Burnout – How To Practice What You Preach as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Self-Care Tips For Mental Health Workers

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners assess, diagnose, and treat the mental health needs of their patients. With so much focus on providing care to their patients, many neglect their own well-being. Over time this can lead to burnout.

According to Good Therapy, over half of mental health professionals report moderate or high levels of burnout. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners rank in the top three most stressful mental health careers. While some job stress is unavoidable, burnout is preventable. Self-care helps.

The self-care strategies you teach your patients can help you too. This article outlines simple self-care tips that even the busiest clinician can build into their daily life.

Make Self-Care an Automatic Part of Your Day

You already know that self-care increases wellness. But do you follow your own advice? When you’re struggling, making healthy choices is hard. Make it easy by making it habitual.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was famous for always wearing a black turtleneck. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg sports a gray T-shirt every day. When we remove options, the choice is easy. Self-care can be an easy choice, too.

Self-Care Tips for Busy Healthcare Workers

Self-care isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. Use these tips to make it part of your daily routine.

Build Exercise into Your Commute

Going to work is a consistent part of your week. Walking or cycling there automatically builds exercise into your routine.

Don’t want to arrive sweaty? Take public transportation to work, and active transit your way home. Need to drive the kids to school in the morning? Park a few blocks from your workplace and walk the remainder. Google Maps has a route planner that estimates your commute time for different methods, including walking and cycling.

Eat Well

Eating well makes us feel better. Everyone knows this, but it’s hard to do when you’re busy. Keeping it simple is the best way to succeed:

  • Order your groceries online for planning and ease.
  • Buy chopped fruits and vegetables. The convenience will ensure none is left rotting in your fridge.
  • Prepare meals in advance. Double ingredients, and freeze half of it for another day.
  • Arrange to be ‘lunch buddies’ with a colleague. Take turns packing healthy lunches that you swap. When your co-worker is counting on you, you’ll make healthy habits a priority.

Get Enough Sleep

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleeping less than six hours per night is one of the best predictors of job burnout. Yet we often find ourselves watching TV or checking Instagram when we should be heading to bed.

If you’re a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with a demanding job, staying up late probably feels like the only time you get for yourself. Don’t cheat on your sleep. Shift your leisure time into other parts of your day. For example, listen to a podcast while you clean your house, or phone a friend while you cook dinner.

Spend Time Outdoors

Being outside makes us feel better. We intuitively know this – and science confirms it. According to ScienceDaily, spending 20 minutes outside reduces cortisol levels. It doesn’t need to be in a forest or at the beach. Being outdoors in urban settings, such as a park, is just as effective.

Eat your lunch outside or take the dog for a walk. If your day is hectic, you must take those breaks and get out if you can.

Track Your Progress

You don’t expect perfection from your patients. Don’t expect it from yourself either. By building self-care into your day, the goal is that you’ll succeed more often than you’ll fail. There are mental health apps that allow you to set goals and track your progress. Some have games and activities to reduce stress. Others offer online therapy with qualified professionals.

Self-care is a useful tool in managing stress and burnout. It isn’t always enough. Talk to someone if you need help.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners Should Seek Help If They Need It

There’s a notion that burnout is unavoidable when you work in healthcare, especially mental health. This is wrong. Don’t suffer alone. Talk to your employer about your options. See if they would be willing to hire more staff or adjust your schedule.

If your employer is reluctant to help, consider finding a job that allows you the healthy lifestyle you need and deserve. Contact Loyal Source to learn more about your career options. We’re here to support you.

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