Buckle up, buttercup! We are talking about dealing with stress during election week.
Since let's be real many of us are still gonna have to go to work.
This year has not been an easy one for nurses.
The pandemic not only changed our day to day lives, but drastically changed the workplace for many of us.
As a profession we navigated a time where supplies to keep us safe were low, patients were terrified, and there were more questions than answers,
We social distanced, we became teachers to our children, educated other people on how to stop the spread of infection, and worried about the second wave.
Now this week are moving into another time of uncertainty with a lot of emotions on high.
And while people are pointing at bots as being the problem, as a person who has Trump and Biden supporters on her feed everyday, the worst rhetoric I have seen is from real people.
And you probably are sitting there starting to feeling like I cannot deal with this on top of the stress I have at work.
So today I want to share with you a strategy to help you deal with election week especially if you are nurse who is already dealing with overwhelmed and stress in the workplace.
1. You do not have to discuss who you voted for.
If someone asks who you voted for, you do not have to say or share unless you want to.
While it is totally okay to share who you voted for, it is 100% okay if you don't want to discuss it.
My tricks to get away from it:
A simple way to deflect you can do this by: "Yes I voted and ... (insert something to change the subject).
If they keep pushing for answer, you can set a boundary. "Listen, I don't want to talk about who I voted for, and if you ask me again I will (insert consequence ie get off the phone.)
If it's happening in the workplace, speak to the person who you report to. There are usually policies about politics in the workplace that you have a right
2. Stop trying to change people on the internet's mind.
While Facebook and Instagram are two ways we have kept connected with our family, friends, and colleagues during the pandemic, the rhetoric can become toxic.
I love being able to connect with some people more often, but then some that I intentionally only see on rare occasions on purpose because I don't want to hear their opinion.
So instead of spending hours arguing on social media, here are my tricks to deal with it:
- Snooze and unfollow people.
During the pandemic, I became very fond of these two buttons to deal with people who wanted to share all their opinions about coronavirus.
They could write to their little heart's desire and I didn't have to see or read.
It was a win/win for both of us since let's be real when is the last time any of us read an argument thread full of name calling online and thought: wow, that changed my mind?
3. Put yourself in time out and take a break.
This is another strategy that I used during the pandemic that worked really well. I purposefully decreased my interactions with the news and even deleted facebook off my phone for a week.
Why?
Because I found myself spending hours obsessing about what was happening.
I started to become anxious and was having difficulty sleeping because I was worried about what was going to happen in the future.
Taking a break gave me time to reconnect to myself and take care of myself. I read books and listened to podcasts that inspired me.
So I'll leave you with this. Take care of yourself this week, believe your vote counted, and if you need a break, take it.
I believe in you and your possibilities,
Mary B.
P.S. If this year has made you realize that you don't want to work bedside anymore, that you need a new job, or that you want something different for your nursing career, I can help you.
My clients in the Unbreakable Nurse Society have gotten new jobs, gotten paid more, started businesses, healed relationships with their family ALL during a pandemic.
It is not too late to make 2020 the year you career changes.
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