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Nurses know that caring for patients and others before yourself can lead to nurse fatigue. An essential first step to taking good care of yourself is finding a healthy outlet for stress. How can you do that? Some of the simple ways that nurses report for dealing with tension include: hiking, biking, crafting, taking a sauna, or spending time with family and friends.

But one of the most powerful (though not effortless) ways to find a positive perspective is through meditation. Meditation may seem off-putting to many people who aren’t familiar with the practice, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to sit on a floor cushion and fold yourself up like a pretzel to meditate. You don’t have to hum or chant, either. But you certainly can and it’s an amazing way to relieve stress, clarify your mind, and improve your life. What nurse couldn’t do with a bit more calm and focus and balance?

If you’d like to give meditation a try, you can start by sitting in your favorite comfy armchair. You could also lie on a bed or floor—but then you might fall asleep. Some nurses struggle to get restful, restorative sleep, what with 10-hour shifts and rotating schedules, so sleep may be what you need for health. But it wouldn’t help you develop a meditation practice.

Next, close your eyes and take a few slow and deep breaths. That will help clear your mind of everyday thoughts and concerns. Then, give your mind something else to think about (that’s what minds do best—think!), such as a soothing word. You may want to silently repeat that word or phrase, sometimes referred to as a “mantra,” if you think that may be calming. Depending on your religious faith or cultural tradition, you could choose “shalom” or “om” or simply “home.” Other popular options include “peace,” “love,” or “calm” or favorite prayers and sacred passages.

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One of the first researchers in the area of meditation-based stress reduction, Dr. Herbert Benson, suggests the word “one” silently as you breath out. He offers that as a secular mantra because it doesn’t have strong associations that may distract some meditators. (Also, when he’d originally asked subjects to count up to 10 with each breath, they’d get so relaxed that they’d lose track of where they were in the number sequence.)

Benson wrote the best-seller The Relaxation Response forty years ago while a professor at Harvard Medical School. His work is still the subject of studies on how it can be used to increase the health and well-being of patients and health care providers. He has proven that meditation really does reduce stress as well as improving medical symptoms and promoting wellness.

Start gently with five minutes of meditation and work your way up to 10 minutes, and then preferably 20 minutes, a day. Making this a daily event is how it becomes a transformative practice in the life of a stressed-out nurse.

Jebra Turner
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