Self-care for the Nurse starts at home. It feels like we spend most of our time at work, and if you go in for extra shifts, you might. Self-care is vital to take care of your mind and body. Lack of self-maintenance will lead to burn out and frequent illness.
#1 Sleep
Have a family? Work nights? After twelve-hour exhaustion is expected, and it’s also common to have other obligations that need our attention. These obligations can pull us away from much-needed sleep. As soon as you go home, you clean your house, make dinner, and put kids to sleep for those who workdays? Something needs to be done, but anything could be prepped and done ahead, delegated, or can wait. Night shift will complicate your sleep schedule with either not enough sleep, sleeping throughout the day, or insomnia. Identify the problem and try to resolve it with journaling, a sleep routine, a warm shower, guided deep breathing, or light reading. A good night or day sleep will recharge your mental and physical health.
#2 Stretch and Move
A day off with your family, a time away from work, and a time to relax. Don’t spend all your time on the couch. Make time to get up, move, and stretch. Physical activity helps your overall body, blood pressure, joints, muscles, and mental health as well. On your days off, take a walk around the block, go to the park, or go for a bike ride. Being a couch potato will take its toll on your energy, body, and mental health if you think you deserve to lay on the couch for four days because you are on your feet for three shifts. But in reality, walking during your twelve-hour time on the hospital floor and a walk around the neighborhood have different effects on your stress level and hormones. You have more stress during work, whereas around the block you have the fresh air and the ability to relax. Make sure you take time to stretch and move on your days off. You will feel better and be thankful you did it.
#3 Face, Feet, and Skin
Clean and moisturize. Let’s start with the face. Nowadays, Nurses, Physicians, and Nursing assistances wear masks for their entire shift. After wearing both an N95 and a surgical mask, I know that my face has red indentions on my nose and cheek and breakout. The twelve hours of sweat, breath, and natural oils of your skin result in an oily film and a mild to severe breakout. Start or maintain a good skin routine. Everyone has such different skin, and I am not certified or even a guru of skincare, but find out what best works for you. If you have severe breakouts and can’t find anything the works, find a dermatologist. Remember, moisturizer; it isn’t healthier to dry out your skin. Another reminder, skincare is not a one size fits all solution finder due to hormones, diet, and genetics makes skincare.
Take care of your foundation, your feet. A good portion of the hospital is walking from room to room, and the medication machine to supply closet. On a slow night, I take approximately ten-thousand steps. Come home and take care of your foundation, anywhere from applying lotion to dry feet to a foot massage. A warm foot bath helps to resolve the tension. These can be done at home. The slightly more expensive self-care includes a manicure and pedicure. In the end, by taking care of your feet, you will, in the long term, have less pain in your feet and back. Nursing is a career that not watching your feet and back results in years of pain that could be avoided.
Skin in general. We all learned that skin is your number of defense. As an essential barrier, take care of it. Wash your hands and moisturize.
#4 Leave your work at work
The mental exhaustion of watching patients die, being involved in a code or a rapid, or even a patient that needed a little extra attention. It is entirely normal to become mentally exhausted and go home. After my first ever code as a baby nurse, two weeks out of orientation, I went out to my car and completely broke down from being emotionally overwhelmed in my vehicle. Difficult nights or days will happen, and the overwhelming feeling will come home. We are all caring-humans, and it is normal. Feeling the overwhelming heaviness all the time is where depression and mental illness come into play. Talk to other co-workers, talk to the hospital Chaplin, journal, support groups, and if you feel the career’s weight, please reach out and get professional help.
#5 Your Medical Health
Most patients in the hospital are there as a result of medical conditions. We, everyone in the health care field, see this, yet many of us are horrible about annual check-ups. Not only do we know better, but we also have the resources. Everyone in the health care industry needs to take care of themselves before taking care of others. Establish with a primary care provider, go to your annual appointment, and don’t forget the flu vaccine. A healthy caregiver can give 100% of their attention to their patients.
#6 Reach out for help if you need it.
This section will sound like a repeat, but it’s something worth mentioning more than once. If you are mentally exhausted or feel that heavyweight of the shift, please reach out to someone. If you are bullied at work, please reach out, it happens, and it is not excusable. As nurses, we see births, deaths, abuse, the good in humanity, the bad, and the downright ugly. You are not the person that needs to carry around that burden.No one deserves to carry around the stress, seek help.
Do you have any other ways you do self-care at home?