As nurses, we face numerous stressors daily. We feel these stressors deeply, yet they are unacknowledged. And because they go unspoken, we are not good at showing compassion to ourselves or others.

I believe this contributes to the overall dissatisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue, grief, challenging and toxic communications occurring in nursing, our workplaces, and the medical system.

Despite being called heroes and angels, there is a lot of pressure from employers, colleagues and the patients themselves with expectations of how quickly things should happen. As we well know, things don’t necessarily occur as fast as we would like in any environment.

Generally speaking, as nurses, we aim to deliver the best of ourselves, including our best care to our patients, work, family and home life. We find ourselves pulled in many directions, spread too thin, trying so hard but feeling like we fail.

All too commonly, we are giving and doing for everyone else and not receiving enough. We feel like our needs are not being looked after by ourselves, others or our employers.

Through my own experience of burnout, I learned that fully attending to my self-care is vital and needs to be regular and ongoing.

One of the most successful strategies for calming and creating more peace and wellbeing in my life is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or Tapping.

Emotional Freedom Technique explained

So for those who don’t know much about Emotional Freedom Technique, it is a simple and effective energy psychology technique that involves lightly tapping on acupressure points whilst saying what you are feeling or thinking.

EFT is an evidence-based technique that reduces stress and anxiety by calming the amygdala (the brain’s fear centre) and lowering cortisol. It is used effectively to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and phobias.  (Bach et al. 2019; Church et al., 2018).

Millions of people have learned to apply EFT tapping for themselves when they feel stressed, and even children can use it (Raniere, 2021).

As a holistic therapist, I was first exposed to EFT in 2004 but have been using it consistently for the past five years for myself, my clients and sometimes with my pre-op patients in the anaesthetic bay and Post Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU).

EFT in practice

At work in theatre, I was on the receiving end of behaviour from an anaesthetist that wasn’t nice. I felt highly triggered, emotional and close to tears.

And as you probably know, this reaction does sometimes happen. It can depend on what else is going on in your life and how tired you are.

So I was doing my work and desperately trying not to show my upset. Soon after,  at my tea break, I used tapping to address how I felt (anger, shame, and embarrassment) and release my stress.

Not only did I feel better very quickly, I understood why I was so triggered. It brought up memories of being reprimanded when I was little.

Gaining this awareness increased my emotional IQ, and I don’t take things so personally. 

I have also used tapping as a debriefing tool for adverse events at work. And empathic distress that can occur hearing sad and harrowing stories of patients.

My colleague Samantha shared how exhausted and upset she was feeling. In her last two shifts, she nursed a young mother who had just lost her baby, a man with a new cancer diagnosis and a teenager who had self-harmed. She said, “I just sat there crying all day with my patients.”

The emotional burden is significant. Identifying what has happened and its impact without disqualifying or dishonouring your feelings makes you feel heard and validated. We can process the emotions rather than push down and ignore them.

Tapping and the impact on your well-being and workplace productivity.

So Emotional Freedom Technique is a self-regulation tool for our emotions; it is fast and effective. We will still remember the situation, but the emotional charge reduces. In my encounter with the anaesthetist, I discharged what I was feeling and was able to return to working professionally and efficiently.

Our self-care is our responsibility. It is essential and needs to be a priority. Because nurses are usually time-poor, EFT becomes a simple, effective and practical solution to complement our self-care.

We feel better quickly, but we also perform better in the workplace and our relationships.

So next time you feel shattered after your exhausting day, try tapping first instead of just crashing with a glass of wine and Netflix.

Best wishes

Lauren

PS I still love a good glass of red and Netflix for my entertainment!

About Lauren Bell

Lauren is a wellness & wealth coach, thought leader, international speaker and author.

An RN for over 30 years and 16 years as a holistic therapist, Lauren knows firsthand what it is like to burnout. Through her journey from rock bottom to soaring free Lauren now delivers high impact transformational coaching that empowers caring professionals to feel confident and claim their true value, and allow, attract and enjoy wellness and wealth in her ‘Love Your Extraordinary Life’ workshops and programs.

Want to know more?

Come and join Lauren  and others in their ‘Exhausted to Empowered: Addressing the Unspoken Issues Faced in Nursing’ Professional 2 day Workshop.

Let’s shine the light on the unspoken but common issues faced in nursing and we will help you to navigate them with compassion.

Online, 27th and 29th of April, 2022

7 total CPD hours

Click here for more information and to register.


References

Bach, D., Groesbeck, G., Stapleton, P., Sims, R., Blickheuser, K., & Church, D. (2019). Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health. Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine, 24, 2515690X18823691. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X18823691

Church, D., Stapleton, P., Mollon, P., Feinstein, D., Boath, E., Mackay, D., & Sims, R. (2018). Guidelines for the Treatment of PTSD Using Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 6(4), 146. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare6040146

Raniere, L. M., & PhD, R. D. (2021). Unblocked: A Revolutionary Approach to Tapping into Your Chakra Empowerment Energy to Reclaim Your Passion, Joy and Confidence. Hay House Inc.