Nurses master resilience-building habits
While COVID-19 wreaks havoc, many frontline health care workers cope with stress better than others. Dr. Wayne Sotile and Dr.
Gary Simonds dub nurses among health care’s “thrivers” because they display steadfast resilience.
“We’ve spent years studying what makes some workers thrive under extreme stress while others crumble,” said Sotile, coauthor along with Simonds of the book Thriving in Healthcare: A Positive Approach to Reclaim Balance and Avoid Burnout in Your Busy Life. “What we found is that the ‘thrivers’ are those individuals who instill habits that create a high level of resilience — and this resilience enables them to cope in hard times.”
Simonds and Sotile said honing those resilience-building habits will not only give nurses a sense of control now, it also sets them up to thrive in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Our major resilience challenges do not come during a crisis; they unfold in the wake of the trauma,” said Simonds. “But when healthcare workers embrace evidence-based resilience-building habits, they can actually experience ‘post-traumatic growth’ instead.”
The doctors suggest the acronym WIRED as an easy way to remember the fundamentals of resilience-building. All health care workers can benefit from the following:
W. Focus on your personal wellness. This new normal will endure, and your resilience will hinge on your self-care of your mind, body, spirit, and emotions, according to the doctors.
I. Solicit input. Learning about your stressors boosts perceived and actual control — two resilience keys.
R. Recognize what is working and what you are proud of, about your team, your organization, your family and friends, and yourself.
E. Do what is needed to boost your efficacy (task-specific self confidence). People tend to enjoy doing what they are good at doing. The new normal requires learning new skills.
D. Now is the time to heighten dialogue with your team, your leaders, and your friends and loved ones. Broadening and deepening your relationships is the most crucial resilience factor.
Here are a few more tips all health care workers can master:
• Instead of putting on a tough face and soldiering on, be open about how you are affected by the painful experiences you’re having every day. Find a trusted colleague, friend, or family member to help you process the feelings of shock, despair, outrage, anger, or guilt that you feel.
• Counter stress-generating thoughts. You may find indulging in catastrophic thoughts, exaggerating, and shaming or blaming yourself or others. While this is normal, such thought patterns can spiral. Check in with yourself frequently. When you catch yourself thinking damaging thoughts, stop yourself and choose a healthier thought instead.
• Take short breaks during the day to focus on positive thoughts, quiet, laughter, fresh air, and humanity. Doa 15-minute meditation. Leave the building at lunch for a 20-minute stroll. Sit outdoors and take in the sun and fresh air.
“These are small things nurses too often deny themselves, but they can shift the mood in profound ways,” said Simonds.
• Store up positive experiences like playing with your child, going on a backyard picnic date with your partner, or watching a funny movie on your day off. That way, the “withdrawals” that come with the constant or emergent stress you are facing won’t “break” your coping abilities, say the doctors.
• Prioritize healthy habits. No matter how chaotic your work life is right now, it’s crucial to do what’s necessary to stay physically and mentally healthy.
“Try to eat healthfully, focusing on plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains,” said Simonds. “Get as much sleep as possible. And drink plenty of water. Even though you’re tired, try to get in a walk on your day off. Our physical and mental health are interconnected — and keeping your immune system strong is more important than ever these days.”
• Learn the basics of conflict management. Tensions may overflow during these extreme conditions, but if prepared, you can deal with conflicts in a healthy manner. If you suspect someone is upset, deal with it early on so it doesn’t escalate. If an outburst does occur, wait for the anger to calm before responding. Collect your thoughts and emotions and rehearse how you will deal with the conflict, advise the doctors. Deal with one issue at a time.
• Recognize and celebrate daily uplifts. Even in the most dismal of circumstances, you can find “uplifts” — happy, reaffirming, exhilarating, peacerestoring events — at work, according to the doctors. Examples might be when your patient turns a corner, when an anonymous donor buys lunch or dinner for the staff, or when a nurse who came down with symptoms two months ago is able to return to her shift.
“Daily uplifts are always there, even when everything seems bleak,” said Sotile. “The more you look for them, the easier they will be to spot.”