All nurses and midwives experience stress in the course of their work.

Having ways to quickly manage stress is crucial for one’s wellbeing and performance at work.

In this solo episode, Nathan shares a powerful tool that helps to relieve stress, understand one’s emotions better, and develop self-compassion.

It is a useful exercise that any nurse or midwife can practice. It could also easily be incorporated into restorative supervision sessions or any wellbeing activity with your colleagues.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system leads to physiological responses to stress.

Stress is often experienced as an amorphous "blob" of emotions. This is not very helpful for us.

Nathan discussed the importance of identifying and naming specific emotions.

When we have a more significant emotional vocabulary, that helps us to process emotions better.

When we practice pausing and naming our emotions in the moment, it helps us understand how we're truly feeling about something.

Nathan shared the P.N.A. Process for Self-Compassion

P: Pause - Taking a moment to recognize stress and emotions

N: Naming the emotions underlying stress

A: Allowing the emotions to be present without judgment

Self-compassion can have a substantial cumulative impact on our mental and physical health.

To download the companion workbook and guide that goes with this episode, head over to this link: https://nurse-wellbeing-mission.mylearnworlds.com/relievestressebook

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