SustainHealth: Mental Health Awareness for Healthcare Professionals
We all know that nurses, midwives and all healthcare professionals provide invaluable emotional support and show a great deal of selflessness and commitment to us in a time of need. However, when taking on a caretaker mindset and always looking out for others, it can be easy for nurses to forget about themselves and the importance of their mental health.
Mental health is an important part of your wellbeing and can affect the way in which you realise your own abilities, how you cope with the normal stresses of life, or it can work productively. It is very important in nursing as it has an impact on your ability to think, act and empathise.
We have included a few top tips below that may help you to prioritise yourself and your mental health:
- Think about yourself – you need to take care of yourself before you can truly take care of anyone else, make an effort to consider your own needs, your energy and your emotions.
- Process your emotions – the job is stressful and unpredictable, share your emotions with trusted family, friends or close colleagues, you can read more about the value of a support network here. (https://www.sustainhr.com.au/index.php/2018/10/03/the-value-of-a-support-network/)
- Create post-shift rituals – separate your work life and personal life and take some time to wind down, even if this means having a cup of tea, or doing some light reading.
- Make time for yourself – set a time for yourself, whether it be 5 minutes a day or 1 hour a week, catch up on a show that you love, listen to music, run a bath or even message your dear friends on Facebook, this is your time!
- Be healthy – treat your body the way you would treat a patient; have plenty of sleep, eat well and do some exercise.
- Pick up a hobby – do something you enjoy, whether this is creative writing, photography, DIY projects or anything you can imagine of.
- Get outside – truly connect with the great outdoors, nature can have a calming effect on the mind.
To highlight the importance of mental health and to take steps to promote and create awareness over this topic, SustainHealth has also partnered with Black Dog Institute
(https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/getting-help/emergency).
Do check out their website for great research, tips and much more! They also have quick relaxation and mindfulness techniques which would be great to try out whether you are on shift, at home or even working in remote areas.
Written by:
Joanne Chai
Para Consultant | NSW
Joanne@sustainhr.com.au
02 8274 4660