A Guide to a Positive Mental Well-being As A Nurse or Carer

A Guide to a Positive Mental Well-being As A Nurse or Carer

Most of us look after ourselves, whether it be exercise, watching what we eat or trying not to have too many biscuits with our afternoon tea. However, it’s not just about the physical side of health – mental health is just as, if not more, important.

Unfortunately, it appears more Carers and Nurses have been feeling the negative impacts, with a survey by the Nursing Times showing that 33% of the 3,500 responders describing their mental well-being as “bad” or “very bad”. To make matters worst, 87% of the responders suggested they are more stressed at work than usual. Sadly, this plummet in mental health comes as no surprise – whether it be due to concerns about PPE, catching COVID, or experiencing increased death amongst those under their care.

So, how can you help improve your mental state? Well, as always it’s easier said than done, but here are a variety of tips you can try to implement, both in and outside of work.

Communication

Communication isn’t just essential when working as part of a team, it’s also important to make the effort outside your work environment.

It can be as simple as having a chat with someone about how you are, what you’ve been struggling with, and talk through what you could do to try and help yourself.

There are so many ways to do it, including:

• Talking to a friend.
• Talking to a partner or family member.
• Texting, emailing or phoning someone.
• Interacting with people on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc).

Keeping in regular contact with others will help make you feel connected to people, and hopefully not as isolated. Even though it is online, social media is a perfectly good way to connect with people, especially in the current climate.

Thanks to hashtags, forums and chat rooms, there’s plenty of ways to talk to people with similar interests to you! Just because there have been lockdowns doesn’t mean you have to shut down from the outside world.

Take Your Breaks!

Sometimes you may be tempted to skip your breaks and work right through to get the job done, but like the Apple of Eden, you shouldn’t be tempted!

By taking a break, you get some precious time to yourself to switch off, maybe look through your phone, read, listen to music, or just close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.

You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking a break – they’re there for both you and your patients’ sake! When you don’t take breaks, your mind gets overworked and tired, which means you’re much more likely to make mistakes than when you’re well-rested.

Help Others

Helping people is a fantastic way to contribute to other people’s well-being as well as your own – it’s a two in one combo, so why not!

When you help someone, it gives a real buzz, and sense of purpose, whilst also genuinely helping someone who could need it. This can be something small, such as helping a neighbour take their bin down the drive or something bigger like helping someone move house.

Of course, make sure you don’t only help other people – you’re just as important!

Be Creative

Music, painting, drawing, filming. However you like to be creative, just go for it! It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not, as long as you enjoy it, who cares what anyone else thinks? Maybe just don’t go singing and busking on the streets just yet…

Activities which engage our creative side are an excellent way to support our mental well-being.

They help to:

• Manage stress.
• Relax.
• Boost confidence.
• Feel like the time we spend is worthwhile.

If you don’t have a creative hobby, try out a bunch of new things to find one you like – you never know, it might become your new favourite thing to do!

Look After Your Body During a Shift

Healthy body, healthy mind is the phrase and this rings true for mental well-being as a varied diet can help both physically and mentally.

Regular meals help to keep blood sugars maintained, so we don’t feel irritable, tired or sluggish. It’s not just food though – drinking water throughout the day keeps up refreshed and improves concentration.

It may not always be practical to eat during a shift and may seem like a bit of an effort, but it’s something you must do. By just prepping meals and healthy snacks before a shift (maybe the night before) you don’t have to worry about finding something to eat, and having the correct food can help you feel energized, even in the toughest shift! And it’ll help you save money as you won’t be as tempted to nip to the local Subway or Greggs!

Need some ideas for some lunch and meal preps? Why not check out these healthy, and tasty, ideas for work!

Stay Active

As simple as it sounds, being active makes such a big difference to our mental well-being, as well as our physical. Whether it be a walk, run, or a fitness routine, trying to do exercise in any form is a great idea.

But I hear you say ‘I’m a Nurse/Carer, all I do is run around all day!’, and whilst that’s true, it’s not quite the same as being active outside of work, because you want to! Outside of work you can enjoy yourself a little more, and do the type of exercise you want, and have fun whilst doing it.

If you’ve had a bad day, running is an ideal way to burn off the frustration and anger!

Keep Work at Work

This is definitely easier said than done. It’s pretty hard not to think about what happened at work, especially if it was a tough or even traumatic shift.

Before you leave work, you may want to take a moment or two to acknowledge what happened or any difficulties, and follow it up with some things you did well to try to leave on a positive.

Then, as soon as you leave, switch your mindset to home – what are you doing when you get back, what are you looking forward to?

You’re in your own, personal time now. No-one is paying you to worry about what happened, or what could happen tomorrow!

The Wrap Up

Everyone deals with mental health differently, but hopefully, this blog has given you some ideas and takeaways that you can implement into your own lifestyle.

If you are a Nurse or Carer with Medilink Nursing, and you’re struggling with work, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0113 877 6383.

Do you do anything differently, or have any more tips to maintaining healthy mental well-being? Drop us a comment below to let everyone know and try for themselves!