15 Life Hacks for Nurses with Anxiety

If you're a nurse, you need a project that doesn't entail blood, guts, or excrement.

Stressful staffing scenarios, long shifts, and exposure to traumatic events put nurses at a high risk for anxiety and depression.

According to one public health meta-analysis published in 2021, one-fifth of nurses suffer from depression and almost one-third experience symptoms of anxiety.

Medication, exercise, and professional therapy help, but isn’t doesn’t stop there. There’s another form of self care that is extremely helpful for getting out of your head.

The treatment plan goes something like this:

• When you feel overwhelmed —?make.
• When you feel restless —?make.
• When you feel like running away from life —?make.

If making something doesn't sound like an escape, try the reverse. Demolition is very cathartic, even if your husband doesn't approve.

A DIY-driven life is more than just a hobby.

It's a prescription for optimal mental health.

Whether you make soap, build furniture, or shape clay, creative work is a refuge.?Even if you’re just dabbling in something, you’ve probably experienced its freedom. Freedom to breathe and think without someone yelling at you.

Freedom to just...be.

I can think of at least 15 different life hacks for anxiety based on my DIY background. If you’re struggling to find ways to cope, consider these benefits as you work to design a better life for yourself.

Anxiety Hack #1: Solitude is Not the Enemy

Who hasn’t woken up in the middle of the night feeling like your brain won’t shut off??Racing thoughts are a common side effect of the stress response produced by our bodies when we feel anxious.?Every night I listen to guided meditation videos and huff lavender like it’s going out of style — doesn’t work. I still have insomnia.

My bedroom smells nice, though.

When I’m in full-on creative mode, it’s a different story. My tunnel vision takes over. I no longer have 1500 competing thoughts running through my brain.

It's a complete state of flow.

Anxiety Hack #2: Destroy Stuff on Purpose

Go ahead and take out your frustrations on nails, screws, and stubborn pieces of wood nobody cares about.

Everyone wants the “aged” look (i.e. Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn), in their homes. When I’m feeling especially upset, I’ll take a piece of fresh pine and bang the crap out of it until it looks like it’s been through the ringer.

Sanding is another great de-stresser. You can sand until your knuckles bleed and your project will look astounding.

Anxiety Hack #3: Hone Your Problem Solving Skills

When we’re anxious or depressed, we tend to be hard on ourselves. Creative endeavors reverse these feelings by instilling confidence and boosting self-esteem.

Anxiety Hack #4: Focus on the Things You Can Control

Much like our brain chemistry, it’s easy to feel out of control with respect to our government, the war in Ukraine, global warming, Covid-19…the list goes on.

Rather than feel paralyzed by these factors, you can focus on endeavors within your control. Stephen Covey would call this our “circle of influence.” DIY endeavors are a perfect example.

Anxiety Hack #5: Wine is Delicious but Flawed

When I feel sad or anxious I look for anything that will help me cope, including wine. Obviously not the healthiest choice with all those empty calories.

Pulling out nails, using a handsaw, holding an 8-foot sheet of plywood as I’m running it through my table saw — all of these activities require exertion and are much healthier than lying on the couch sipping wine.

Once a bottle of wine is gone and the buzz wears off, you’re going to feel crappy again. But with a project, you’re going to feel better because you’ll be (hopefully) left with a beautiful end product.

Anxiety Hack #6: Leverage Your Insomnia

Insomnia is the calling card of anxiety.?Having a project to work on at 4am is a great way to work through some of the thoughts keeping you awake.

Also, when you burn calories working on a project during the day, you have an easier time falling asleep (and staying asleep) at night.

Anxiety Hack #7: Incorporate Balanced Aesthetics

How many times have you walked past a room in your house and cringed?

Maybe it was dark and depressing, or maybe it was full moving boxes.

This type of situation really, really stresses me out.

But, as someone who builds furniture and DIY home decor, I have the ability to design and streamline my space. I can organize my office papers with?shelving inserts. I can add?architectural details?that make a bedroom look like a catalog spread. I can?turn a dreary, dysfunctional office into a cheery, functional space.

Anxiety Hack#8: Embrace the Details

Anxiety makes me apathetic. I don’t care if the bed is made. I don’t care that my toothpaste is oozing onto the bathroom counter. When I’m really feeling bad, I don’t even care if I’ve showered that day.

But as a builder, that 1/8 of an inch matters. Skipping the sanding process matters. Not having things square matters. Following the wrong order of operations matters.

When I’m in maker mode, you can be damn sure I’m paying attention to those little details. One mistake can set me back an entire day.

Anxiety Hack #9: Be Yourself

There’s nothing like making a one-of-a-kind piece that costs a fraction of what you’d pay in the store. Just like that object, as a maker you start to grasp a better understanding of your own uniqueness.

Don’t waste your time worrying about what everyone else is doing.

Anxiety Hack #10: Seek Independence

At its worst, anxiety can exhaust you to the point where you’re sleeping 16 hours a day. You feel dependent on others around you because you can’t attend to normal responsibilities as quickly and efficiently.

Honing your skills as a handywoman will enable you to save money on professional painters, appliance handymen, and the like. It’s a chance to regain self-sufficiency.

Anxiety Hack #11: Be Kind to The Earth

Most people today have a throw-away mentality. If it’s broken, they throw it away.

Crafty people, on the other hand, know how to be resourceful. We reuse and repurpose everything, to the point of becoming pack rats. The less you have to spend on materials, the less waste sitting in a landfill somewhere. This makes you feel pretty good about your contribution to Mother Earth!

Anxiety Hack #12: Volunteer Your Talents Generously

Tangible creations are priceless. So is your time.

If you’re a knitter, make baby clothes for a local hospital. Sew blankets for a women’s shelter. Make wood crafts for your kid’s Christmas bazaar and donate a portion of the profits.

If you have a Mom friend who needs something done around her house, donate your skills in exchange for wine (okay, I didn’t just pull that one out of thin air).

The possibilities are endless!

Anxiety Hack#13: Be Patient With Yourself

Failure is hard whether you have anxiety or not. But when you’re in the DIY-space, mistakes are common and expected. When mistakes pertain to something you care about, you’ll be quick to fix them and less likely to dwell on what you did wrong.

It’s pretty rare for a project to go off without a hitch. It’s why the show?Renovation Realities?(where non-contractor types DIY their home renovations) is so entertaining.

If you don’t believe me, check it out some time. Be sure to grab popcorn.

Benefit #14: Unproductive Jobs Can Still be Productive

Some days we want to really crush it. Other days, we are content doing something purely mindless to distract us from life.

There are plenty of ways to lose yourself in the DIY space. Painting, for example, is one of those necessary evils in DIY home decor. Sometimes it feels tedious, but other times it’s a welcome escape from the pressures of making everyone else happy.

Anxiety Hack #15: Pursue the Things That Make You Feel Alive (except maybe illicit drugs…those are bad)

Anxiety sometimes makes me dread getting out of bed in the morning.

The exception to this is when I’ve been waiting for something to dry in my garage overnight. I’ll be working in my underwear because I can’t be bothered to take the time to dress.

A photo display of the glamour shots we did at the nursing home where I worked. One of my favorite projects to date.         

Figure out what makes you want to jump out of bed every morning, and then make space for this activity in your life.

DIY therapy has changed my life, and I strongly believe it has the power to change yours.

All you have to do is start.