How to Manage the Emotional Demands of Nursing

Working as a nurse can be both stressful and emotionally demanding. Not only are you expected to manage your own emotional reactions while working with patients and coworkers, but you also must help ease the anxiety, fear and distress your patients are feeling. 

Nurses who are early in their careers are understandably more likely to have adverse negative reactions to the emotional demands of the job, but any nurse is susceptible to compassion fatigue, stress and burnout. 

What is compassion fatigue? 

Compassion fatigue in nursing is a feeling of emotional and physical exhaustion that results from repeated exposure to the suffering and trauma of others, which leads to a reduced capacity to show compassion and empathy. As a nurse, you are continuously exposed to stressful, traumatic, and sad situations that can cause compassion fatigue and may lead to you feeling disconnected from the compassion you usually have. 

Compassion fatigue can cause damage to your physical and mental health and can lead to nurse burnout if left unchecked. Compassion fatigue symptoms can include headaches, anxiousness, mood swings, low self-esteem, difficulty sleeping, or changes in appetite. It can not only affect your ability to care for patients, but can also affect your personal life. Understanding the warning signs and finding ways to combat compassion fatigue, can improve your overall well-being and help you provide better care for patients. 

Why is emotional health important in nursing? 

While important in any part of life, emotional intelligence in nursing is especially important. Your emotional health will affect how productive you are in the workplace and how you cope with the daily stress of your nursing job. 

Tips to manage the emotional demands of nursing

Take care of your physical health

Improving your physical health, even in small ways, can have a big impact on your emotions and overall mental health. It is important to take care of your mind and your body. Find a way to incorporate regular exercise into your daily routine, eat healthy meals and snacks, and do your best to get enough sleep. Take some time for yourself each week and do something you enjoy whether it's going for a walk, working a puzzle, crafting, reading a book, or some other activity. When nurses make time for themselves away from work, they are better able to return feeling refreshed and ready to provide good nursing care. 

Focus on mastering your nursing skills

Focusing on improving your nursing skills, can increase your confidence and improve your overall job satisfaction. Look for ways you can improve yourself by gaining additional nursing education and certifications, becoming more efficient with charting, finding ways to better connect with patients, or anything that helps you feel better about your ability to do your job as a nurse. Sometimes the best thing you can do to give your skills a boost is to ask for help. Many of the nurses around you will have more experience or different skill sets that they are more than willing to share with you. 

Practice resilience 

Resilience is your ability to move past any challenges or difficulties that come your way. Believe in yourself and your ability to provide good nursing care. You will make mistakes — everyone does from time to time. Making mistakes doesn’t mean you’re not a strong and capable nurse. Being able to learn from mistakes and move forward quickly will improve your ability to perform under pressure in the future. Developing more resilience can affect the way you view and react to challenges not only in nursing but in life. 

Learn deep breathing and meditation techniques

They may seem simple, but deep breathing exercises can have a drastic effect on your ability to cope. Practicing deep breathing and focusing your mind can help you release emotional stress and anxiety that you experience both on the job and in life to foster an overall sense of peace. This will improve your mood and allow you to let go of the things that are not in your control. 

Debrief with trusted coworkers

Find a fellow nurse, who understands what you are feeling, that you can talk with about difficult cases. Other nurses have likely been in a similar situation and can relate to what you’re feeling in a way that those outside the profession can’t. Sharing your emotions with another nurse can release some of the burden you’re carrying and lessens the sadness and suffering you’ve experienced. This type of relationship goes both ways — allowing you to mutually support one another and provide encouragement that will improve your nursing team. 

Find a mentor

Seek out a more experienced nurse who can act as a mentor and guide you through new nursing experiences as well as difficult times. This nurse mentor may be able to help you better manage the demands you face and avoid nurse burnout. 

Seek professional help

Many healthcare facilities offer additional services for nurses that you can and should take advantage of to help you manage the emotional demands of the job. Ask your employer or fellow co-workers about services like counseling or stress management workshops. Healthcare facilities set up these programs to help employees handle issues they are facing both professionally and personally, and they can be incredibly beneficial. These programs are often part of your employee benefits package, and you should take advantage of them. 

Taking control of emotions in nursing

Improperly managed emotions can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout and have a lasting impact on your overall physical and mental health. This can impact you as a nurse and you as a person. It can also impact the care you are able to provide patients. 

Recognizing that nursing is a job that will take an emotional toll is the first step. Finding ways to deal with your emotions and the stress you will experience will protect you from mental and physical harm and can improve your life, both professionally and personally.