioner's heads, as they are so poor they cannot afford the cloth for pockets on their clothing, it puts things in perspective.
Then, you can also just go out and run until you feel like puking. Sometimes, that's all that works for me.
I head to the gym or I come home and read a good book,but usually i go to the gym even if its just to swim laps for about 20 minutes,or to jump on the treadmill for 10 minutes.Always helps me feel better.
I work nights and I do have an occasional glass or 2 of wine in the morning after a long shift. But, I live 16 miles out into the middle of nowhere, so the drive usually relaxes me. I am very good at leaving the stress at work, not worth the trouble bringing it home.
After a bad shift that was just too busy or stressful for whatever reason: I do yoga for an hour with soft, relaxing music. After a shift from (((HELL))) where I ran a code that was particularly ugly, violent, or otherwise severely distressing: same yoga and soft music, and I may have to take a sleeping aid so I can fall asleep and go back the next day.
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
the gun range idea sounds fabulous -- i have a few faces i can imagine on the target! in fact, dh and i went so far as to plaster our old boss's picture on the coke cans we were going to shoot up on my folks' farm. that was enormously relaxing and stress-relieving but my mother sorta freaked out over it.
i go for the nice long walk in the winter; swim in the summer. the dog has hip dysplasia and cannot walk with me more than a mile, which is majorly disappointing, but he can swim with me so we do that. across the creek and back, dodging power boats the whole way. and then if still stressed, we do it again. i've got a bright orange life jacket for the dog so the boaters see him, and it provides a handy dandy handle when i need to drag him out of the water.