If you're a healthcare professional, you probably spend a lot of time reminding patients to rest, recover, and pace themselves. But are you giving yourself the same advice? Rest isn't something we earn after everything on the to-do list is finished. It's part of how we recover from the mental and emotional demands of caring for others. Learn how to make small, intentional moments of rest part of your everyday routine

A common chorus sung in healthcare is “we need more time!” or its variant, “I don’t have enough time!” I may have been caught in this myself over the last few weeks. Let’s face it, feeling like we don’t have enough time to do what needs to be done, or what’s expected, can be incredibly frustrating. But since we can’t create time, how can we keep ourselves from getting sucked into a constant state of discontentment? Discontentment may seem like an odd choice of words, yet wh

You can love your job and still be exhausted by it. For nurses and other healthcare professionals, the endless documentation, prior authorizations, and administrative tasks can overshadow the meaningful work of caring for patients. Learn how shifting your focus from the frustrating tasks to the difference you make can help reduce emotional exhaustion, reconnect you with your purpose, and build resilience, without pretending the system doesn't need to change. Because caring fo

What if your worries aren't facts? Learn how negative thinking turns uncertainty into overwhelm, why worst-case scenarios can leave us feeling powerless, and how to shift your perspective without ignoring real problems. Discover simple ways to challenge anxious assumptions, make room for better possibilities, and approach life and work with more hope, flexibility, and resilience.

I write a lot about doing hard things. Not because I think we should be able to handle everything without it affecting us, but because small approaches can help us move through hard things with purpose instead of resentment and burnout. Resilience is something we build. The little things we practice every day- taking a breath before reacting, reframing a situation, noticing what is still good, giving ourselves a moment to pause- start to add up. Eventually, they lead to an i

I run a coaching group at my pain management practice on Wednesdays. It is an amazing group of women who have been living with chronic pain for more than a decade. I started the group during COVID, when online connection was the only “treatment” I could provide. Throughout the last few years, many patients have participated in the group, learning new ways to cope with chronic pain, supporting each other through difficult times, and sharing strategies that they use to thrive d

Feeling blah, burned out, or disconnected? Small moments of genuine connection can support emotional wellness without taking much time or energy. For nurses and busy professionals, connection might look like listening to a coworker, sending a quick text, calling a friend, or simply being present with someone you love. Learn how to build more connection into your day and feel better without adding another overwhelming task to your list.

Some days, you wake up already tired and overwhelmed by everything you have to do. Learn how the simple Notice, Name, Reframe approach can help you stop the mental spiral, shift your thinking, and get through a tough day without making it harder on yourself.

We spend a lot of time worrying about stressful situations before they even happen. But what if, instead of mentally rehearsing overwhelm, we prepared for the stress itself? In this week's blog, I share a simple way to get the stress out of your head, decide what actually matters, schedule rest and support, and practice responding differently. You can't control everything that happens—but you can prepare for how you want to meet it.

As nurses, we are really good at holding it together. We hold it together when the patient is scared, when the family is angry, when the shift is short-staffed. We hold it together when someone needs us to be calm, even though inside we are anything but. We get very good at putting our feelings somewhere else so we can keep doing what needs to be done. And sometimes that is exactly what we need to do in the moment. But here’s the problem: Just because you can hold it together

Sometimes stopping is exactly what allows us to keep going. During a challenging hike in Yosemite, I learned that taking a break, catching my breath, and accepting help weren’t signs of failure—they were strategies that helped me reach a goal that felt almost impossible. We often bring that same pressure to work and life. What if we stopped pushing through everything alone and gave ourselves permission to pause, breathe, accept help, and keep going?

Nursing trains us to notice what’s wrong: the abnormal vital sign, the unanswered call light, the medication that needs to be given, the problem that needs fixing. But what if we trained our brains to notice what’s going right, too? This simple gratitude practice challenges nurses to find 10 small moments of good each day—with no repeats. It won’t erase the hard days. But it might change what you notice in the middle of them.

Have you ever found yourself caught in a mental spiral—replaying conversations, imagining worst-case scenarios, or feeling overwhelmed by thoughts that keep building on each other? Mental spiraling is something we all experience, especially those of us in healthcare who are trained to anticipate problems. The good news? We can learn to interrupt the momentum by recognizing the spiral, creating an intentional pivot, and building the resilience that helps us find our way back t

After 26 years in pain management, I've learned that there is rarely one treatment that changes everything. Meaningful improvement comes from layering small strategies over time. I believe the same is true for healthcare professionals. Building resilience and reducing burnout isn't about finding one magic solution—it's about choosing the right ingredients, one at a time. Small changes, practiced consistently, can make a remarkable difference.

Do you ever sit down to relax only to find your mind racing? You're not alone. In this article, I share a simple mindfulness practice inspired by Joseph Goldstein that shifted my perspective. Instead of trying to quiet my thoughts, I learned to intentionally focus on the good I've done. It offers a practical way to encourage your heart, build resilience, and find calm—especially for those of us working in healthcare.

Have you ever described your week as "brutal"? I certainly have. But what if that's only part of the story? Even in the hardest weeks, there are moments of meaning, connection, and purpose. In this article, I share one simple resilience practice that has helped me notice both. Because resilience isn't about eliminating the hard parts of healthcare—it's about learning to hold both.

Ever found yourself back in a situation you promised yourself you'd never be in again? Whether it's overcommitting, neglecting self-care, losing your patience, or falling into old habits, the hardest part is often the story we tell ourselves afterward. This post explores why setbacks happen, how self-judgment keeps us stuck, and one simple question—What else is true?—that can help you respond with greater compassion and resilience.

Life and healthcare work can feel heavy, and sometimes we assume that means something is wrong with us. This piece explores what it means to take ourselves a little less seriously, make room for the hard days, and recognize that struggle is a normal part of being human. It’s a reminder that feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re failing—it means you’re carrying a lot. In the middle of it all, we can still come back to meaning, purpose, and the reason we chose this work.

Most healthcare professionals know fatigue that sleep doesn’t fix. You wake up tired, you push through the day, and rest doesn’t fully restore you. This is often more than physical exhaustion — it can be compassion fatigue or secondary trauma. Understanding this matters because when we can name it, we can also start to shift it. The goal isn’t to care less, but to reconnect with meaning and rebuild compassion satisfaction.

This was one of those weeks. The kind where stress outside of work adds to the emotional weight we already carry as healthcare professionals. I found myself needing to return to a strategy I have written about before: a Rampage of Gratitude. It sounds simple—and it is—but gratitude is more than a feel-good exercise. It is a tool that can help us shift perspective, calm our nervous systems, and navigate difficult seasons without losing ourselves.