We deal with emotions on varying levels all the time. In almost any sort of health care, you deal with emotions stressed on many levels. There is fear, anxiety, grief, depression, emotional and physical pain, loss of control of many aspects of your life and decision making....and that's just the staff. That's an exaggeration, but not much of one. As health care professionals, we are given the responsibility of being the ones who have empathy not sympathy. you have to be able to be in some heart wrenching, gut tearing bedside scenes and stay focused and meet the needs of the patient and the family. Each situation so different because  of the different families and different situations. And you have to be able to handle whatever you are graced with.

  The pace of our jobs is ever increasing, the demands growing, the regulation increasing, and the technological systems ever more complex. I may have mentioned that before sometime. The stress is always growing, like an insidious white noise in your environment. The higher the level of continuous stress, the higher that is tolerated on a continuous level. Up to a point that is. I can start to feel mine coming on. I never seem to recognize it right off the bat. It then occurs to me what's going on. Sort of like realizing you have PMS symptoms...oh, so that explains it!

  I start to think about not wanting to do certain things, just kind of lay low, do my job and not have to interact very much. those are days when I would prefer to have two complex and vented patients that require a lot of physical care compared to emotional, and one that have low maintenance family dynamic situations. I get a little more impatient with my co workers and myself. Things sometimes get me close to tears, mostly of frustration and anger than sad or upset. I want to sleep a little more, I don't sleep a lot really anyway so a little more for me is a lot.

 

  But that's me. There are some things that you may find yourself experiencing that could indicate you are feeling some stress on your job. Firstly, you could be feeling like you want to sleep more too. Maybe not want to get out of bed in the morning. Also feeling fatigued all day long. 2)feelings of also not wanting to do things, not that you won't do them, but perhaps with less enthusiasm or involvement 3)a decrease in your productivity, not completing tasks on time... stuff like that 4) Missing work more frequently. Now sometimes that best thing you can do is take a day to regroup, but you have to use this judiciously. 5) Substance use and self medication of any sort. That one can sneaks up on you. Be careful. 6) Additional anger or impatience with co workers...yeah, I know , guilty. 7) Boredom with your job. Lack of intellectual stimulation or the grind of routine can be indicators you meed a change because this is getting to you 8) How about if you can't sleep? Reliving things, running through feelings about the job, your co workers, the corporation, and on and on. 9) And how about not being able to mentally take the day off on your day off? This one gets me too.

  So if you do recognize that some or all of these things are present in your life in an unbalanced proportion, what next? Pat yourself on the back for your moment of lucidity. Then, talk to someone, a friend, a trusted co worker, pastor,counselor. Sort it through. You may find that it's enough that you are considering a career change. You may find that you need to change units. Or, you may find that a toothless grin of a little old man that you just helped get out of bed washes it all away.

  But know that it will come. In the environment in which we work, it is inevitable.