Stress and its toxic consequences, is it affecting you?

Stress, stress, STRESS! We, Nurses, know stress; we deal with it daily in our profession. We encounter upset family members, deal with critical situations, and our workloads just keep growing (did I mention you can never find the bladder scanner or it’s broken? What is with that?!?). While certain areas such as Emergency Departments and ICUs are high-risk environments by nature due to the acuity of patients, we all have daily work stress. Unfortunately, stress is a REALITY of life; it ebbs and flows. Stress is at home and at work; it can have significant physical, mental, and emotional impacts. Let’s remember that stress plays a part in evolution; it has some benefits. Stress can encourage growth and build resilience in individuals. But there is a fine line. Is your stress easy to manage or has it become OVERWHELMING? Do you find yourself easily agitated, short with others, experiencing anxiety, or having heaviness in your chest? Sara Tripalin, MS, LMFT, gave us a great term in her "Letter to RN's" which highlighted feelings as “messengers.” She explains that we should embrace these “messengers” as signs that we need to employ strategies; this will support and help us.

Let’s review the adverse effects of stress:

-it can affect high-level cognitive functions such as attention and memory

-it’s linked with an increase in mood and anxiety disorders

-lateral violence is increased with stress. The definition of lateral violence: workplace bullying. It can be verbal or non-innuendo’s directed toward coworkers. It FURTHER increases stress, especially for those being targeted. Plus, it creates a toxic work environment for everyone (*hint- blog coming down the pipeline)

-correlated with obesity, DM, insomnia, heart disease, and HTN

-social withdrawal

-muscle tension and pain

-fatigue

-can contribute to stomach and digestive problems

-can lead to an increase in drugs and alcohol

-can lead to a lack of focus or motivation

-severe stress can cause heart palpitations

Red flags of stress:

-feeling guilty, hopeless, and helpless

-changes in eating habits (includes eating too little or too much)

-significant mood changes including depression, anxiety, panic, or anger

-using ETOH or drugs to cope

-avoiding family and friends

Long-term effects of stress:

-increased risk of MI, abnormal heart rhythms, stroke, chronic fatigue syndrome, memory loss, weight gain or loss, cancer

I want to emphasize the toxic impacts of stress on physical, emotional, and social health. Imagine how work stress affects your personal relationships; spillover happens. And vice versa.

Did any of the above items sound familiar? Are there a few or several? What “messengers” or signs are you experiencing? It can be a little or a lot. So, what can we do when stress affects our lives, and we want to make a change? First, enact resources to support you. Exercise, getting enough sleep, evaluating whether a current job role is serving or hurting you (yes, you can change where you work), meditation, keeping a health perspective, yoga, maintaining a health diet by eating foods that nourish your body, and possibly consider seeking mental health support- these are just a few ways to start. A licensed therapist can give you the resources and tools to change your perspective and thinking habits; it can be life-changing. It has helped me immensely. All these interventions can alleviate your stress both at work and at home. But only you can decide to use them.

Stress interventions are broad, and RN's can choose what works for them. How does stress manifest for you? How does it affect your work and personal life? What stress coping tips do you have?

Check out The Support Nurse resources to enable change in your work/personal life and SUPPORT YOU.

Providing the resources to empower you-

Brooke RN

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