PsychSense: Sensible Psychological Solutions

Helping Professionals Especially Women, Must Learn to Take Care of Themselves.

This is much easier to say then do! Although there are more men in the helping professions today, in nursing and social work the vast majority are still women.

Womens’ Sense of self is Often One of Caretaker and Nurturer, and Society Enforces This View.

Nurturing and care taking have long been associated with women in general, and nurses and social workers in particular. Empathy is a mainstay of the helping professions, particularly the “women’s professions” such as nursing and social work. Nurturance has historically been intertwined with, and seen as a major function of nursing. Nursing has been called the “practice of professional nurturing”.

Who Comes First You or Me?

When a woman must choose between caring for herself and caring for another, social pressure fosters the choice of nurturing of others. Women often experiences conflict when faced with what may seem like the continual choice of caring for others or caring for themselves. It is not unusual for women to have difficulty saying no or setting limits, thus ending up doing more than they really want to. Women frequently nurture everyone but themselves and end up feeling conflicted, unappreciated, resentful, and burned out. Women already struggle with these issues, but this is much worse for those in the professional role of nurturer/helper.

Some Important Reminders for Women in the Helping Professions

• Take care of yourself, it will relieve some of your stress and allow you to better take care of others
• Learn and use self-empathy and self-nurturing techniques.
• Try understanding and treating yourself with the same care you give your patients or clients.
• Allow yourself to say no, offer alternatives, or even avoid situations if you feel unable to say no.
• Increase your self-awareness
• Plan for a routine to help ease the transition from work to home. (Do not use alcohol to unwind)
• Do not expect all your feelings of self-esteem to come from your profession or your nurturing.
• Develop outside interests that have nothing to do with helping others!
• Try to avoid over-identification with patients.
• Recognize and allow your own feelings
• Develop relationships outside of work where you can talk about your feelings.
• Practice stress reduction techniques (exercise, relaxation, meditation, distraction)
• Plan for regular breaks, days off, conferences, and vacations.
• Talk with colleagues to not only complain, but also to also make plans for burnout prevention, take charge where you can.
• Know when to say “enough”, consider transfer or another area of work if necessary.

Burnout Can and Must be Prevented.

Recognition of your own level of stress and self-care are the keys to stress reduction and burnout prevention. When self-care is a priority, helping others can be the rewarding successful career it is meant to be.

Ironically, beginning signs of burnout can have an unexpected positive influence in your life; if you don’t let it go too long. These signs can act as a catalyst for you to make a much-needed change. They can be the impetus to move on to different areas of your profession or even more rewarding careers. Caregivers in search of something more have become entrepreneurs (the writer included). They have developed many ways of working as a helper that allow them more reward both financial and personal, and more control over their careers and their lives.

Take Care of Yourself!