WHY DOCTORS AND NURSES NEED TO TAKE MENTAL HEALTH DAYS

Nurses and doctors–those critical caretakers of society!–often carry heavy mental and emotional burdens in the course of their work.

Think about it: nurses often witness the worst hours and days of a person’s life. Doctors take care of patients and their families who are faced with accident, illness, disability and even death.

This is exactly why taking mental health days can be so important for healthcare professionals!

“If the nurses don’t care for their own mind, body and stress system, then that leads to burnout very quickly,” said Stephanie Swann, a psychotherapist for nurses, in an article with the Atlanta Journal. “So taking intermittent mental health days can prevent a more chronic burnout.”

Mental health days can also battle depression resulting from the job, which is good since nurses especially experience clinical depression at twice the rate of the general public.

To figure out if you’re hitting bottom in your healthcare job, ask yourself a few questions:

• Do you dread going into work almost everyday?
• Are you arguing with coworkers or administration in your head before you get to work?
• Do you doubt your capabilities?
• Do you feel too tired or down to enjoy socializing?
• Do your favorite activities seem like too much trouble?
• Is your fuse shorter than it was before?

If you are experiencing some heavy emotions from your work, come in and see me. I would love to listen and give you tools to better manage your work stress and enjoy your (incredibly important) job more fully.

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.