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Photo Credit: https://nursegrid.com/blog/compassion-fatigue-nurses-at-risk/ Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Being a nurse is a very challenging job, and you usually choose that career path because you like to help people. While helping others can be a rewarding job, it can be very tiring and taxing to meet others’ needs all day, especially when it has to … Continue reading “How to Cope with Compassion Fatigue”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW photo credit: https://leadchangegroup.com/daily-gratitude/   What does it really mean to use gratitude? Gratitude is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness” (Oxford English Dictionary). There has been a ton of research done about gratitude and how it is beneficial for your mental health. … Continue reading “Gratitude: Why It’s Hard and Why It’s Helpful”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Vicarious Trauma: What is it? How can we combat vicarious trauma in nursing?  Vicarious Trauma is a big phrase that has a lot of implications. First, I want to talk about what vicarious trauma is not. Vicarious trauma is not the same as burnout. Burnout typically builds over time and … Continue reading “Vicarious Trauma”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW You may have heard the term before, but what exactly are mental health days? Mental health days are: “a day that an employee takes off from work in order to relieve stress or renew vitality”. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mental%20health%20day) Importantly, you do not need to have a diagnosed mental health condition to take … Continue reading “Mental Health Days”

Image: https://dailynurse.com/nurses-are-in-dire-need-of-better-mental-health-care/ Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Nursing is a high stress job. Statistics show that nurses are more likely to experience depression and anxiety than other professions. Why is that? There are many reasons why high stress leads to anxiety and depression, and I feel it is important to talk about the WHY, so … Continue reading “High Stress Jobs and Mental Health”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW When we talk about boundaries and how to set them, it’s also important to discuss what work boundaries are helpful to set. Every person has their own needs and emotions, so individual work boundaries will look different for everyone, but there are boundaries that everyone can set to decrease work … Continue reading “Boundaries You Can Set at Work”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW In the last blog, I discussed setting boundaries at work. I discussed defining the boundary, communicating it to others, and not over-explaining. This blog will discuss how to set consequences for when that boundary is broken. No matter how firm you are when setting boundaries, there will come a time … Continue reading “Setting Boundaries Part 2: Setting Consequences”

  Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Setting boundaries can be really hard if you are a helper, a people pleaser, or even just a hard worker.  Personal boundaries are “…limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships.” (uhs.berkeley.edu). A person with healthy boundaries can say no to others when they need to or want … Continue reading “Setting Boundaries”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW Self-care (as mentioned in a previous blog), is a buzzword, but there can be a lot of misconceptions about what self-care actually entails. Self-care can be viewed as self-indulgent, selfish, or only caring for yourself. This is a big misconception that makes it really hard to actually implement self-care. Self-care … Continue reading “Types of Self-Care”

Written by Samantha Wall, LCSW In the moment tools/skills:  Recognize you are having a panic attack. Once you can recognize you are having a panic attack, you can remind yourself that this is a temporary state and intentionally use the other skills below! A great skill to start with is deep breathing. With all of … Continue reading “Ways to Manage and Cope With a Panic Attack”