Objectives:
After you take this class, you will be able to:
- Discuss stress and some of the physical, mental and social problems that can result from stress.
- Identify common sources of stress.
- Manage your stress and help your patients to manage theirs.
What is Stress?
Stress is a reaction to some change that upsets our balance. Stress is a reaction to physical or mental changes in our life.
Some physical things that cause a stress reaction are:
- a cut, scrape or burn on your finger
- any illness or disease
Things that upset our mental balance and cause the stress reaction are:
- driving in traffic when you are in a hurry to get to work
- having to finish patient care in time to attend an inservice class
- a conflict with a family member, your boss or your co-workers
Some stress is good for us and some stress is harmful to us. Good stress helps us adjust to changes within and outside of our body. Human beings would not breathe if they were not stressed. The stress of rising carbon dioxide in our body makes us breathe. Breathing is automatic because of stress. Without good stress, human beings would not be able to breathe, learn or go to work.
Stress is a natural way for us to adjust to changes so we can keep in balance. It also helps us to avoid danger. When the human race was living in caves, we had to escape dangers like wild lions and tigers. Stress helped us to escape when we were faced with these dangers. It made our:
- eyes more able to see the lions and tigers
- muscles tense and strong so we could run from the lions and tigers
- heart pump more oxygen so we could be stronger and able to run
- mind much more alert so we could plan a way to get back into our cave and not be killed by the lion or tiger
Our body does the same thing today when it is stressed. There are no longer lions and tigers running in our streets, but when we get stressed while we are stuck in traffic we react the same way. We react as if tigers and lions were running after us, even when they are not. This reaction is not good. Our minds and bodies will suffer if we are under a lot of stress for a long period of time.
We must manage stress. We have to learn how to change our lion and tiger reaction to one that is healthier. Stress will never go away but we can change how we RESPOND to it. We must learn how to manage it before it manages us and makes us sick and unhappy.
The key to coping with stress is to identify the causes of stress in your life and then learn healthy ways to deal with them. It's important to remember that stress comes from OUR responses to stressful events. Therefore, you have some control over stress and how it affects you.
Stress Is a Killer
Many people believe that stress causes more than half of all diseases. Stress leads to physical damage and illness. It also hurts our quality of life. It causes mental and social problems.
Stress causes these physical problems:
- high blood pressure
- heart attacks
- ulcers
- headaches, neck pain and back aches
- colds
- allergies
- asthma
- weight gains or losses
- fatigue
Some of the mental problems caused by stress are:
- loss of sleep or sleeping too much
- anger
- low self esteem
- no energy
- sadness and depression
- moodiness
- lack of an ability to focus, or concentrate, on things
Stress also causes these social and work related problems:
- conflicts with others
- over-reactions to normal, everyday things
- lack of interest in one’s usual activities
- loss of family and friends
- losing a job
Why Do Nursing Assistants and Health Care Workers Have So Much Stress?
Nursing assistants, nurses and most other people have a lot of stress in their life. Today, we live in a very fast paced and complicated world. We have to do many things every day. We get stress from our home life, our work life and our private life.
We have to work, be a mother or father, be the child of a parent that may need our help, be a wife or husband, be an active member of our community within our schools, church or another group. We wear many hats. We have many roles that we have to do. We juggle all of these roles every day but we only have a certain amount of limited time to do it. Life is not easy.
Nursing assistants are NOT the only ones with all of this stress. Many other jobs have the same amount of stress. The secret to success in managing stress is to MANAGE IT BEFORE IT TAKES CONTROL OF YOU.
How Can I Manage Stress?
Stress will never go away. We have to get rid of it completely or change how we react to it. The first steps in managing stress are:
- Identify the source of the stress. Where is the stress coming from?
- Decide if you can get rid of the source of stress. For example, if you are stressed because you are cooking all the meals for the family in addition to working a full time job, you should decide if you can get rid of the cooking and/or get rid of the job.
- Get rid of all the stress you can. Get other members of the family to help cook meals. Cut up the food and get it ready before you go to work so that another member of your family can simply cook it for you.
- Do NOT take on more stress by saying yes. Learn how to say no. Do NOT take on more than you can handle. Say no whenever you can. Say no when someone asks you to do something you do not want to do. Say no to things you cannot do because you have too much to do already. Free yourself from stress by saying no.
- Change how you think about something that stresses you. Which stress is worse, not having hot water to get a bath or hearing that you have a fatal disease? Yes, the terminal disease is far worse than not having enough hot water. Why then do we react to the lack of hot water as a big thing? We react because we allow our mind to make small things into big things. We must step back and look at things in a realistic way. Not having hot water is a little thing that will last only for a short time. Do NOT make an ant hill into a mountain with your mind. If you let your mind make everything a mountain, your body and mind will react as if real danger is present, like the attacking tiger or lion. This reaction will cause unnecessary, physical, mental and social damage.
- Be good to yourself. Use stress management skills every day to deal with the stress that you cannot get rid of. Use stress management skills when your mind is not able to make the stress small! Some great stress management skills are discussed below.
Stress Management Skills
- Express your feelings. Talk to someone or yourself about how you feel. Do not hold feelings inside. Talk to a family member, friend, counselor or co-worker. If you do not want to talk to someone else, write your feelings and thoughts in a journal or draw a picture of how you feel.
- Focus on one thing at a time. Take a big project and break it up into small pieces or steps. Do NOT let yourself get overwhelmed.
- Take a vacation in your own home. Plan a vacation at home. Buy fresh flowers with a beautiful scent. Spray your pillow and sheets with a nice fragrant cologne. Light scented candles. Do a hobby. Paint, do arts and crafts. Treat yourself to something nice that you will enjoy. Buy yourself a present. You deserve it!
- Use time management skills. Set goals and deadlines that you can meet. Do not set unrealistic goals. Decide on what the priorities are. Focus on the priorities and budget your time.
- Relax. Do the 2 Minute Relaxation during your lunch break, at home in your bed or in a quiet park. Close your eyes. Think only about yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Loosen up tense and tight areas of your body. Let go of all your tension. Rotate your head in a smooth, circular motion. Let all of your muscles completely relax. Relax and think pleasant happy thoughts while you are taking deep breaths. You should feel very relaxed and limp when you do this. Do the 2 Minute Relaxation several times a day! It works!
- Do guided imagery & meditation. Close your eyes. Relax. Think about a peaceful image like the beach with softly breaking waves on the seashore. Hear the sounds of the sea gulls. Guided imagery and meditation releases tension, anxiety, and stress. Try soft and pleasant music to help get you into the mood for meditation and guided imagery.
- Eat a healthy diet. You can increase your resistance to stress and remain healthy when you eat a diet that is complete with all the food groups. Eat a variety of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Do NOT consume a lot of caffeine. Avoid alcohol and tobacco.
- Exercise. Physical exercise is a great stress buster. Join a gym. Walk, swim, ride a bicycle, run or do yoga or Tai Chi. A walk is free. It costs you no money. Almost everyone can walk. Exercise makes you feel great. It improves your mood, lowers your blood pressure and your blood sugar. Exercise every day.
- Keep a positive attitude. Believe in yourself. Accept the things you cannot change.
- Talk to yourself. Tell yourself that you are great. Tell yourself, "I am relaxed at work"; "I am doing a good job"; "Peace fills my life"; "My life is so full of so many good things"; "I am successful". The more you tell yourself these positive things, the better you will feel. It works, try it!
- Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs rest and sleep to combat stress.
- Treat yourself to comfort food. Cook a meal that your mother used to make for you. Enjoy it.
- Use humor. Laugh, tell jokes and let yourself be silly once in a while. Watch a funny video, with popcorn of course. Keep a sense of humor even when things are very stressful. Humor is great medicine for the mind.
- Have FUN. Yes, have fun! Play with the dog, play the piano, do a favorite hobby.
- Set realistic goals. Do NOT take on more than you can handle. You're not a 'superman' or a 'wonder woman'.
Use these stress busters at work. Have a network of friends at work. Set priorities. Ask for help when you need it. Use humor when it is appropriate. Focus on the patients' good outcomes. Go to your employee assistance program director when you need this kind of help.
Summary
Stress is natural part of everyday life. The life of a nursing assistant is a very busy one with little time left to take care of you. Take the time to take care of yourself. Use the stress management skills that you learned in this class. Use them EVERY day!
References
Drkoop.com. (2010). “Stress Information”. [online]http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/search-stress.html
Berman, Audrey, Shirlee Snyder, Barbara Kozier and Glenora Erb. (2010). Kozier & Erb's Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, Process, and Practice. 8th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Lantz, John. (1996). Major Issues in Gerontological Nursing. South Easton, MA: Western Schools.
Monahan, Frances Donovan and Wilma J. Phipps (2007). Phipps’ Medical-Surgical Nursing: Health and Illness Perspectives. 8th Edition. Elsevier Mosby.
Nettina, Sandra M. (2009). The Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. 7th Ed. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.
Wold, Gloria Hoffmann. (2008). Basic Geriatric Nursing. Elsevier Mosby.
Copyright © 2010 Alene Burke