Tackling One Stressor at a Time - MRN Monthly

As a nurse or nursing student you very likely have a multitude of both personal and professional stressors. So, when you get advice from a friend, family member or colleague to try to manage your stress, you probably don’t even know where to start.

But with 60%-90% of visits to primary care physicians these days being a result of stress related conditions, as well as the negative impact this stress has on our happiness and well-being, you must start somewhere.

One way to do this is to make a list of the sources of stress in your life and then identify strategies to eliminate or at least reduce them. But one sure-fire recipe for failure is trying to tackle too many of these stressors at once. Your best chance of success is to focus on one at a time using the following process.

  1. Take out a sheet of paper and a pen.

  2. List as many of the stressors in your life as you can think of, no matter how big or small.

  3. Rank the stressors from the one that is causing you the most anxiety and harm to the one that is impacting you the least.

  4. Focusing on the top stressor, identify one small step you can take to reduce that source of stress in your life, even just a little bit. For example:

    • Too many commitments? Make a commitment to yourself to say no to the next request you receive from someone else (unless it is a true emergency or an incredible opportunity of course!)

    • Caring for a sick loved one? Ask a friend or family member to help out for an hour or two while you go for a walk, get a massage or visit with another friend or family member

    • Unfulfilling and frustrating job? Identify another one you might be a better fit for and submit an application

  5. Complete that small step within the next 24 hours.

  6. Continue working on that stressor until it is either completely eliminated (if possible) or no longer in the top 5 stressors in your life.

  7. Once you’ve done that, go back to step 1 to begin working on your new top stressor.

This process avoids the overwhelming feeling we may get, or tendency to freeze and do nothing, when we try to just “manage our stress” overall. It gives us a process to follow and a small doable action step to move us in the right direction. Small step by small step is the key to success and a lasting impact on our health and well-being.

Pass It On

If you know of a nursing student or faculty member who could benefit from these self-care and resiliency building tips, please forward this on to them so they can sign up here for the free Mindful and Resilient Nurse monthly tip.

Want to Learn More?

If you found this tip valuable and are looking for further options to build your resilience, or that of your nurses or nursing students, please consider our Mindful and Resilient Nurse Program. Feel free to contact us to discuss how this program can be seamlessly weaved into your curriculum or simply be another resource you provide to your stressed-out students.

Tom Klisiewicznurses