Nurses and natural disasters: 3 ways to take care of stress

Every day, nurses are on the front lines, caring for patients and juggling multiple clinical tasks. However, within the event of a natural disaster, the workload can turn into more exhausting and demanding. Challenges similar to staff shortages, heavier workloads and limited resources could make nursing care even harder – especially with the looming threat of an influence outage.

Most healthcare facilities and organizations have emergency management and disaster preparedness plans in place, which can include staff training programs and evacuation and sheltering exercises. They may have special communication plans about patient care and support resources for disaster responders in such scenarios.

However, natural disasters are sometimes unpredictable and may result in unexpected problems. This signifies that nurses and other medical staff must continually adapt to those disruptive situations. An example of this was observed in Buffalo, New York in January 2022, where an aggressive winter storm caused almost 49 inches of snow. Due to impassable roads, limited visibility, heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, nurses across the region worked longer shifts and had no alternative but to adapt to short staffing and more nurses per patient ratio.

In critical situations, nurses and other healthcare staff may fit across the clock, sometimes for several days. Dr. Rola Aamar, behavioral health solutions partner at Relias, said that on account of the stressful circumstances surrounding such events, nurses could also be less attentive to their very own physiological and emotional needs. According to Aamar, this lack of attention can then result in higher levels of stress and a reduced ability to deal with stress.

In such stressful working conditions, nurses need to seek out some respite. The following strategies can assist you to deal with stress during natural disasters.

1. Find moments for yourself

As a nurse, you already know how useful alone time is during a standard shift. But if you add the turbulence of a natural disaster to the combination, it will probably seem unattainable. While it could appear unattainable, taking good care of your personal needs is a must.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), one approach is: individual coping with stress is self-awareness. This lets you concentrate on the physical and mental needs you’re experiencing at a given moment. And during natural disasters, it’s especially essential to hearken to what your body is telling you. This may mean taking a number of minutes to drink water and eat a healthy snack or meal, do mindfulness exercises similar to respiratory exercises, or call a loved one.

According to Aamar, moments of self-care are essential elements during critical events. So select the activity that shall be best for you in the mean time. However, if you happen to notice that you simply are experiencing more physical reactions to emphasize, you should utilize a more mindful coping technique.

“More advanced coping skills such as deep breathing, identifying and communicating emotions, and meditation can also help regulate our central nervous system,” said Aamar, who began her profession as a behavioral health clinician.

These sorts of activities will help reduce the body’s physical responses to emphasize, including slowing the guts rate, lowering blood pressure, and causing less sweating.

Additionally, SAMHSA highlights this acronym that will assist you to discover these moments:

HALT reminds you that you simply are human, similar to the patients you look after, and you may stop and care for yourself.

2. Social support and check-in

As a nurse, you not only work in complex medical environments, but you furthermore mght face quite a few physical and emotional demands. In the event of a natural disaster, these requirements are strengthened.

Social support during critical events could be a strategy to scale back feelings of stress and burnout. One study found that nurses who received social support from colleagues who coped with the identical emotional demands in the identical environment were more practical in reducing stress. According to SAMHSA, this peer support will be one of the best defense against physical and emotional pain.

Like social support, debriefing is one other approach to reducing stress during and after a traumatic event similar to a natural disaster. Debriefing allows nurses or other healthcare professionals to pause, reflect, and discuss critical or traumatic events. These periods of reflection offer moments of respite while encouraging discussion concerning the causes of tension and practical ways to maneuver forward.

Study on strategies for coping with work-related stress amongst nurses mentioned that some respondents reported feeling less stressed after participating within the debriefing. One participant mentioned that she at all times takes stock before leaving work, even when it means being late, and added that this practice helps her loosen up faster.

3. Practice self-compassion

During natural disasters, nurses are sometimes the primary to assist victims. In such situations, maintaining immunity can sometimes be a challenge. However, practicing self-compassion will be an efficient tool within the fight against stress.

For example Texas Nurses Foundation developed the Care for the Caregiver toolkit, which highlights the importance of coping strategies for nurses before, during and after natural disasters. In this kit, they highlight how practicing self-compassion can alleviate the results of disaster-related stress. According to their guide, examples include finding humor within the day, engaging in meditation, and practicing forgiveness – especially towards yourself.

Many studies emphasize this effectiveness than practicing self-compassion has the effect of reducing conditions similar to burnout, compassion fatigue and moral injury. When you’re self-compassionate, you’re empathetic to your feelings and behaviors in times of distress. By being gentler with yourself – especially during critical events – you not only develop your resilience, but you permit yourself to feel comfort and respect. When faced with crises or other stressful events, self-compassion is a resource that “promotes emotional stability, well-being and growth.”

Final thoughts

Nurses and other health care staff play a critical role during disasters. Between balancing patient care, charting and other essential tasks, nurses are at higher risk occurrence of opposed psychological effects of those events.

Stress management strategies help us get through life’s unexpected ups and downs, Aamar said. “The more coping skills we consistently practice, the greater the variety of skills we have access to in times of duress,” she said.