Nurses, Are You Ignoring Your Own Alarms?

How often do you hear a patient say “I know my body.”

Working in pain management, I hear this a lot. Patients use this phrase to indicate that they know something is wrong - even if the underlying issue is not clear. I

How often do you say this?

DO you know your body? Can you use it as a barometer?

As nurses, we are, in fact, trained to ignore our bodies.

We stand for hours on end- our legs throbbing despite the new best compression socks that amazon can sell.

We don’t pee…ever. Our eyes could turn yellow and we will do “one more thing”.

We come into work when we don’t feel well- “there isn’t staff to spare and we can’t do that to our coworkers”.

We manage an emotional patient crisis, maybe even caring for them at end of life and then move directly to the next patient who just wants something for gas and to talk about how the JETS are losing…again. No time for tears, no time to regroup. Mentally reset and go into the next room. Your heartrate will come down eventually.

I’m not here to romanticize this- in a perfect world, much of this would be different. The point is, we have been trained to ignore our body’s physical warning signs so as to keep doing work that is important.

Unfortunately, this can’t continue without intervention if we want to prevent burnout and continue with dedication to the jobs we are called to.

We must get back to using our bodies as barometers. They are still giving us signals, we just need to pay attention. Otherwise, our bodies will keep escalating the signals until we are forced to pay attention through severe exhaustion, burnout or even illness.

Paying attention (and intervening) isn’t going to change the nature of the job but it is going to change how we experience the job, ourselves, and our purpose.

So, what are these elusive signals that I am referring to? They can take on many forms

·       Tightness in the shoulders or jaw

·       Restlessness

·       Grinding your teeth

·       Sweats or palpitations

·       Difficulty concentrating

·       Nausea (or other more distressing GI symptoms)

·       Heaviness in your chest

·       Butterflies in your stomach

·       Pain…anywhere

·       Irritability

·       Rumination when you are trying to go to sleep, or at 2 am, or all the time

·       Distraction or making mindless mistakes

·       Headaches

·       Exhaustion

And no, I’m not writing a blog about menopause.

We think these things are just “normal signs of stress” when actually they are alarm bells – telling us to pay attention and intervene.

Intervention doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be difficult, it is often as easy as identifying the stressor and then breathing to reset your nervous system.

Yup- just acknowledgement and breathing can be enough. In a pinch, just breathing will get you started in the right direction.

If your neck is tight, take a few deep breaths, drop your shoulders, do a stretch and acknowledge that this is a response to doing difficult work. Reassure yourself that you can continue to do it. Take a few more breaths. Slowly, deeply, ALL the way to the base of your belly and out slowly. This can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and doesn’t that sound lovely?

Going to work with a headache already in place? Ask yourself “what can I do to support myself today.?” Putting it in question form activates the problem-solving processes in your brain- a very effective way to trick yourself into coming up with solutions you may not have otherwise considered. Paying attention to the headache as a sign to downregulate your nervous system may be more effective than taking a Tylenol (or do both).

Coming out of a difficult patient interaction with your heart pounding and your chest tight? Take an extra minute when washing your hands. Feel the water pouring over them. Note the temperature. This is a quick and easy mindfulness break and reassures your nervous system that you are safe. If you were in danger (which is how you feel with the physical sensations of stress) you wouldn’t be taking time to experience the sounds, temperature, and texture of water on your hands.

Jump up and down a few times- shaking out your arms and legs- release the extra adrenaline before it decides to rear its ugly head at 2am as insomnia and rumination.

And once you have a break from work, THEN schedule some time for longer activities- a walk outside, a yoga class, a hobby or a massage. These things are amazing but can’t replace the in-the-moment strategies to keep you from combusting during the workday.

It’s just a skill to learn, a habit to build- just like we learned to wash our hands in-between patients, just like we learned to check the medex at the beginning of our shifts, just like we learned any other habit in our lives.

Don’t underestimate the value of paying attention to the signals your body is giving and addressing them with small acts of self-care; breathing, shaking it out, mindfully washing your hands…

How amazing will it be when it works?

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Nursing asks a lot of you. You don’t have to push through this alone. If you’re ready to start listening to your body again and bring some ease back into your work—and your life—I’d love to support you. Let’s start with a simple conversation about what you need and how 1:1 coaching can help you manage stress, prevent burnout, and rediscover your sense of purpose in nursing. Reach out today Megan@NursingBeyondtheJob.com