I work rings around my co-workers who are 10 -20 years younger than I am and still have energy to enjoy my family and do the things I like to do like writing this blog.
But it wasn’t always that way. I am a registered nurse and I work 12-14 hours every day in a fast paced, highly stressful environment. By the time I got home I was irritable & frustrated with my family because they weren’t working as hard as I was yet they seemed to not realize that I needed help. They didn’t anticipate my needs. How could they when I was busy being super wife, supermom, super woman… until I hit a wall. I collapsed in my bathroom and woke up on the floor, with my face planted in a pool of blood. I had a gash on my lower lip that was bleeding like crazy and for a minute I didn’t know where I was.
Of course, we rushed to the ER and after a battery of tests — guess what they say, “You’re stressed, overworked, and exhausted”. Well thank you Captain Obvious. Then they told me that I would have to do something to relieve the stress but never told me what to do. That started me on my journey to find ways to relieve stress and get more energy without pressing myself to do more stuff.
I learned that the most important thing I can do as a care provider is to start taking care of myself first. That was counter intuitive for me because as a wife, mom, and nurse my mission was to care for others and I always put their needs before mine. WRONG! My heart was in the right place but my thoughts were way off base.
I knew that I needed to find other sources of income that would not burn me out. And I have done that (more about that later). But first I had to learn to take better care of … ME. I found some quick, easy techniques that I can do everyday to center myself, release tension, and distress… guess what… I am not only calmer but actually have more energy, too! I’m providing this blog to you believing that you can benefit from my story and the lessons I’ve learned.
Here’s one of the techniques that I use…. Deep Breathing
It’s an easy technique to learn and can be practiced almost anywhere. It’s amazing. All you really need is a few minutes and a quiet place to sit. I do this while at work. I take a moment in my office and focus on my breathing. It’s a quick way to reduce my stress level and it supplies the oxygen needed to support every part of our body including our brains.
- Sit quietly with your feet flat on the floor. Sit up straight but comfortably (this is a good posture check as well 😊).
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. You should notice the hand on your stomach rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale but the hand on your chest should hardly move at all. That’s because you are using your abdominal muscles for breathing.
- Count to five slowly as you inhale and exhale.
- Take your time … deep breathe for a few minutes and you will notice a sense of calm as your stress level lowers.
Now you’re ready to go on with your day. You can repeat this technique as often as you like. You can even do a variation of deep breathing (without placing your hands on your chest and abdomen) during meetings or in any stressful situation.
More tips to total wellness coming up in the next blog.