Simple Ways Busy Doctors And Nurses Can Find Time For Self Care

In the hallowed halls of healing, where every heartbeat and every breath is a testament to compassion, there exists a silent struggle — a battle that doctors and nurses wage within themselves, a challenge that is life changing.

Give, give, give. You’re a healthcare professional. That’s what you do. Dipping into your deep well of compassion.

But are you giving until it hurts? How depleted are your energy tanks?

And if you’re waiting for someone to come and refill your tanks — reality sets in and you must realize that no one’s coming.

YOU are in charge of your mind and body and, yeah, let’s get it out of the way — your self-care isn’t going as expected.

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Maybe showing self care is like 6th or 7th on your daily priority list of people to care for — if you’re on the list at all!

You’re the “strong one” to everyone else around you. Showing self care means you have to face (and reveal?) your vulnerabilities and figure out creative ways to wedge-in care for yourself in a hyper-busy schedule.

It seems easier to try not think about it and work through your physical and mental struggles. And you won’t find much support around you as it’s not talked about much.

In the relentless non-stop world of healthcare, where doctors and nurses labor tirelessly to mend the broken, heal the suffering, and comfort the afflicted, the concept of self-care often dwindles to a distant whisper.

In your pursuit of healing others, you inadvertently overlook the most critical patient of all — YOU.

It’s time to create a path for new ways of looking at taking care of yourself. If you don’t find ways to refill your energy tanks, you won’t be able to efficiently help others, as well as feed your relationships.

No, no self-care isn’t selfish.

What Does Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Look Like?

Compassion fatigue and burnout, the sinister shadows that loom over the shoulders of every healthcare professional, pose existential threats to your well-being.

Your quality of patient care nose dives. The safety of your patients changes. Your physical and mental health deteriorates. Your inspiration and motivation wanes. Your personal relationships suffer.

Healthcare professionals experience secondary and vicarious trauma. The symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout are smilier to those of Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Compassion fatigue — an acute form of emotional exhaustion — chips away at your empathy and other emotions, leaving you with little left to give. Meanwhile, burnout — a pervasive sense of emotional and physical depletion — is even more intense and threatens to poison career paths and personal relationships.

The frantic pace, unrelenting stress, and heartbreaking encounters can crush your passion to give, forcing you to confront a stark reality —you can’t pour from an empty cup.

And this secondary trauma leads to anxiety, depression, and even attrition from the medical field. It’s a grim destiny, one that can only be avoided and reversed by embracing self-care as a non-negotiable priority.

You’re gonna need to move yourself up on your daily priority care list. For healthcare warriors like yourself, self-care isn’t an indulgence, but a lifeline.

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The Power of Mindfulness in Everyday Activities

When you think of self-care, you think of larger strategies, like taking vacation or exercising more. And, they are certainly valuable plans to work toward.

But your boost in self-care need not involve grandiose escapes to remote wellness retreats or expensive indulgences. Instead, the journey towards self-preservation can begin with the simplest of daily rituals, suffused with the essence of mindfulness.

Mindful Eating

Transform every bite you consume into a ritual of self-nourishment. Mindful eating is about savoring each morsel, engaging your senses, and allowing food to be more than mere sustenance. It’s about taking a moment to appreciate the texture, flavor, and aroma of the meal. This simple act transforms eating into a meditative experience.

Nurses and doctors can employ this practice during their short breaks between the relentless patient appointments. You’re eating anyway, so it takes no more time to eat mindfully.

It’s a few minutes of undivided attention to a meal, the nourishment of body and soul, fostering a connection to the present moment, and recharging their spirits for the battles yet to be fought.

And it will help with your digestion.

Mindful Showering

What do you think about when you’re in the shower or bath?

Well, look at your shower as a sanctuary. Take control of your thoughts. All the people and things that are usually bouncing around in your head when you shower can all wait outside until you are done.

They’ve now been disinvited from your sanctuary.

Mindful showering involves immersing yourself fully in the sensations of water, the warmth enveloping your body, and the cleansing that occurs, not just outside but on the inside, too. It’s a moment of solace and renewal, a short but powerful act of self-care.

Nurses and doctors can utilize their daily showers as opportunities for cleansing not just their physical selves but also their minds. You can release the burdens of the day, letting them wash away down the drain, and emerge rejuvenated, ready to tackle what lies ahead.

Mindful Walking

In the ceaseless rush of the healthcare profession, the simple act of walking can offer a respite. Mindful walking is about paying attention to each step, the sensation of your feet making contact with the ground, the rhythm of your breath, and the feeling of movement through space.

In those brief moments when time allows, you can step outside, amidst the trees or even in the stark hospital corridors, and engage in mindful walking. It’s a chance to clear the mind, reconnect with nature, and escape the relentless hum of machines and beeping alarms.

The Power of Short “Brain Breaks”

As a healthcare professional you have a lot of important things to do in a finite amount of time. The relentless nature of medical work can make it feel impossible to catch your breath, but even in the chaos, there’s a way to find respite — the power of short “brain breaks.”

Brain research indicates that simple, one to three minutes of solitude can help your brain refresh and refocus.

During these breaks, you can close your eyes, take slow, deep breaths, and focus on your breath for a brief moment.

You can create a mental sanctuary, a place of calm within the storm. This short yet profound exercise can help reduce stress, improve focus, and prevent the accumulation of emotional baggage that leads to compassion fatigue.

Or you can do something else with your brain that may be distracting, such as listening to calming music or do some short word games or puzzles.

Self-Compassion and the Growth Mindset

If you’re overall compassion plan doesn’t include yourself as a priority, then it’s incomplete and inefficient.

Self-compassion is a potent antidote to the harsh self-judgment and perfectionism that often plague healthcare professionals.

Self-compassion means treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you do your patients. It’s about acknowledging that you’re only human and that “feeling down days” are inevitable. It provides the emotional fortitude needed to overcome adversity, foster resilience and mitigate the effects of burnout.

Along with self-compassion, cultivating a growth mindset can be transformative. You can change how you perceive, interpret and process your stress.

Instead of viewing challenges and setbacks as insurmountable obstacles, a growth mindset perceives them as opportunities for learning and growth. This mindset shift can help doctors and nurses weather the storms of their profession with greater fortitude and emerge from them stronger, both professionally and personally.

Small Acts with Profound Impact

In the whirlwind of medical practice, it’s easy to overlook the small, consistent acts of self-care. However, it’s these seemingly insignificant moments that can have the most profound impact on your well-being. By integrating mindfulness into your daily routines, embracing short “brain breaks” throughout your day, and fostering self-compassion and a growth mindset, healthcare professionals can not only avoid and reverse compassion fatigue and burnout, but also find joy and fulfillment.

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