My first introduction to the concept of being Highly Sensitive or HSP for short was through a blog. Reading that made me realize that I wasn't as weird and crazy as I thought and introduced me to the concept of Highly Sensitive People which has been extensively studied and written about since 1991 by Dr. Elaine Aron.
On her website, she has a checklist of traits and behaviours that you can scroll through and check off. They range from being bothered by bright lights, being easily startled and called shy as a child, to knowing things intuitively and feeling art and music more deeply than the average person.
A score of yes to more than 14 of these traits puts you in the highly sensitive category. In her book The Highly Sensitive Person, she points out that sensitivity, like most things, falls on a spectrum. Everybody is sensitive to a degree, but her research found that approximately 1 in 5 people falls into the category of extreme sensitivity.
How does this affect nurses? My initial reaction to realizing I was HSP was "great, I'm obviously in the wrong profession." If there is anywhere that is overstimulating it's a hospital. Light, noise, smells, people wanting things from you every minute of every day. However, the highly intuitive, caring nature of an HSP is something that can be well suited for nursing with some extra self-care.
SURVIVAL TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING YOUR SENSITIVITY
Silence what you can
Keeping in mind regulations and the need to attend to most beeping, can you turn down the volume on your pager? What about the monitor? Our monitors default to a higher decibel than is recommended so at the beginning of my shift when I'm checking parameters I also take a minute to adjust the volume. The NICU babies and parents appreciate it too.
Limit caffeine and eat healthy (even at work!)
It's tempting, especially on rough shifts to run off coffee and candy but it makes a huge impact on how our bodies feel. Instead, try to stay hydrated. Keep healthy granola bars or nuts in your bag for shifts where you don't get a break and try to plan healthy meals most of the time.
Consider Supplements
For me, if I'm taking a high dose of Omega 3s regularly my tolerance for irritations and stimuli goes way up. I also put Natural Calm magnesium powder in my water at work it adds flavour and calms some of those overstimulated nerve endings.
Maximize your break time
I enjoy chatting on my break and in the report room. However, on days where I'm feeling overwhelmed or bombarded on the floor, the payoff is huge if I find a quiet corner to take a break by myself. My brain and body thank me when I take the time to sit outside on a nice day too. These have the added bonus of taking me away from the TV in the breakroom, usually playing the news. Hearing a tragic story I connect with on my break hour makes it especially challenging to return to my assignment and finish of a shift feeling good emotionally.
Manage activities before your shift
If you work day shift to try to get enough sleep. For night or evening shifts, consider your activities during the day. Shortage of sleep and nonnegotiable duties such a parenting aren't always controllable, but I have realized that hitting up a children's play place and then going into work is just too much irritating stimulation. I've learned to keep workdays low key even if it means saying no to things I really want to do. It's just not worth it.
Plan your drive or ride to and from work
I have a pre-work playlist that gets me ready for my shift or I'll listen to an upbeat podcast. On the way home I often listen to nothing or something calming. My favorite part of my shift is walking out into the fresh cold or warm sunny air. Anything that doesn't smell like the hospital. Opening the windows as I drive helps me blow away the things that happened on that shift.
Invest in comfortable shoes and scrubs that fit
After three pregnancies I was wearing a mix of too small scrubs and oversized maternity. When I finally invested in comfortable pants that fit and I wasn't tugging at things through my whole shift I was amazed at how much better I felt overall. Investing in shoes is equally important. I once had a pair of shoes that squeaked when I walked and I honestly couldn't think of anything else my whole shift. Work has enough irritations without having to worry about how our clothes and shoes feel.
Use positive taste and smell redirect your senses
Let's face it, nursing stinks sometimes. Even though I work in the NICU there are still a myriad of terrible scents from specialized formulas to poop that smells shockingly bad considering the small person it came from. For a person who is HSP even just the smell of an OR mask can seem overwhelming. Treating our senses to a different scent or taste can combat the memory of the bad one. I've chewed gum, added lemon or cucumber to my water, and even kept essential oils in my car and purse to smell before and after my shift, or on my break.
Decrease clutter in your work area
While we have little control over the rest of the unit, taking the time at the beginning of a shift to organize supplies and paperwork and tidy up our areas can be visually appealing and calming. It has had the added bonus of not running around looking for things later in the shift.
Lastly, make sure where you're working is a good fit for you and your personality
For a long time, I tried to fight my HSP tendencies. I saw them as a weakness to be eradicated. While I've learned to manage them, I've also accepted they aren't going anywhere and it was worth finding a unit where I could control my environment and choose shifts that worked best for me. It took some trial and error and patience, but it now what I considered a negative personality trait actually contributes positively to my assessment and communication skills.
Many people feel like nursing is a bad fit for someone who is easily overwhelmed. However, many of the traits of highly sensitive people are invaluable to the nursing profession. We can sense things and often know what someone needs intuitively. Managing our sensitivities, instead of ignoring them, can lead to better job satisfaction and self-awareness.
Would you consider yourself a highly sensitive nurse? What are some of the ways you cope with being highly sensitive at work and at home? What are some of the ways it has made you a better nurse? If you can relate to feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated at work start by taking the HSP test, knowing how your mind works is the key to taking care of it.
