Hey Queen,
My name is Kate. I am a Nurse, Mom, wife, and Entrepreneur.
I have been a Nurse since 2015. My experience ranges anywhere from ICU to IR.
I understand where you are coming from, and I’ve been there before. I was that burned-out, overworked, stressed-out, overstimulated woman who knew she wanted something different. But what the hell do you do?
At first, I thought the answer was to go back to school. And I did.
However, after almost completing my DFNP, I realized I needed to do some inner work. After pouring myself into everything self-development, I finally figured it out.
This podcast and site are the fruits of all my labors. I must share what I have found with other women who are feeling the way I was.
My promise is to always inspire and motivate you to reach for more. Listen to “you” and what “you” is saying.
You did not waste your time. You are right where you should be. Right now is perfect.
MINDSET
Stress and nursing go hand in hand, unfortunately. But we all know chronic stress has some major negative effects on our bodies.
When our bodies are under chronic stress we tend to tense our muscles, keeping them in a constant state of guarding. This leads to chronic pain and tension disorders like tension migraines.
Don’t even get me started on how chronic stress is associated with higher cortisol levels for women which just causes a fuck storm of issues in us.
So yes stress and women nurses are a bad combo.
If you are really interested in what that dumpster fire of a unit is doing to your body you can read this article by the American Psychological Association.
So I guess I don’t need to tell you again, but if you work in an unhealthy environment and you can switch please do, or leave and go to another system. It’s all for you. Remember we are making changes now and we are prioritizing ourselves now.
If you can not leave and you have to deal with the stress let’s start new rituals that will help you manage the stress better.
How Do You Change Your Mindset?
So glad you asked.
Mantras is one example.
I have a mantra that was given to me about situations and the ways we react to them. The only thing you can control is your reaction to the situation. Yes, that’s right you have control, you can choose to take a deep breath and control your responses. Way easier said than done, trust me I am still figuring this one out. But we are all a work in progress.
So the next time you get a new admission and you’re stressed to the max, repeat I can control the way this affects me.
Sounds like a bunch of crazy talk, but that’s okay I have some other ideas too.
Here are a couple of other helpful tips
- Focus on the solution
- Embrace your power of saying no (if it’s not in your job description just say no, way easier said than done bc we are all people pleasers)
- Streamline your workflow (look at your routine, is there an easier way to accomplish all your tasks, is there a nurse who is always so fast, ask her for tips or to teach you a new skill)
- Prioritize your health (make sure you drink plenty of water, exercise, or move your body every day (even just a walk during lunch) and stop eating all the junk) You may be rolling your eyes but truly these little changes will make your mindset even better and will impact your response to stress.
Find more tips here in this article
Don’t forget to keep dreaming big and remind yourself that this situation is temporary.
If you have not yet, listen to episode 2 on the podcast, all about dreaming big. It is the first step in making moves towards your goals.
Make sure you’re subscribing to the waitlist so you can snag some discounts when we launch new products. Next week we will talk about how nurses are made to be entrepreneurs through a lack of leadership. It’s gonna be interesting. Happy journaling and see you all next week.