When Nurses Feel Like They Have Nothing Left to Give: aka the "oh f*$K I'm running on empty" episode
February 5, 2025 • 39 mins
TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!
Burnout is an all-too-familiar foe for many nurses, but what if humor helps you breathe? Is your overstimulated self fighting for your life right now? Pop an earbud, I'm here for it.
Join me, Riva, your Ritual Nurse, as I share my personal journey of navigating nurse burnout while managing ADHD, and uncover the invaluable role humor plays in overcoming the daily grind. We'll explore the relentless exhaustion nurses face both at work and home, and how humor can lighten the load and foster a sense of camaraderie among colleagues and friends.
Stress is more than a feeling; it alters your neurochemistry, impacting your ability to bounce back. I reflect on my own experiences, likening moments of respite in the nutrition room (LOL) to "peanut butter, graham crackers, and milk" breaks that recharge the soul. Discover the science behind stress relief and learn how identifying your own simple rituals can offer much-needed relief from the unyielding demands of nursing. By sharing your stories, we can create a community of support and resilience.
The chaos of healthcare work requires quick resets tailored for those of us who struggle with executive functioning, especially those with ADHD. From box breathing to savoring a snack, I offer practical strategies for regaining balance. With a touch of humor, we delve into the necessity of self-care, emotional release, and embracing personal rituals that sustain us. Whether you're facing the overwhelm of current events or the challenges of everyday nursing, you'll find comfort and connection in this heartfelt conversation.
Link to tell me your stories!!! https://tcth.org/the-ritual-nurse-podcast/
Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. Resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info can be found on our home site at TCTH.org. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the Ritual Nurse, where healing meets
humor, science and a touch ofmagic.
Hello, welcome back to theRitual Nurse Podcast.
This is Reva, your Ritual Nurse, and this is oh man, episode
six, I think.
So this is really kind of theepisode all about when nurses
(00:36):
feel like they have nothing leftto give.
Aka the oh fuck, I'm running onfumes episode.
Aka the oh fuck, I'm running onfumes episode.
I am overwhelmed.
Folks, besties, besties.
(00:56):
It is 1922, on a Tuesday evening, and this podcast publishes at
8 am in the morning.
Now, normally I'm usually a fewepisodes ahead.
There's been a lot going on andI am not a few episodes ahead.
I have to be in the hospital at0615 tomorrow morning.
So, yeah, what am I doing?
What am I doing?
I have ADHD and what I'm doingis that overwhelmed, overwhelmed
(01:21):
burnout, last minute thing thatwe do when you are struggling
to find the dopamine to get thestuff done that you want to do,
that you actually love doing,that you get enjoyment from, and
you're so frustrated becauseyou just can't find the dopamine
to do it.
What does this have to do withnursing?
(01:43):
Pretty much everything.
I'm going to talk to you guyslike you're literally sitting
right here next to me, becausemost of the nurses that I know
and run into are neurodivergentin one form or another.
Most of us just are.
I don't know if it's the careerthat draws us in, but this is
going to be a real, raw andhonest conversation about what
(02:06):
it feels like to be drowning ineverything happening in the
world and in the workplace andmaybe in your personal life, and
what the hell to do about itthat doesn't make you more
overwhelmed just contemplatingit.
That's one of the problems thatwe get into.
It's kind of like a cycle.
We get overwhelmed and we fisharound for a way out of it.
(02:32):
We look for something to giveus dopamine for inspiration, for
, you know, even self-helpthings or tips, or, you know, to
get us over the slump or topull us out of being overwhelmed
or tired or burned out.
And you sit there staring at itand trying to contemplate it,
because just the thought oftrying to do it, of trying to
(02:55):
understand it and comprehend itand put it to work, is
overwhelming.
So this episode isn't going tobe overwhelming.
We're going to just talk aboutwhat it's like right now in real
life.
I mean, what do we do, you know, when we have nothing left to
(03:18):
give, when we're staring downanother shift, another crisis,
another day of exhaustion and wefeel like we're about to
collapse, like let's talk aboutthat.
We're gonna have to inject thiswith humor because I feel like
that's what a lot of us do.
(03:40):
People's therapists might wantto chime in in the comment about
what kind of trauma responsethat is, but I personally have
been running on coffee and vibesof one form or another and
sheer spite for about two weeks.
(04:02):
I want to say at least justfeeling like somebody turned the
treadmill on just fast enoughthat I'm worried my next step
won't be fast enough.
Kind of catch.
Kind of catch the feeling thatI'm, that I'm putting out there.
So I don't know.
(04:23):
I mean, when we look at what wedo, when we're burned out, I
guess there is a difference inhow we handle things at work as
nurses and how we handle thingspersonally at home.
I mean, for some of us it mightnot be different, but I think
for a lot of us it is.
And I think at work we tend toput our scrubs on, straighten
(04:44):
our stuff and march out to thefloor.
You know, get our get report,get our priorities together and
keep going and I think at homewe expend any possible energy
and dopamine and spoons that wehave doing that at work.
By the time that we get home Ifeel like we have doing that at
work.
(05:05):
By the time that we get home Ifeel like we have a really
serious deficit, like weborrowed from the energy and the
dopamine that we would have hadin reserve for when you get off
shift or when you have tohandle, you know, adulting and
all of that other BS that'shappening outside of work, that
by the time we're done with ourshift we're actually in debt.
We're at a negative startingpoint compared to where we would
(05:30):
have and that really puts us asnurses in a bind because we
have to turn around and do itall over again.
Most of us are nurturing andresponsibility carriers and
business handlers outside of ournursing shifts, just like we
are at work.
So the burden and not burden,like that's really kind of the
(05:51):
wrong way to phrase it but theload, the weight bearing load
that we have, may changecontextually slightly, but the
pressure I don't think does fora lot of us.
So if we're starting off at adeficit and we are heading into
what is supposed to be asemi-productive and then restful
(06:15):
point in time and we're alreadyat a deficit.
Heading into that, I feel likeit puts us in a spot where we
can't be productive and thenthat kicks us into a point where
we can't be productive and thenthat kicks us into a point, a
point where we can't actuallyrest, we can't actually
recuperate, we can't actuallylet down.
And I'm going to I've talkedabout this with with many of my
(06:40):
nursing best friends, andthey're not just nursing best
friends, they're actually lifebest friends.
I think many of us are also inthat same boat.
We're our best friends andthey're not just nursing best
friends, they're actually lifebest friends.
I think many of us are also inthat same boat where our best
friends happen to be nurses.
And the burnout and the cycleof burnout for us and I'm not
talking about the global burnoutin terms of the buzzwords and
(07:01):
stuff that are used on socialmedia I mean real raw, personal.
If I have to answer that calllight one more time, it's I'm
going to crash out.
And it's not because we don'tlove our job, it's not because
we're not trained.
It's literally because thelevel of dopamine that we're
functioning with is makingnormal requests and normal bids
on our energy and time feel somonumentally overwhelming that
(07:23):
our response to them is alsoexponentially out of balance
with what it normally would be.
Instead of responding at a one,we respond at a 10 or a
negative 10, as it were.
But in talking about this withmy friends, one of the things
that we all kind of have incommon is we have a thing that
(07:47):
we do during shift.
It varies per nurse and you'llhave to excuse me, my throat is
a little bit raspy.
I got over being sick last week.
I don't know if it was audibleon the podcast last week.
That was filmed a little bitprior to last week, so I don't
think it was.
But there's a thing that we doduring shift and for every nurse
(08:10):
it differs.
And for me some of the moststressful times in nursing had a
lot to do with, contextually,how experienced I was in nursing
, the field of nursing and theenvironment that I worked in,
the work culture that I workedin.
In fact, the work culture thatI worked in was more stressful
(08:31):
than the type of nursing that Iwas doing and more stressful
than the fact that I was a newernurse doing that type of
nursing.
So the work culture that youwork in can actually affect you
far more profoundly than thestress of the actual job duties
that you're doing.
But one of the things thatmyself and another friend of
(08:55):
mine used to do besides cry inthe supply closet which I think
we've all had those moments butwe used to sit in the patient
kitchen, or the nutrition roomas it was called, and eat like
two packs of graham crackerswith, you know, the little tub
of peanut butter.
If you worked at a really poshhospital, you actually had the
(09:16):
little jiff tub.
If you didn't, it had like awhite label and it was just kind
of like pasty, kind of genericpeanut butter.
However, that on some grahamcrackers with the little carton
of milk for some reason, wasjust it, just it hit it.
Just it was everything that weneeded.
(09:38):
And we would sit there andinvariably could have been the
glucose, could have been thecarbohydrates you know a little
bit of sugar rush, who knows butinvariably we would just start
laughing, the kind of laughterthat you're laughing way harder
than than what was funny or noteven funny, like like you would
(09:59):
just start laughing almost kindof maniacally, like really hard
laughing, and then the otherperson would start laughing and
because they were laughing, thenkind of maniacally, like really
hard laughing, and then theother person would start
laughing and because they werelaughing, then you would laugh
and it was almost kind of like aphysical release of tension and
emotion in laughter and I thinkthe act of laughing itself
(10:21):
generated dopamine.
We got a sugar boost and someprotein and washed it down with,
you know, milk from the patientkitchen, the nutrition room,
whatever yours is called.
Then we would go back out tothe floor and face the rest of
the shift, the rest of ourshifts for that week or our
(10:45):
mandatory overtime which ourfacility had at the time and it
just it allowed us to survive.
This is, oh my gosh, this is10,.
(11:12):
This is a decade ago.
11 years ago later, I findmyself in a completely different
era of nursing, balancingcompletely different things, and
I still need my graham cracker,peanut butter and milk moment.
(11:33):
I still need that moment,hiding away for a minute in the
nutrition room, scarfing downpeanut butter, graham crackers
and a little bit of milk and ahealthy dose of laughter, aka
tension relief of some kind.
I still find myself needingthat moment.
So I don't think that it issolely contextually, like just
(11:53):
linked to that environment orthe ICU or anything like that.
I think we all have a story ora moment or a memory from times
in our nursing life that held alot of stress could be even
right now and we were facingburnout on a daily basis.
(12:17):
So that's the other weird thingabout burnout.
People talk about burnout andthey use it as a buzzword
constantly and over the yearsthat I've been researching it,
burnout, when you read it inresearch and the literature and
you read it in social media andpeople put it all over
advertising campaigns and stuffyou know as a buzzword for media
(12:38):
conversion and things like that, it becomes anesthetized and
intrinsic, inherent meaning toour profession and our culture.
But these words just slowlylose their depth and importance
(12:59):
with the amount of times that weare besieged by them on social
media.
And when it comes to burnout,people have this idea that
burnout is this condition thatyou get, like chronic bronchitis
or walking pneumonia orsomething, and burnout, yes, it
can be chronic, but it's more soacute episodes of just an
(13:25):
absolute negative functionallevel of the neurochemicals that
you need for your executivefunctioning to even flip the
switch, to even even have aflicker of power happening up
there and and driving yourchoices and your actions and
(13:46):
what you're doing.
Your executive function is just.
Function is just, it's justunplugged.
And burnout is acute andepisodic as our neurochemicals
fluctuate up and down and youreally can effectively combat it
almost the same way that youwould combat a mineral
(14:09):
deficiency or a vitamindeficiency.
That doesn't have to do with acongenital component or a
physiological component, it justhas to do with access,
absorption, bioavailability,things like that.
When it comes to burnout, it'sthe same thing.
That graham cracker, peanutbutter and milk moment is your
combat, that's your moment.
(14:31):
And whatever moment you have inyour memory when I started
talking about our peanut butter,graham cracker and milk moment,
whatever made you startchuckling, whatever made your
you grown and remember like, oh,back to the back, to the horror
of it, that's your moment.
That got you through.
(14:51):
Horror of it, that's yourmoment.
That got you through and that'sthe moment that you need to
recreate to get through it now.
I think right now, chips andsalsa and, you know, a crispy
diet Coke is my moment.
I don't even know.
Yeah, for for the haters, Idefinitely.
(15:11):
I know we're.
We're nurses, we're supposed totalk about hydration and hand
hygiene and updating yourwhiteboards, and I we also know
as nurses that we're the lastpeople to hydrate.
We usually we sure we alwaysupdate our whiteboards.
Of course we do.
And hand hygiene, yes, that'ssomething that we actually don't
(15:34):
mess around with.
But hydration, we're lucky ifwe listen to our own advice.
Really, we're lucky if welisten to our own advice.
But I got to tell you, when youcompare your peanut butter,
honey and milk moment to whatyou're facing right now or maybe
maybe those moments are rightnow right now Maybe that's not a
distant memory for you.
(15:55):
Maybe you're a new grad, maybeyou're not a new grad but a
newer nurse, or maybe you're anurse that's moved into a
different field and you'refacing stress that you've never
felt before.
Maybe you're preparing to leavethe field or advance in the
field or change something aboutwhere you are as a nurse,
professionally, and the amountof stress that you feel is
profound.
Right now I am finishingadvanced coursework, I am almost
(16:20):
done with my doctorate and I'malso working full time, and
everything else that's going onin the world right now is
legitimately overwhelming.
And so this kind of stress andthis kind of balancing act,
while vastly different from whatI was looking at 10 years ago,
still impacts me in much thesame way, and I'm still looking
(16:42):
for that peanut butter, honeyand milk moment.
Even if it's chips and salsaand a crispy diet Coke, it's
still generating the same thing.
Don't sell yourself short.
If those are your moments, thencling to them, implement them
as often as you can in order toreplicate that same sense of
(17:02):
tension relief and dopaminerejuvenation, to get you through
it, to lift your chin, tostraighten your shoulders, to
allow you to take those nextsteps forward.
We are at the midpoint of thepodcast at the moment and on
(17:22):
this break, I really want youguys to think about what is your
peanut butter, honey and milkmoment?
I know I can't be the only oneno, seriously, for the peanut
butter, honey and milk thing.
I know I can't be the onlynurse I mean, I wasn't at our
hospital, that was a thing thatmany of us actually did and I
(17:44):
know that a couple of my friends, specifically one of the ones
I'm talking about listens to thepodcast and she's either going
to text me or she's just goingto laugh out loud when she hears
it.
But think about what yourmoment is.
If you go to tcthorg and youclick on the tab for the Ritual
Nurse Podcast, there is a QRcode.
(18:05):
When you scan that QR code,I've put up a form for people to
submit their stories.
If you want to be on thepodcast, there's tons of options
there in terms of beinganonymous.
You know what you want to share, what you don't want to share,
if you want a response, if youwant to give feedback,
everything is right there on theform and it's accessible with
(18:25):
the QR code.
But I want to hear what yourmoment is.
I want to hear what your momentis because I guarantee that you
are not alone.
I guarantee Now there may besome of you that hear what I'm
saying and are incredulous, likewhat the hell?
What the fuck is a peanutbutter, honey and milk moment?
You know what, bestie, I'm soloving for you that you don't
(18:48):
know and you haven't had one yet.
I love that.
However, take notes because ifyou're a nurse, chances are
chances are statistically veryhigh that you're going to run
into situations or work contextsas a professional nurse or
changes in nursing that you'regoing to find your moment.
So take notes because I Ireally think that that while,
(19:14):
yes, also sharing a laugh, thatwe can learn from each other.
And maybe some of the momentsyou send in are going to be my
next one.
You know, maybe it's not goingto be chips and salsa and a
crispy diet Coke.
Maybe it's not going to bepeanut butter, honey and milk in
the nutrition room, you know,oh dark 30 in the morning while
(19:35):
you're just trying to survive.
Maybe it's not going to bethose.
Maybe it's going to besomething that you guys sent in.
But I want to know, I want tohear from you.
So scan that QR code.
It'll be posted on socials,it's on the website.
Scan that QR code and let meknow.
And if you are on the breakright now, if you are heading
(19:56):
back to your shift, my goodness,may it be so smooth, may you
have the best orders, May itjust be absolutely lovely, and
we'll see you on the next partof the episode, when you're done
, on your next break or on yourway home, if you're going to
(20:16):
stick around.
The short little musical breakis just there for you guys to
know to hit pause and get a cupof coffee stretch.
When we come back, we're goingto talk about a little bit of
science.
That kind of explains why we dowhat we do a little bit.
You know I'm always a sciencegirl.
This always has to do withscience because I know you guys
(20:37):
all want to know the information.
And then we're going to do likesome super fast resets.
Like I said, there's nothing inthis episode of this podcast
that's going to be overwhelmingor challenging to implement,
because right now, bestie, Ican't.
So listen to a little bit ofmusic and we'll be right back,
(21:03):
alrighty.
Thank you so much for unpausingand coming back to the podcast.
So when we talk about thescience, of what is going on
when we have our peanut butterhoney or peanut butter honey,
peanut butter, graham crackerand milk moments in the
nutrition room at oh dark, 30 ofyour shift, while you're
literally just trying to survive, like you're, you are fighting
(21:26):
for your life to just getthrough that shift and survive.
To just get through that shiftand survive, what is going on?
Like what is going on with usneurologically and physically in
our bodies, that this kind ofstress is causing almost kind of
a hard reset or a blackout whenit comes to our executive
(21:48):
functioning.
And it all has to do with ourneurochemicals, it has to do
with our stress response.
It has to do with the uptickand how fast we are absorbing
our neurochemicals and the lowerrate at which we are putting
out the neurochemicals that weneed and we end up with pretty
much no gas in the tank.
Now there's a lot ofneurodivergent people out there
(22:09):
whose brains function verysimilar to that.
They have a high rate of uptakewhen it comes of absorption
when it comes to theirneurotransmitters.
Adhd is one of those and, likeI was talking about at the
beginning of the podcast, youguys, I sat here for like two
and a half hours staring at mymicrophone.
I love doing this.
(22:30):
You guys have no idea how muchI love making this podcast and
to know that I'm sitting here ina spot where I have absolutely
everything I need to do,something that I genuinely love
doing and I couldn't hit recordto save my life at the moment.
That blackout when it comes toexecutive functioning has a lot
(22:54):
to do with how my brain ishandling my neurochemicals and
the level of neurochemicals thatmy brain is producing and
maintaining, and when we'refaced with repetitive stressful
situations and crises and levelsof responsibility at the same
time, a lot of us have that same, similar response you burn out.
(23:17):
You have literally no fuel inthe tank when it comes to
neurotransmitters andneurochemicals to actually power
that executive functioningthrough.
So it's not that you don't wantto, it's not that you're lazy,
it's not that you're doingsomething wrong or that you're
not functional or you can't getyour shit together.
You just don't have anything inthe tank at the moment.
(23:39):
And that's why that peanutbutter, graham cracker and milk
moment works, all that laughter,that sense of camaraderie, the
boost from the sugar, theglucose.
That's why that little fiveminute moment works, because it
(24:03):
replenishes the gas in the tankand your executive functioning
can turn back on and you canactually make the physical
movements of the feet moving tothe door, back to the floor to
take care of your patients andcontinue on with your shift
there.
It's very real, it'sphysiological, it's not in your
head, you're not imagining it,it's very real.
And it's not just at work.
(24:23):
You know, like I said,sometimes when we burn out at
work and then we go to head home, we're heading home and
adulting is still there.
I didn't sign up for this.
I don't know, I don't know whodid, but it's garbage and I
don't.
It's negative one out of 10.
Do I suggest it?
But the adulting is still thereand so you have
responsibilities, you havetimelines and you also have to
(24:45):
get rest in so that you canactually get up and try to do
this whole thing all over again.
And when you leave shift andyou've been burned out on a
shift, you're you're going intothis next segment of lifing in a
deficit, basically.
So you're starting off witheven less than you had to begin
with, which was probably low Ifyou're at the point where you've
(25:08):
burned out during your shift.
So what are some really quickresets and I mean quick, like
when we're talking aboutoverwhelm?
This has got to be like a fiveminute thing I can do that does
not require hardly any dopamineor executive functioning or even
like operable mouth, wordsmoving, and there's a couple
things to look at, so one ofthem is called the five minute
(25:29):
rule.
If you have only five minutes,what can you do to take care of
yourself?
Okay, and and instantly, you'regoing to kind of feel like a
little bit of a pushback, alittle bit of a mental block,
kind of like, because your bodyis expecting like oh man,
there's, this is like lowdopamine reward and I don't have
any dopamine to begin with.
(25:50):
I can't do it.
I'm talking so simple, boxbreathing.
Take a step outside, stretch.
Eat peanut butter, grahamcrackers and drink a carton of
milk.
Chug some ice water.
Chug some sweet tea.
Listen to five minutes of yourfavorite beats, your favorite
tunes, and kind of get into itfor a minute.
(26:12):
If you only have five minutesof your favorite beats, your
favorite tunes, and kind of getinto it for a minute, if you
only have five minutes, what canyou do to take care of yourself
?
Just you and only you, fiveminutes.
The next one is the, the whatwould you tell a friend trick.
Okay, so if your friend wassaying to you pretty much what I
said to you this entire podcast, what are you going to tell
your friend?
What is the immediate advicethat you give your friend?
(26:33):
And you know you do it becausewe all do it for each other.
So the last time your friendcame to you and they were in the
exact same boat that you're inright now or that you're
thinking about, what did youtell them?
What was the first?
What did you tell them, besidescommiserating with them?
What did you tell them?
What was your advice to them topull out of it, to be able to
handle it and face the rest ofthe shift or whatever it is that
(26:56):
they need to face.
What would you tell a friend?
That's the second one.
The third one is the bareminimum.
Okay, if you can't do everything, what's one thing you can do?
Just one.
What's one thing you can do,especially focused on just
taking care of yourself.
Today Could be brushing yourteeth, brushing your hair,
filling your water bottle,drinking water, sitting down for
(27:19):
five minutes, shutting offsocial media because it's making
you insane.
The bare minimum.
If you can't get to everything,what is one thing you can do to
take care of yourself, and it'simportant that you note that
it's take care of yourself, andit's important that you, that
you note that it's taking careof yourself.
Okay, I'm not talking aboutwhat's one thing you can do to
get a chore off the list.
You need dopamine to do thatstuff and, in order to get
(27:42):
dopamine, to put some gas in thetank so your executive
functioning can function.
Doing something to take care ofyourself is how you generate
that.
So the bare minimum is, if youcan't do everything, all the
things, all the you know thesteps, the skills, the, even the
stuff that I listed in theother podcasts, because some of
(28:04):
that is multi-step.
So if you can't do all thatstuff, what's one thing that you
can do to take care of yourselfOne?
What's one thing that you cando to take care of yourself One?
And you know, sometimes myversion of self-care and taking
(28:27):
care of myself was actuallyhaving a good cry in the supply
closet.
It's like you know, I rememberone year the flu pandemic oh my
gosh, the flu epidemic wasreally bad in our area and I was
still somewhat of a newer nurseand we were running out of body
bags like weekly.
And I remember going into thesupply closet and I couldn't
(28:49):
find any and I just the sheeroverwhelm of the amount of
deaths like that we hadwitnessed this was years before
COVID and just just the factualreality of like I've run out of
body bags again, that we justrestocked these like three days
(29:10):
ago and it just I remember,think I remember resolutely
turning around and getting readyto walk out and then I thought
to myself I can't and I stoppedand I let the emotions build and
I, I re, I knew I could feelthem building, I knew I'm going
(29:32):
to burst into tears.
And I, I actually gave myselfpermission to do it.
So offstage, not anywhere nearparents or parents not anywhere
near patient families.
So offstage, not anywhere nearparents or parents not anywhere
near patient families.
None of that, nobody could seeme.
And I, I allowed myself, I gavemyself that grace, I gave
myself the space to do that.
And you know there's a lot ofmemes and a lot of dark humor
(29:56):
jokes about nurses crying in thesupply closet.
But sometimes that, sometimesgiving yourself the space to
express that emotion, is thatbare minimum of self-care moment
so that you can unload thatlevel and just kind of rebalance
and stabilize yourself.
It could also be cramming twopacks of graham crackers and
(30:18):
peanut butter in your face andwashing it down with a carton of
milk and then laughing so hardyou think you're going to
aspirate.
They both may work.
So those three super easy, fastthings you can do at any point
in time.
So this week, um, for our coffeecrystals, coffee divination
(30:41):
section, my drink of the weekIsn't a bougie coffee tea, fancy
kind of drink, it is an iced,crispy diet Coke.
All about it, all about it thisweek.
That's what it is for thehaters.
I love that for you, love thatfor you.
It is what it is.
(31:02):
If you are also enjoying yourcrispy diet Coke.
Diet Dr Pepper, full octane DrPepper, bless you Like.
If that's your drink this week,more power to you.
I raise a glass and yes,absolutely that.
A crispy diet Coke is my drinkof choice this week.
(31:24):
Um, diet Pepsi.
It's just, it's gotta be crispyand there has to be just the
right amount of ice.
The one I'm looking at rightnow, because I spent so much
time sitting here in nothingthough, like with no dopamine in
my brain, is actually watereddown, so now I have to go get a
new one.
But we're also going to pull thecrystal of the week.
(31:47):
I know, I know this episode hasbeen definitely more of a sit
down and we're laughing in thebreak room kind of vibe than my
more professional bestie.
Let me give you some tips andtricks and education, but I
always tell you at the start ofthe podcast in the history of
(32:07):
the podcast, this is authenticand, depending on the week and
what's going on, you may getthis version of me, you may get
the polished speaker that doesseminars and publishes
coursework, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
They're all me, and they're allauthentic and they're all
focused on the same thing, whichis connecting the over 5
(32:33):
million plus nurses that are outthere and creating community
and teaching you how to healyourself.
And creating community andteaching you how to heal
yourself, and if you guys, beingable to get a good laugh out of
my stories or me, does that foryou this week, please, please,
have at it.
I love it.
The more polished version of memay or may not be back next
(32:57):
week.
We shall see.
Right now, though, we're goingto see what our crystal is for
this week and see what, seewhat's there, see what the deck
has to tell us.
This is absolutely still myfavorite section of the podcast.
I've gotten some feedback that Ishould do some one-off episodes
(33:21):
that are just me reading, and I, you know I'm here for it.
I'm so here for it.
So, rose quartz I want itsadmiration.
This, actually, I think, isgoing to be perfection, because
rose quartz is so significantwhen it comes to healing, and I
(33:46):
think for this one, rose Quartzand admiration is self-love,
deep inner healing and infinitepeace.
Oh, mirror, mirror on the wall.
It is time to listen to RoseQuartz's wake up call.
This card is your reminder toprioritize and nurture the most
important relationship in yourlife, the one you have with
(34:07):
yourself.
I'm sure you've heard thatcomparison is the thief of joy.
So ditch that game ofcomparison.
Your true worth ain't reflectedin those likes and followers
through a screen.
It's reflected in the mirror.
Take a moment to put down thephone, gaze into the mirror and
appreciate the uniquemasterpiece that's reflected in
the mirror.
Take a moment to put down thephone, gaze into the mirror and
(34:28):
appreciate the uniquemasterpiece that's staring back
at you.
Your story, your journey, yourvibe that's the real deal, not
those filtered facades.
Loving yourself isn't vanity.
So let Rose Korth guide youtowards loving yourself
unconditionally andunapologetically.
And I really, if you guys, maybeI'll put a poll up on some of
the show notes there are actualpolls on there and maybe I'll
(34:48):
put a poll up this week onsocial media asking about
whether you guys agree with thefeedback or not.
If I should do just like aone-off or like a special
edition episodes where I'm justdoing reads and talking about,
you know, current nursing trends, maybe I'll do it with some
guests.
I do have some special gueststhat are coming up that are
(35:12):
phenomenal.
Not all of the guests on thepodcast are nurses, because I
believe that all of us in theprovision of health care can
learn from each other and teacheach other and support each
other and form community.
My main purpose and focus ishealing nurses, but the way to
do that is to incorporate asmuch as I can, and here we have
(35:33):
a card flying out at us is toincorporate as much as I can
from all of our colleagues andother professions.
To incorporate as much as I canfrom all of our colleagues and
other professions.
So we got a very interestingcard come flying out for this
week.
Now don't panic when you hear it.
A lot of people panic when theyhear it and it's death, it's
(35:56):
obsidian, and death signifiesendings, change and release,
while obsidian is grounding,protection and transformation.
So out with the old and in withthe new.
Don't freak out.
The death card is actually theend of a phase or a cycle that's
no longer serving you.
Release past attachments so youcan focus on what's ahead of
(36:17):
you.
This fits in so perfectly withour crystal prescription for
this week and the focus on themirror and self-love.
It fits in so perfectly.
So grab your crystals and yourcrispy diet coke or crispy Dr
Pepper, whatever it is for you,and don't get overwhelmed.
(36:39):
Don't get overwhelmed witheverything flying around If you
can only do the bare minimum, ifyou only have five minutes.
Even thinking from theperspective of what would you
tell your bestie if they came toyou and said this is where I'm
at, I've got nothing.
What are you going to say tothem?
And right now you know ifyou're running on fumes, you're
(37:03):
not alone.
You're not failing, by no meansare you.
You are a human being doingtheir best, and that is more
than enough.
So I want you guys to focus onthose three simple things that I
said.
I want you to go scan that QRcode on the website or look for
(37:24):
it on socials.
It'll be posted.
I want to hear your peanutbutter, graham cracker and milk
moment.
I do.
I don't care how outrageous itis.
I can keep it anonymous.
I cannot keep it anonymous.
You can give yourself a coolname, whatever you want, but I
want to hear about your momentbecause I guarantee that when I
share them on the next podcast,somebody listening to it is
(37:47):
going to, is going to getsomething out of it, is going to
be able to use it.
It's going to save their shift.
You never, you never know whoyou're going to impact.
You never know how importantyour stories are going to be and
currently we're in like 70cities around the world and
we've only been.
This podcast has only beenrunning for about four and a
half weeks, so we are reachingnurses all around the world and
(38:11):
I want to hear your stories.
Scan the QR code and tell megive me the tea.
I need to know what you weredoing in the nutrition room.
If it's X rated, I may or maynot read it, but that's it,
besties.
Um, I really want you to takecare of yourselves.
You can do this.
I know that today.
I know that this time period, itfeels overwhelming, even if
(38:32):
you're not in the United States,but you're watching the United
States.
You might be just asoverwhelmed as we are, but I
promise this episode.
This episode is it.
Find your peanut butter, grahamcracker and milk moment and
take care of yourself, and Ilove your faces.
This is your ritual.
(38:53):
Nurse Reva, thanks for tuningin to the Ritual Nurse Podcast.
You can find us wherever youlisten to podcasts, so don't
forget to subscribe and stayconnected For all our social
links, free education classes,blogs and podcast notes.
With resources head over totcthorg.
Until next time, love yourfaces.
Welcome to the Ritual Nurse, where healing meets
humor, science and a touch ofmagic.
Hello, welcome back to theRitual Nurse Podcast.
This is Reva, your Ritual Nurse, and this is oh man, episode
six, I think.
So this is really kind of theepisode all about when nurses
(00:36):
feel like they have nothing leftto give.
Aka the oh fuck, I'm running onfumes episode.
Aka the oh fuck, I'm running onfumes episode.
I am overwhelmed.
Folks, besties, besties.
(00:56):
It is 1922, on a Tuesday evening, and this podcast publishes at
8 am in the morning.
Now, normally I'm usually a fewepisodes ahead.
There's been a lot going on andI am not a few episodes ahead.
I have to be in the hospital at0615 tomorrow morning.
So, yeah, what am I doing?
What am I doing?
I have ADHD and what I'm doingis that overwhelmed, overwhelmed
(01:21):
burnout, last minute thing thatwe do when you are struggling
to find the dopamine to get thestuff done that you want to do,
that you actually love doing,that you get enjoyment from, and
you're so frustrated becauseyou just can't find the dopamine
to do it.
What does this have to do withnursing?
(01:43):
Pretty much everything.
I'm going to talk to you guyslike you're literally sitting
right here next to me, becausemost of the nurses that I know
and run into are neurodivergentin one form or another.
Most of us just are.
I don't know if it's the careerthat draws us in, but this is
going to be a real, raw andhonest conversation about what
(02:06):
it feels like to be drowning ineverything happening in the
world and in the workplace andmaybe in your personal life, and
what the hell to do about itthat doesn't make you more
overwhelmed just contemplatingit.
That's one of the problems thatwe get into.
It's kind of like a cycle.
We get overwhelmed and we fisharound for a way out of it.
(02:32):
We look for something to giveus dopamine for inspiration, for
, you know, even self-helpthings or tips, or, you know, to
get us over the slump or topull us out of being overwhelmed
or tired or burned out.
And you sit there staring at itand trying to contemplate it,
because just the thought oftrying to do it, of trying to
(02:55):
understand it and comprehend itand put it to work, is
overwhelming.
So this episode isn't going tobe overwhelming.
We're going to just talk aboutwhat it's like right now in real
life.
I mean, what do we do, you know, when we have nothing left to
(03:18):
give, when we're staring downanother shift, another crisis,
another day of exhaustion and wefeel like we're about to
collapse, like let's talk aboutthat.
We're gonna have to inject thiswith humor because I feel like
that's what a lot of us do.
(03:40):
People's therapists might wantto chime in in the comment about
what kind of trauma responsethat is, but I personally have
been running on coffee and vibesof one form or another and
sheer spite for about two weeks.
(04:02):
I want to say at least justfeeling like somebody turned the
treadmill on just fast enoughthat I'm worried my next step
won't be fast enough.
Kind of catch.
Kind of catch the feeling thatI'm, that I'm putting out there.
So I don't know.
(04:23):
I mean, when we look at what wedo, when we're burned out, I
guess there is a difference inhow we handle things at work as
nurses and how we handle thingspersonally at home.
I mean, for some of us it mightnot be different, but I think
for a lot of us it is.
And I think at work we tend toput our scrubs on, straighten
(04:44):
our stuff and march out to thefloor.
You know, get our get report,get our priorities together and
keep going and I think at homewe expend any possible energy
and dopamine and spoons that wehave doing that at work.
By the time that we get home Ifeel like we have doing that at
work.
(05:05):
By the time that we get home Ifeel like we have a really
serious deficit, like weborrowed from the energy and the
dopamine that we would have hadin reserve for when you get off
shift or when you have tohandle, you know, adulting and
all of that other BS that'shappening outside of work, that
by the time we're done with ourshift we're actually in debt.
We're at a negative startingpoint compared to where we would
(05:30):
have and that really puts us asnurses in a bind because we
have to turn around and do itall over again.
Most of us are nurturing andresponsibility carriers and
business handlers outside of ournursing shifts, just like we
are at work.
So the burden and not burden,like that's really kind of the
(05:51):
wrong way to phrase it but theload, the weight bearing load
that we have, may changecontextually slightly, but the
pressure I don't think does fora lot of us.
So if we're starting off at adeficit and we are heading into
what is supposed to be asemi-productive and then restful
(06:15):
point in time and we're alreadyat a deficit.
Heading into that, I feel likeit puts us in a spot where we
can't be productive and thenthat kicks us into a point where
we can't be productive and thenthat kicks us into a point, a
point where we can't actuallyrest, we can't actually
recuperate, we can't actuallylet down.
And I'm going to I've talkedabout this with with many of my
(06:40):
nursing best friends, andthey're not just nursing best
friends, they're actually lifebest friends.
I think many of us are also inthat same boat.
We're our best friends andthey're not just nursing best
friends, they're actually lifebest friends.
I think many of us are also inthat same boat where our best
friends happen to be nurses.
And the burnout and the cycleof burnout for us and I'm not
talking about the global burnoutin terms of the buzzwords and
(07:01):
stuff that are used on socialmedia I mean real raw, personal.
If I have to answer that calllight one more time, it's I'm
going to crash out.
And it's not because we don'tlove our job, it's not because
we're not trained.
It's literally because thelevel of dopamine that we're
functioning with is makingnormal requests and normal bids
on our energy and time feel somonumentally overwhelming that
(07:23):
our response to them is alsoexponentially out of balance
with what it normally would be.
Instead of responding at a one,we respond at a 10 or a
negative 10, as it were.
But in talking about this withmy friends, one of the things
that we all kind of have incommon is we have a thing that
(07:47):
we do during shift.
It varies per nurse and you'llhave to excuse me, my throat is
a little bit raspy.
I got over being sick last week.
I don't know if it was audibleon the podcast last week.
That was filmed a little bitprior to last week, so I don't
think it was.
But there's a thing that we doduring shift and for every nurse
(08:10):
it differs.
And for me some of the moststressful times in nursing had a
lot to do with, contextually,how experienced I was in nursing
, the field of nursing and theenvironment that I worked in,
the work culture that I workedin.
In fact, the work culture thatI worked in was more stressful
(08:31):
than the type of nursing that Iwas doing and more stressful
than the fact that I was a newernurse doing that type of
nursing.
So the work culture that youwork in can actually affect you
far more profoundly than thestress of the actual job duties
that you're doing.
But one of the things thatmyself and another friend of
(08:55):
mine used to do besides cry inthe supply closet which I think
we've all had those moments butwe used to sit in the patient
kitchen, or the nutrition roomas it was called, and eat like
two packs of graham crackerswith, you know, the little tub
of peanut butter.
If you worked at a really poshhospital, you actually had the
(09:16):
little jiff tub.
If you didn't, it had like awhite label and it was just kind
of like pasty, kind of genericpeanut butter.
However, that on some grahamcrackers with the little carton
of milk for some reason, wasjust it, just it hit it.
Just it was everything that weneeded.
(09:38):
And we would sit there andinvariably could have been the
glucose, could have been thecarbohydrates you know a little
bit of sugar rush, who knows butinvariably we would just start
laughing, the kind of laughterthat you're laughing way harder
than than what was funny or noteven funny, like like you would
(09:59):
just start laughing almost kindof maniacally, like really hard
laughing, and then the otherperson would start laughing and
because they were laughing, thenkind of maniacally, like really
hard laughing, and then theother person would start
laughing and because they werelaughing, then you would laugh
and it was almost kind of like aphysical release of tension and
emotion in laughter and I thinkthe act of laughing itself
(10:21):
generated dopamine.
We got a sugar boost and someprotein and washed it down with,
you know, milk from the patientkitchen, the nutrition room,
whatever yours is called.
Then we would go back out tothe floor and face the rest of
the shift, the rest of ourshifts for that week or our
(10:45):
mandatory overtime which ourfacility had at the time and it
just it allowed us to survive.
This is, oh my gosh, this is10,.
(11:12):
This is a decade ago.
11 years ago later, I findmyself in a completely different
era of nursing, balancingcompletely different things, and
I still need my graham cracker,peanut butter and milk moment.
(11:33):
I still need that moment,hiding away for a minute in the
nutrition room, scarfing downpeanut butter, graham crackers
and a little bit of milk and ahealthy dose of laughter, aka
tension relief of some kind.
I still find myself needingthat moment.
So I don't think that it issolely contextually, like just
(11:53):
linked to that environment orthe ICU or anything like that.
I think we all have a story ora moment or a memory from times
in our nursing life that held alot of stress could be even
right now and we were facingburnout on a daily basis.
(12:17):
So that's the other weird thingabout burnout.
People talk about burnout andthey use it as a buzzword
constantly and over the yearsthat I've been researching it,
burnout, when you read it inresearch and the literature and
you read it in social media andpeople put it all over
advertising campaigns and stuffyou know as a buzzword for media
(12:38):
conversion and things like that, it becomes anesthetized and
intrinsic, inherent meaning toour profession and our culture.
But these words just slowlylose their depth and importance
(12:59):
with the amount of times that weare besieged by them on social
media.
And when it comes to burnout,people have this idea that
burnout is this condition thatyou get, like chronic bronchitis
or walking pneumonia orsomething, and burnout, yes, it
can be chronic, but it's more soacute episodes of just an
(13:25):
absolute negative functionallevel of the neurochemicals that
you need for your executivefunctioning to even flip the
switch, to even even have aflicker of power happening up
there and and driving yourchoices and your actions and
(13:46):
what you're doing.
Your executive function is just.
Function is just, it's justunplugged.
And burnout is acute andepisodic as our neurochemicals
fluctuate up and down and youreally can effectively combat it
almost the same way that youwould combat a mineral
(14:09):
deficiency or a vitamindeficiency.
That doesn't have to do with acongenital component or a
physiological component, it justhas to do with access,
absorption, bioavailability,things like that.
When it comes to burnout, it'sthe same thing.
That graham cracker, peanutbutter and milk moment is your
combat, that's your moment.
(14:31):
And whatever moment you have inyour memory when I started
talking about our peanut butter,graham cracker and milk moment,
whatever made you startchuckling, whatever made your
you grown and remember like, oh,back to the back, to the horror
of it, that's your moment.
That got you through.
(14:51):
Horror of it, that's yourmoment.
That got you through and that'sthe moment that you need to
recreate to get through it now.
I think right now, chips andsalsa and, you know, a crispy
diet Coke is my moment.
I don't even know.
Yeah, for for the haters, Idefinitely.
(15:11):
I know we're.
We're nurses, we're supposed totalk about hydration and hand
hygiene and updating yourwhiteboards, and I we also know
as nurses that we're the lastpeople to hydrate.
We usually we sure we alwaysupdate our whiteboards.
Of course we do.
And hand hygiene, yes, that'ssomething that we actually don't
(15:34):
mess around with.
But hydration, we're lucky ifwe listen to our own advice.
Really, we're lucky if welisten to our own advice.
But I got to tell you, when youcompare your peanut butter,
honey and milk moment to whatyou're facing right now or maybe
maybe those moments are rightnow right now Maybe that's not a
distant memory for you.
(15:55):
Maybe you're a new grad, maybeyou're not a new grad but a
newer nurse, or maybe you're anurse that's moved into a
different field and you'refacing stress that you've never
felt before.
Maybe you're preparing to leavethe field or advance in the
field or change something aboutwhere you are as a nurse,
professionally, and the amountof stress that you feel is
profound.
Right now I am finishingadvanced coursework, I am almost
(16:20):
done with my doctorate and I'malso working full time, and
everything else that's going onin the world right now is
legitimately overwhelming.
And so this kind of stress andthis kind of balancing act,
while vastly different from whatI was looking at 10 years ago,
still impacts me in much thesame way, and I'm still looking
(16:42):
for that peanut butter, honeyand milk moment.
Even if it's chips and salsaand a crispy diet Coke, it's
still generating the same thing.
Don't sell yourself short.
If those are your moments, thencling to them, implement them
as often as you can in order toreplicate that same sense of
(17:02):
tension relief and dopaminerejuvenation, to get you through
it, to lift your chin, tostraighten your shoulders, to
allow you to take those nextsteps forward.
We are at the midpoint of thepodcast at the moment and on
(17:22):
this break, I really want youguys to think about what is your
peanut butter, honey and milkmoment?
I know I can't be the only oneno, seriously, for the peanut
butter, honey and milk thing.
I know I can't be the onlynurse I mean, I wasn't at our
hospital, that was a thing thatmany of us actually did and I
(17:44):
know that a couple of my friends, specifically one of the ones
I'm talking about listens to thepodcast and she's either going
to text me or she's just goingto laugh out loud when she hears
it.
But think about what yourmoment is.
If you go to tcthorg and youclick on the tab for the Ritual
Nurse Podcast, there is a QRcode.
(18:05):
When you scan that QR code,I've put up a form for people to
submit their stories.
If you want to be on thepodcast, there's tons of options
there in terms of beinganonymous.
You know what you want to share, what you don't want to share,
if you want a response, if youwant to give feedback,
everything is right there on theform and it's accessible with
(18:25):
the QR code.
But I want to hear what yourmoment is.
I want to hear what your momentis because I guarantee that you
are not alone.
I guarantee Now there may besome of you that hear what I'm
saying and are incredulous, likewhat the hell?
What the fuck is a peanutbutter, honey and milk moment?
You know what, bestie, I'm soloving for you that you don't
(18:48):
know and you haven't had one yet.
I love that.
However, take notes because ifyou're a nurse, chances are
chances are statistically veryhigh that you're going to run
into situations or work contextsas a professional nurse or
changes in nursing that you'regoing to find your moment.
So take notes because I Ireally think that that while,
(19:14):
yes, also sharing a laugh, thatwe can learn from each other.
And maybe some of the momentsyou send in are going to be my
next one.
You know, maybe it's not goingto be chips and salsa and a
crispy diet Coke.
Maybe it's not going to bepeanut butter, honey and milk in
the nutrition room, you know,oh dark 30 in the morning while
(19:35):
you're just trying to survive.
Maybe it's not going to bethose.
Maybe it's going to besomething that you guys sent in.
But I want to know, I want tohear from you.
So scan that QR code.
It'll be posted on socials,it's on the website.
Scan that QR code and let meknow.
And if you are on the breakright now, if you are heading
(19:56):
back to your shift, my goodness,may it be so smooth, may you
have the best orders, May itjust be absolutely lovely, and
we'll see you on the next partof the episode, when you're done
, on your next break or on yourway home, if you're going to
(20:16):
stick around.
The short little musical breakis just there for you guys to
know to hit pause and get a cupof coffee stretch.
When we come back, we're goingto talk about a little bit of
science.
That kind of explains why we dowhat we do a little bit.
You know I'm always a sciencegirl.
This always has to do withscience because I know you guys
(20:37):
all want to know the information.
And then we're going to do likesome super fast resets.
Like I said, there's nothing inthis episode of this podcast
that's going to be overwhelmingor challenging to implement,
because right now, bestie, Ican't.
So listen to a little bit ofmusic and we'll be right back,
(21:03):
alrighty.
Thank you so much for unpausingand coming back to the podcast.
So when we talk about thescience, of what is going on
when we have our peanut butterhoney or peanut butter honey,
peanut butter, graham crackerand milk moments in the
nutrition room at oh dark, 30 ofyour shift, while you're
literally just trying to survive, like you're, you are fighting
(21:26):
for your life to just getthrough that shift and survive.
To just get through that shiftand survive, what is going on?
Like what is going on with usneurologically and physically in
our bodies, that this kind ofstress is causing almost kind of
a hard reset or a blackout whenit comes to our executive
(21:48):
functioning.
And it all has to do with ourneurochemicals, it has to do
with our stress response.
It has to do with the uptickand how fast we are absorbing
our neurochemicals and the lowerrate at which we are putting
out the neurochemicals that weneed and we end up with pretty
much no gas in the tank.
Now there's a lot ofneurodivergent people out there
(22:09):
whose brains function verysimilar to that.
They have a high rate of uptakewhen it comes of absorption
when it comes to theirneurotransmitters.
Adhd is one of those and, likeI was talking about at the
beginning of the podcast, youguys, I sat here for like two
and a half hours staring at mymicrophone.
I love doing this.
(22:30):
You guys have no idea how muchI love making this podcast and
to know that I'm sitting here ina spot where I have absolutely
everything I need to do,something that I genuinely love
doing and I couldn't hit recordto save my life at the moment.
That blackout when it comes toexecutive functioning has a lot
(22:54):
to do with how my brain ishandling my neurochemicals and
the level of neurochemicals thatmy brain is producing and
maintaining, and when we'refaced with repetitive stressful
situations and crises and levelsof responsibility at the same
time, a lot of us have that same, similar response you burn out.
(23:17):
You have literally no fuel inthe tank when it comes to
neurotransmitters andneurochemicals to actually power
that executive functioningthrough.
So it's not that you don't wantto, it's not that you're lazy,
it's not that you're doingsomething wrong or that you're
not functional or you can't getyour shit together.
You just don't have anything inthe tank at the moment.
(23:39):
And that's why that peanutbutter, graham cracker and milk
moment works, all that laughter,that sense of camaraderie, the
boost from the sugar, theglucose.
That's why that little fiveminute moment works, because it
(24:03):
replenishes the gas in the tankand your executive functioning
can turn back on and you canactually make the physical
movements of the feet moving tothe door, back to the floor to
take care of your patients andcontinue on with your shift
there.
It's very real, it'sphysiological, it's not in your
head, you're not imagining it,it's very real.
And it's not just at work.
(24:23):
You know, like I said,sometimes when we burn out at
work and then we go to head home, we're heading home and
adulting is still there.
I didn't sign up for this.
I don't know, I don't know whodid, but it's garbage and I
don't.
It's negative one out of 10.
Do I suggest it?
But the adulting is still thereand so you have
responsibilities, you havetimelines and you also have to
(24:45):
get rest in so that you canactually get up and try to do
this whole thing all over again.
And when you leave shift andyou've been burned out on a
shift, you're you're going intothis next segment of lifing in a
deficit, basically.
So you're starting off witheven less than you had to begin
with, which was probably low Ifyou're at the point where you've
(25:08):
burned out during your shift.
So what are some really quickresets and I mean quick, like
when we're talking aboutoverwhelm?
This has got to be like a fiveminute thing I can do that does
not require hardly any dopamineor executive functioning or even
like operable mouth, wordsmoving, and there's a couple
things to look at, so one ofthem is called the five minute
(25:29):
rule.
If you have only five minutes,what can you do to take care of
yourself?
Okay, and and instantly, you'regoing to kind of feel like a
little bit of a pushback, alittle bit of a mental block,
kind of like, because your bodyis expecting like oh man,
there's, this is like lowdopamine reward and I don't have
any dopamine to begin with.
(25:50):
I can't do it.
I'm talking so simple, boxbreathing.
Take a step outside, stretch.
Eat peanut butter, grahamcrackers and drink a carton of
milk.
Chug some ice water.
Chug some sweet tea.
Listen to five minutes of yourfavorite beats, your favorite
tunes, and kind of get into itfor a minute.
(26:12):
If you only have five minutesof your favorite beats, your
favorite tunes, and kind of getinto it for a minute, if you
only have five minutes, what canyou do to take care of yourself
?
Just you and only you, fiveminutes.
The next one is the, the whatwould you tell a friend trick.
Okay, so if your friend wassaying to you pretty much what I
said to you this entire podcast, what are you going to tell
your friend?
What is the immediate advicethat you give your friend?
(26:33):
And you know you do it becausewe all do it for each other.
So the last time your friendcame to you and they were in the
exact same boat that you're inright now or that you're
thinking about, what did youtell them?
What was the first?
What did you tell them, besidescommiserating with them?
What did you tell them?
What was your advice to them topull out of it, to be able to
handle it and face the rest ofthe shift or whatever it is that
(26:56):
they need to face.
What would you tell a friend?
That's the second one.
The third one is the bareminimum.
Okay, if you can't do everything, what's one thing you can do?
Just one.
What's one thing you can do,especially focused on just
taking care of yourself.
Today Could be brushing yourteeth, brushing your hair,
filling your water bottle,drinking water, sitting down for
(27:19):
five minutes, shutting offsocial media because it's making
you insane.
The bare minimum.
If you can't get to everything,what is one thing you can do to
take care of yourself, and it'simportant that you note that
it's take care of yourself, andit's important that you, that
you note that it's taking careof yourself.
Okay, I'm not talking aboutwhat's one thing you can do to
get a chore off the list.
You need dopamine to do thatstuff and, in order to get
(27:42):
dopamine, to put some gas in thetank so your executive
functioning can function.
Doing something to take care ofyourself is how you generate
that.
So the bare minimum is, if youcan't do everything, all the
things, all the you know thesteps, the skills, the, even the
stuff that I listed in theother podcasts, because some of
(28:04):
that is multi-step.
So if you can't do all thatstuff, what's one thing that you
can do to take care of yourselfOne?
What's one thing that you cando to take care of yourself One?
And you know, sometimes myversion of self-care and taking
(28:27):
care of myself was actuallyhaving a good cry in the supply
closet.
It's like you know, I rememberone year the flu pandemic oh my
gosh, the flu epidemic wasreally bad in our area and I was
still somewhat of a newer nurseand we were running out of body
bags like weekly.
And I remember going into thesupply closet and I couldn't
(28:49):
find any and I just the sheeroverwhelm of the amount of
deaths like that we hadwitnessed this was years before
COVID and just just the factualreality of like I've run out of
body bags again, that we justrestocked these like three days
(29:10):
ago and it just I remember,think I remember resolutely
turning around and getting readyto walk out and then I thought
to myself I can't and I stoppedand I let the emotions build and
I, I re, I knew I could feelthem building, I knew I'm going
(29:32):
to burst into tears.
And I, I actually gave myselfpermission to do it.
So offstage, not anywhere nearparents or parents not anywhere
near patient families.
So offstage, not anywhere nearparents or parents not anywhere
near patient families.
None of that, nobody could seeme.
And I, I allowed myself, I gavemyself that grace, I gave
myself the space to do that.
And you know there's a lot ofmemes and a lot of dark humor
(29:56):
jokes about nurses crying in thesupply closet.
But sometimes that, sometimesgiving yourself the space to
express that emotion, is thatbare minimum of self-care moment
so that you can unload thatlevel and just kind of rebalance
and stabilize yourself.
It could also be cramming twopacks of graham crackers and
(30:18):
peanut butter in your face andwashing it down with a carton of
milk and then laughing so hardyou think you're going to
aspirate.
They both may work.
So those three super easy, fastthings you can do at any point
in time.
So this week, um, for our coffeecrystals, coffee divination
(30:41):
section, my drink of the weekIsn't a bougie coffee tea, fancy
kind of drink, it is an iced,crispy diet Coke.
All about it, all about it thisweek.
That's what it is for thehaters.
I love that for you, love thatfor you.
It is what it is.
(31:02):
If you are also enjoying yourcrispy diet Coke.
Diet Dr Pepper, full octane DrPepper, bless you Like.
If that's your drink this week,more power to you.
I raise a glass and yes,absolutely that.
A crispy diet Coke is my drinkof choice this week.
(31:24):
Um, diet Pepsi.
It's just, it's gotta be crispyand there has to be just the
right amount of ice.
The one I'm looking at rightnow, because I spent so much
time sitting here in nothingthough, like with no dopamine in
my brain, is actually watereddown, so now I have to go get a
new one.
But we're also going to pull thecrystal of the week.
(31:47):
I know, I know this episode hasbeen definitely more of a sit
down and we're laughing in thebreak room kind of vibe than my
more professional bestie.
Let me give you some tips andtricks and education, but I
always tell you at the start ofthe podcast in the history of
(32:07):
the podcast, this is authenticand, depending on the week and
what's going on, you may getthis version of me, you may get
the polished speaker that doesseminars and publishes
coursework, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
They're all me, and they're allauthentic and they're all
focused on the same thing, whichis connecting the over 5
(32:33):
million plus nurses that are outthere and creating community
and teaching you how to healyourself.
And creating community andteaching you how to heal
yourself, and if you guys, beingable to get a good laugh out of
my stories or me, does that foryou this week, please, please,
have at it.
I love it.
The more polished version of memay or may not be back next
(32:57):
week.
We shall see.
Right now, though, we're goingto see what our crystal is for
this week and see what, seewhat's there, see what the deck
has to tell us.
This is absolutely still myfavorite section of the podcast.
I've gotten some feedback that Ishould do some one-off episodes
(33:21):
that are just me reading, and I, you know I'm here for it.
I'm so here for it.
So, rose quartz I want itsadmiration.
This, actually, I think, isgoing to be perfection, because
rose quartz is so significantwhen it comes to healing, and I
(33:46):
think for this one, rose Quartzand admiration is self-love,
deep inner healing and infinitepeace.
Oh, mirror, mirror on the wall.
It is time to listen to RoseQuartz's wake up call.
This card is your reminder toprioritize and nurture the most
important relationship in yourlife, the one you have with
(34:07):
yourself.
I'm sure you've heard thatcomparison is the thief of joy.
So ditch that game ofcomparison.
Your true worth ain't reflectedin those likes and followers
through a screen.
It's reflected in the mirror.
Take a moment to put down thephone, gaze into the mirror and
appreciate the uniquemasterpiece that's reflected in
the mirror.
Take a moment to put down thephone, gaze into the mirror and
(34:28):
appreciate the uniquemasterpiece that's staring back
at you.
Your story, your journey, yourvibe that's the real deal, not
those filtered facades.
Loving yourself isn't vanity.
So let Rose Korth guide youtowards loving yourself
unconditionally andunapologetically.
And I really, if you guys, maybeI'll put a poll up on some of
the show notes there are actualpolls on there and maybe I'll
(34:48):
put a poll up this week onsocial media asking about
whether you guys agree with thefeedback or not.
If I should do just like aone-off or like a special
edition episodes where I'm justdoing reads and talking about,
you know, current nursing trends, maybe I'll do it with some
guests.
I do have some special gueststhat are coming up that are
(35:12):
phenomenal.
Not all of the guests on thepodcast are nurses, because I
believe that all of us in theprovision of health care can
learn from each other and teacheach other and support each
other and form community.
My main purpose and focus ishealing nurses, but the way to
do that is to incorporate asmuch as I can, and here we have
(35:33):
a card flying out at us is toincorporate as much as I can
from all of our colleagues andother professions.
To incorporate as much as I canfrom all of our colleagues and
other professions.
So we got a very interestingcard come flying out for this
week.
Now don't panic when you hear it.
A lot of people panic when theyhear it and it's death, it's
(35:56):
obsidian, and death signifiesendings, change and release,
while obsidian is grounding,protection and transformation.
So out with the old and in withthe new.
Don't freak out.
The death card is actually theend of a phase or a cycle that's
no longer serving you.
Release past attachments so youcan focus on what's ahead of
(36:17):
you.
This fits in so perfectly withour crystal prescription for
this week and the focus on themirror and self-love.
It fits in so perfectly.
So grab your crystals and yourcrispy diet coke or crispy Dr
Pepper, whatever it is for you,and don't get overwhelmed.
(36:39):
Don't get overwhelmed witheverything flying around If you
can only do the bare minimum, ifyou only have five minutes.
Even thinking from theperspective of what would you
tell your bestie if they came toyou and said this is where I'm
at, I've got nothing.
What are you going to say tothem?
And right now you know ifyou're running on fumes, you're
(37:03):
not alone.
You're not failing, by no meansare you.
You are a human being doingtheir best, and that is more
than enough.
So I want you guys to focus onthose three simple things that I
said.
I want you to go scan that QRcode on the website or look for
(37:24):
it on socials.
It'll be posted.
I want to hear your peanutbutter, graham cracker and milk
moment.
I do.
I don't care how outrageous itis.
I can keep it anonymous.
I cannot keep it anonymous.
You can give yourself a coolname, whatever you want, but I
want to hear about your momentbecause I guarantee that when I
share them on the next podcast,somebody listening to it is
(37:47):
going to, is going to getsomething out of it, is going to
be able to use it.
It's going to save their shift.
You never, you never know whoyou're going to impact.
You never know how importantyour stories are going to be and
currently we're in like 70cities around the world and
we've only been.
This podcast has only beenrunning for about four and a
half weeks, so we are reachingnurses all around the world and
(38:11):
I want to hear your stories.
Scan the QR code and tell megive me the tea.
I need to know what you weredoing in the nutrition room.
If it's X rated, I may or maynot read it, but that's it,
besties.
Um, I really want you to takecare of yourselves.
You can do this.
I know that today.
I know that this time period, itfeels overwhelming, even if
(38:32):
you're not in the United States,but you're watching the United
States.
You might be just asoverwhelmed as we are, but I
promise this episode.
This episode is it.
Find your peanut butter, grahamcracker and milk moment and
take care of yourself, and Ilove your faces.
This is your ritual.
(38:53):
Nurse Reva, thanks for tuningin to the Ritual Nurse Podcast.
You can find us wherever youlisten to podcasts, so don't
forget to subscribe and stayconnected For all our social
links, free education classes,blogs and podcast notes.
With resources head over totcthorg.
Until next time, love yourfaces.
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