Nursing is a career that’s very demanding. Nurses ought to be aware of how the demands of the job can affect them because they tend to care for everyone else, and forget to think about their bodies.
Stress related illnesses can creep upon nurses if they are unaware.
In this article, let’s look at common stress related illnesses that can creep on you as a nurse and what you can do about them.
Anxiety
No other profession does one see so much suffering every day like nurses do.
Nurses see people suffering from frightening illnesses that have no cure.
As a nurse, you will see people die almost on a daily basis depending on what unit you work.
This experience can cause a lot of anxiety in you, and you could develop anxiety symptoms.
These symptoms include; a surge of overwhelming panic and feeling lost or out of control. You may experience heart palpitations for no apparent reason, hot flashes, and chills.
If these symptoms of anxiety aren’t addressed, you could develop an anxiety disorder, and be unable to perform your job.
It is advisable for nurses to seek professional counseling if they find they are experiencing any of these symptoms.
Fatigue
The environments nurses work in are usually very busy. There is always something else that needs to be done. Nurses tend to push themselves until everything is done. Sometimes the employer’s expectation is that everything has to be done by the end of the shift.
Nurses will skip breaks to get everything done at the detriment of their health. After a while, they start to suffer from fatigue.
Fatigue will manifest symptoms like; aching and sore muscles, lack of motivation, chronic tiredness, difficulty in concentrating and dizziness.
The best treatment or remedy for fatigue is to take a break or some time out and rest.
Unless there is another underlying cause like anemia or sepsis, rest is the best remedy.
Overweight
Many studies have proved that overweight occurs to many people when they are stressed.
Nurses tend to be busy all the time, and when they get home from work, they are too tired to make a nourishing meal. Nurses settle to eating bread or burgers from the store. Eating this highly processed food does not add value to anyone’s health. After a while, they realize they are gaining weight.
Research tells us that Cortisol is a hormone in our bodies released throughout the day. It is usually higher in the mornings to help us start our day. Chronic stress disrupts this natural cortisol rhythm.
This disruption causes our bodies to be hungry and crave sugar.
This makes one eat all the time and crave foods high in calories.
Cortisol also reduces the body’s ability to burn fat.
You want to be proactive and take action to prevent these stress related illnesses from becoming worse once you identify the symptoms.