61. You Are More Than a Diagnosis: Reclaiming Your Identity for World Mental Health Day

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In honor of World Mental Health Day, Jenny gets real about the mental load caregivers carry — and why self-care is not selfish. Whether you’re a nurse, family caregiver, or simply navigating your own mental health challenges, this episode is a compassionate and empowering reminder: you are more than your struggles.

Jenny reflects on her 20-year journey in hospice care and shares insights on identity, burnout, and how to reconnect with what makes you you. If you’ve ever felt weighed down by your role or identified too closely with a diagnosis, this is the message you need to hear.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to separate your identity from a diagnosis
• Why caregiving roles often lead to unacknowledged burnout
• The slippery slope of self-neglect (and how to reverse it)
• How to bring the right parts of yourself to the forefront
• What you can do this week to nurture your mental health

🎧 Listen now and share this with someone who needs a reminder that their story isn’t over.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Feeling stressed? Grab my quick and easy Busy Nurses' Guide to Less Stress for practical stress relief that truly fits into your life! https://www.jennylytle.com/guide

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the
Nurses Break Room with JennyLittle RN.
We're going to be focusing onmental health because October
10th is World Mental Health Day.
And there's a lot of talk aboutmental health these days, much
more so than there used to be.
And so I think that's a positivething, and it's helping to

(00:21):
decrease the stigma to a certainextent, but it's also something
that can sometimes be verycasually thrown out there with
different mental healthchallenges that people are
having.
And sometimes some of us cantend to identify with maybe a
particular mental healthdiagnosis and really take that

(00:45):
on as a huge part of ouridentity.
And I'm not saying that that'snecessarily wrong, but it's just
something to consider,regardless of what types of
mental or physical illnesses orattributes we may have, we're so

(01:07):
much more than that.
We're more than just one pieceof ourselves, more than one
diagnosis, more than one set ofcircumstances.
We're very complex individuals.
And so as we're approachingWorld Mental Health Day, I
encourage you to think aboutwhat is it that makes you you?

(01:35):
What are the things that youknow help your mental health
that make you feel stronger,make you feel more at peace with
yourself and within your body,versus the things that you know
make you kind of feel likeyou're struggling or like you're

(01:58):
not measuring up.
And figuring out how can some ofthose things that you know help
you, that you know make you feelbetter about yourself, how can
some of those things be put onthe forefront instead of
focusing on the challenges andthe struggles that you're

(02:20):
having?
The reality is we all havestruggles.
We all have things that we'regoing through, and sometimes
more than others.
But when we get so wrapped up inall of the things that maybe we
wish were different or thataren't going the way we would

(02:41):
like them to, then that can bekind of a slippery slope.
And so I just encourage you tothink about the things that
maybe you've faced and comethrough on the other side of the
lessons you've learned, thepeople that you've met that
maybe you wouldn't have met ifit weren't for some of the

(03:03):
challenges that you've had.
As a nurse, I have encounteredmany people with multiple
physical and mental healthchallenges, and I faced some of
my own.
And at the time I'm recordingthis, today is 20 years ago
since I officially started myhospice career.

(03:27):
I started my first hospice job20 years ago today, and there
were definitely some mentalhealth challenges that have gone
along with that.
And I took a step back from itfor a while, and now I work in a
different capacity than I usedto.
But when we are in caregivingroles, whether that be

(03:49):
professionally, you know, if youhappen to be a nurse or a doctor
or an aide or somebody working,you know, in other healthcare
professional roles, or if you'rein a family caregiver role,
where maybe you're caring forparents or children or siblings
that are needing yourassistance, those are things

(04:10):
that can weigh really heavily onus.
And sometimes we have a tendencyto kind of stuff those things
down over and over, and theneventually it's going to catch
up with us.
And so that's why I'm sopassionate about being able to
speak up and do the things thatwe need to do to take care of

(04:33):
ourselves, because it's reallythe only way that we're able to
continue to care for others.
So this week, if you're somebodythat does have some mental
health struggles, then maybethink about the things that
you've learned from that.
Maybe it's increased compassionor empathy for other people.

(04:56):
Maybe it's learning that somethings that maybe seem innocent
to some people can be hurtful.
And so you're more careful notto say those kind of things.
And maybe think of a way thatyou can share what you've
learned with others this week.
Not in a holier than now or I'vegot it all figured out kind of

(05:19):
way, but just as a way ofsharing your humanness and
sharing what your experienceshave taught you and encourage
other people to do the same.
Until next time, remember selfcare isn't selfish.
It's the only way we cancontinue to care for others and
live our best lives.
Have a great week.