By Carla Mariano, EdD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAIM Nursing students face many stresses as they juggle school, family, often work, and expectations of self and others to succeed in all aspects of their roles. In addition, the very transition to becoming professional nurses, dealing intimately with the lives, health, illness, and crises of clients/patients, and families, can …
In the midst of the current pandemic, isolation, economic, social, and political turmoil, we are facing unprecedented stress at the levels of the mind and spirit. Stress on these levels invariably take their toll on the physical body as well. I offer the following points as among the most useful I have incorporated in my …
It’s nearly holiday season, and for many people living lives with the volume turned to 11, this is not necessarily good tidings. The additional stressors and obligations of the holidays can threaten the delicate emotional balance they strive to maintain. At this time of year especially, giving yourself the gift of a calm, tranquil mind …
Continue reading “The Many Marvelous Benefits of A Few Minutes of Meditation”
With Caroline Ortiz, RN, MSN, MPH, CCAP, CMI; Christine Gilchrist, RN, MSN, MPH, NC-BC; and Jeanne Kenney, RN, BSN, HN-BC, CCAP As a population, nurses are measurably more stressed-out than most people. Despite plenty of evidence that unmanaged stress amongst nurses often causes poor health, leading to medical errors, frequent sick days, and high job turnover, nurses have …
Continue reading “Nurses Helping Nurses Reclaim Their Balance One Breath at a Time”
What is sympathy? I say sympathy is the way of total acceptance and total transformation. Total acceptance is the job of the stomach and total transformation is the job of the spleen. This is the highest skill of the Earth element: total acceptance, total transformation. What most of us work with in life is partial …
Continue reading “WHAT IS SYMPATHY: Reflections on Si Jun Zi Tang”
One of the four categories of examination in Chinese medicine is the “looking diagnosis”. Observing the patient’s skin tone, the Shen in the eyes, and checking the tongue are all elements of creating a clear, effective diagnosis. Observing posture can add a layer to the examination that is insightful, especially given the frequent occurrence of postural distortion in modern times. We can start looking at our patients as soon as we greet them in the waiting room. How do they sit, stand, and walk? What kind of posture do they have? Instinctively, many of us sense that a slouching or hunching patient has a qi deficiency.
Many of us experience some degree of stress in the workplace, but ironically, nurses (who help treat patients suffering from stress related illnesses) are experiencing stress at a much higher rate than most other groups, according to a study conducted by the American Nurses Association. In the study, 70.5% of nurses cited the effects of …
Continue reading “Holistic Nursing Tips for Coping with Stress in the Workplace”
Stress has become an accepted condition of 21st century life. Interestingly enough, among the various ways that are available to deal with the problems of a modern Western lifestyle, is an ancient Eastern healing technique that was specifically designed for stress management. It is called Reiki or Reiki massage. Reiki is a Japanese energy medicine …
Physical and emotional stress is a fact of modern life. Natural disasters, war, and general unrest are painting an uncertain picture of the future, which can leave many people with undue stress. Although the American Psychological Association reports that 63 percent of Americans say they are taking action to reduce their stress levels, 43 percent …