Nursing Burnout is Real- And You are Not Alone
As you rush around the unit providing care to your patients and dealing with staffing shortages, the exhaustion hits. You start thinking ‘I can’t do this anymore’. You’re tired, feel disconnected from your work and yourself, and don’t know if you can be a nurse for one more day. But you keep showing up shift after shift. You know your work is important, but you just don't feel good about it anymore.
You are not alone if you are feeling burned out.
So what is burnout anyway?
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is defined as “ … chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
Reduced professional efficacy”
All summed up: When you are experiencing burnout, you are emotionally exhausted, disconnected from your job, and feel less accomplished at work.
Some important stats about burnout in the nursing profession
In a 2020 study of nurses in the US:
31.5% of nurses reported burnout as a reason contributing to their decision to leave their job.
43.4% of nurses who considered leaving their jobs reported burnout was one of the reasons.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7862989/
And this data was collected before the pandemic.
Burnout is a huge problem in our healthcare system and it can greatly affect your work and wellbeing as a nurse.
Burnout is a systems issue
Burnout is often talked about as a personal issue. If you have ever been to a workplace training on burnout, they usually tell you to do more self-care to fix burnout. This messaging leaves it up to you to figure out how to take care of yourself- on your own time and with your own resources.
In actuality, burnout is a systemic issue, meaning the hospitals, offices, and businesses employing nurses have cultures and policies that lead to burnout.
Think about where you work. How often do people who take on extra shifts get praised? Or are you and co-workers subjected to sarcastic comments about leaving the floor short when taking time off? The messages you hear when you choose yourself over your work greatly impacts your ability to do so.
How Do I Start Healing from Burnout?
Addressing burnout in the workplace feels like a herculean task, and it will take time and energy to organize these big systemic changes. That is why we start with smaller steps to take care of you- so when it is time to make bigger changes, you have the energy to do so.
Here are a couple of ways to start healing from burnout without having to leave your job or make major changes in your day:
Talk about how you are feeling with co-workers or loved ones. This helps normalize what you are going through.
Notice your breath. You don't have to breathe differently or deeply if you don't want to. Just say I'm breathing in, I'm breathing out to yourself as you breathe. This connects you to the present moment.
Eat! Take your lunch break. Eat the food that feels good to.your body. This gives your body the energy it needs to do the hard work you do everyday.
A Gentle Reminder
Burnout is a real experience and extremely common in nursing and other healthcare professions. When left untreated, burnout can cause anxiety and depression.
Burnout is not your fault and is not your job to fix. There are small practices you can do in your day to day to help protect and heal yourself from burnout, including eating, breathing, and talking about how you are feeling.
If you’re looking for burnout therapy in Connecticut or Massachusetts, Partners in Change Therapy and Consulting, LLC offers in-person therapy in Southington, CT and online therapy across Connecticut and Massachusetts. You can schedule a free 20 minute consultation, so we can talk about what’s going on and what kind of support might feel helpful- now or in the future.
Your Questions, Answered
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Burnout therapy for nurses is specialized to understand your unique needs and challenges working in the healthcare profession. We will work together to slow down, practice compassion, and learn the practical tools you need to support yourself in doing the important work you do everyday.
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Yes. When you are feeling like you need to change your job for the fifth time or ghost your life to make things better, burnout therapy is a space to get support and unlearn the patterns that keep you moving so fast and not taking care of yourself.
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Burnout and chronic stress can have long term and short term mental health effects such as increased anxiety and depression. It can also have physical health impacts such as affecting blood pressure. It is important to address burnout early so you can fully heal and create practices in your life that protect you from future burnout.
