How to Combat Stress for Health Professionals

Working as a health professional can come with a lot of anxiety. It involves high-pressure environments, complex issues, and thousands of interactions in a short period.

According to research published in Nursing Research and Practice, 92% out of the 120 nurses studied reported moderate to high levels of stress. That’s a problem, considering that 65% of workers say stress causes them difficulties on the job, affecting overall performance. When it comes to health, that's a dangerous possibility.

The better we are at managing our stress, the better we are at our jobs, and the happier we are at home. We can live a more fulfilling life and help save more lives. This can be done with just a few intentional steps.

Create Boundaries

When we hear the word “boundaries,” it sounds restricting but it’s one of the most freeing things we can do.

It’s a lot like a body of water. If it has nowhere to go, it remains stagnant and grows foul. If there is a narrow structure that guides the water, it becomes a lively stream or river to travel as far as it can go. Boundaries clarify our priorities so we can eliminate the negative things in our lives and help us thrive.

Some of these boundaries can be simple habits like separating work and and 'home' time. Or being honest about your limitations at work, avoiding overcommitment. Think of the things that can increase your stress and see if you can protect yourself by limiting that exposure.

Meditate and Clear the Mind

Anxiety is continuing to rise in throughout the U.S., affecting over 40 million adults annually (18%+ of the population).

Our minds are consistently seduced by an abundance of information, apps, and thousands of moments calling for attention throughout the day (and night for many of us).

If we don't spend time to stop and clear our mind, we will experience exponentially increasing stress throughout our lives. With a few moments of meditation, or even self-reflection, we allow for a momentary pause on that stress. Simply takes a few moments to evaluate your day, reaffirm priorities and focus on your overall vision for life. It's a simple process with noticeably effective results.

Maintain a Positive Attitude and Encourage Others

Our minds and perspective directly influence our lives. That's why it's so important to have the right attitude. If we are positive and eliminate habits for negative thinking, we eliminate toxic thoughts and practices. Think about your patients and how positive attitudes impact their outcome.

Try switching the mindset from yourself to others. By encouraging others, like our patients, and speaking life into them, we also benefit our own minds. When we focus on adding value to other people, we combat our stress and toxic thinking. This may seem exhausting, especially when already practicing all day with our patients and our coworkers, but give it a try for a week. You'll find yourself giving the same advice to those around you.

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Finally, we should prioritize rest. Yes, I'm even rolling my eyes while typing this. We live in a culture that seems to always value productivity over anything else. We've all know the impacts medically. This isn't anything new, but it is 100% an area we all need to work on. Let's keep this in our minds. If we don’t we'll burn out and fall apart. AND for those of us that say, "I'll rest when I'm six feet under":

"More importantly, insufficient sleep can ultimately affect life expectancy and day-to-day well-being. An analysis of data from three separate studies suggests that sleeping five or fewer hours per night may increase mortality risk by as much as 15 percent" - Harvard Medical

Here's your take-home: By putting our health first, we can better serve the people around us.