Everyone deals with stress in their jobs. Registered nurses and other health care professionals deal with an overwhelming amount of stress, especially during this time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put an emotional and physical toll on the healthcare professionals working on the front lines.

Being a travel nurse can cause loneliness when on assignment at a different location every few weeks. It is essential to focus on your mental, emotional, and physical health as you work during these unprecedented times. You are not alone. While you are unique, you are not the only one dealing with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. It is okay to talk about how you are feeling.

What It Means to Take Care of Your Mental Health

Often, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to stop and check on ourselves. Your Mental Health is more than just your thoughts. Your mind and body are connected in more ways than you think. So, give yourself more rest and stop overworking, more self-love and less self-sabotage, and give yourself grace and stop being hard on yourself when things aren’t going the way you think they should. Go easy on yourself.

A lack of sleep impairs your decisions making, judgment, negative mood changes and causes stress and anxiety. These all affect your mental health, but your physical health is also at risk if you deprive your body of sleep and rest.

If your body is well-rested, movement can positively affect your well-being. Get up and move. Studies have shown that moving and exercising causes your brain to release endorphins that release happiness in return. Your body enjoys this as well. When you are up and going, it clears your mind, relieves stress, improves your memory and sleeping patterns, and your energy levels increase.

Things You Can and Cannot Control

Travel Nursing can be difficult when you are in a new location and environment. Most of the time, you have little control in working in healthcare. There are rules and regulations that need to be followed for everyone’s safety. You cannot change situations, but the one thing you know you have complete control over is yourself. Focus on yourself and let go of the things you cannot control.

Things You Can Control:

· Your Actions

· Your Thoughts

· Your Words

· Your Response

Things You Cannot Control:

· Other People’s Actions

· Other People’s Thoughts

· Other People’s Words

· Other People’s Response

Success: How Did You Get There?

We all have this idea of success, but what does it mean? Is there more than meets the eye and should we be looking at our lives with an analytical perspective or are these things that happen naturally with little thought put into them?

Think about the Iceberg of Success. You may see little on the water’s surface, but it could be enormous underneath the surface if you look closely enough. That’s why today we’re going to talk about what makes up a successful life and how your definition affects everything from relationships with others, goals in business or personal projects- even self-confidence levels when talking with friends and family members who don’t know all those things happening inside.

We put this into perspective today and the idea of success and its definition. When people only focus on success, it is easy to forget or overlook all the hard work that went before. Yes, there will always be some sacrifice and disappointment prior to every achievement! Others may not realize your hardships when you hit rock bottom or experience early failures in life. Society rarely looks under the surface and sees what you had to do to get to that success.

Regardless of your definition of success, the emotions and hardships you deal with are still valid. You may have grown through your dedication and hard work. Disappointment, rejection, sacrifice, failures, and loneliness experienced before your growth do not go unseen, as you may feel. Whether in your personal life, finishing nursing school, working and doing well in the healthcare world, or simply living a happy lifestyle, we applaud you for accomplishing your success.

Let’s Talk About Anxiety

Anxiety and depression go hand in glove. If one exists, then the other may be there too-sometimes it can feel like a burden that you just don’t have time for because of all your responsibilities, but this shouldn’t stop us from getting help when needed! Although, this is not always the case. It can become crippling if you do not get a grip on it. Some may struggle and do not know that they are feeling anxiety.

Travel Nurses, Inc’s Day One Healthcare Coverage benefit includes a virtual counseling program to healthcare professionals called Curalinc. Working in a hospital environment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Do not let this consume you!

Signs of Anxiety:

· Shakiness

· Short of Breath

· Tense

· Overwhelmed

· Sweaty

· Chaotic

· Foggy

What to do:

· Take deep breaths

· Call a friend

· Meditate

· Get fresh air

· Distract yourselves with a puzzle or movie

· Write your thoughts down

· Exercise

Hurt People, Hurt People

Allow yourself time to heal. When someone is hurting, they may take their pain out on others. Your feelings are valid, and it is okay to express your pain and thoughts. It is a part of the healing

process. There are ups and downs. It is not going to be perfect and smooth.

Once you have healed, you can help others. You can use your personal experiences to show kindness and empathy to patients struggling with more than physical ailments.

Let your mental health be a priority!