Well-Being Resilience Company culture Team-building

It Is Not About Who You Are But Who You Choose To Be

Put your own oxygen mask on first

Why is it when flight attendants tell us to put our oxygen masks on first before helping others, we nod in agreement, but when I suggest that healthcare providers take care of themselves first, in terms of their own mental health, there is so much resistance?

If you believe it is noble to drive yourself so far into the ground that you are damaged to the extent you are not able to be there for your own family, your priorities are misplaced.

Healthcare providers, with the very best intentions, will often stay on the job longer than they should for their co-workers or their patients to the detriment of their own mental health. I am not talking about pulling double shifts or making other sacrifices. I am talking about crossing the line.

Be self-aware enough to know when the stress is accumulating to the point that it is affecting your mental health. Certainly, find resources which boost your capacity. Those who have positive history with spirituality find it can be a force multiplier.

That said, if you are waiting for someone in the system to take responsibility for you, to come by and tell you that you need to take some time, to regroup and recover, you are making a big mistake.

As one who trains in the area of traumatic stress injury and posttraumatic growth, I would suggest everyone has a breaking point. Know yours. Because it is a really tough road back.

What I am Doing These Days

I recently finished teaching a traumatic stress injury/posttraumatic growth session offered through Florida State to their nurses in a master degree program for nurse anesthetists. It looked like these nurses had an average of about 10 years’ experience. They loved the program because a number of them had worked in Covid units until recently. It is an emotional experience when we share our stories. But it is so healing.

I combined that session with my well-being session, and they seemed to really like the combination of the two sessions.

I will say something that a lot of people won't like but my first job is to tell the truth in love. Hospitals have done a great job providing for patients and offering verbal and written support to their staffs. From my experience working nationally with hospitals the past year and a half, most have done next to nothing to consistently and actively help their healthcare providers with mental health services.

That is where the bleeding is occurring. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/us/mississippi-covid-nurse-strain/index.html

A few weeks ago, I offered a new session titled, "A Christian Perspective on Resilience." I did that at a church in Dallas and for a faith-based non-profit in Memphis. This is being well received. A seminary in Memphis asked me to do a session for their ministerial counseling students in September.

Reach out if you are interested in talking about a session to improve the mental health of yourself or others.

Peace,

Kent

Snowbird also offers:

Team-Building.

Company Culture. (This is strictly top down. Start with senior management.)

Resilience and Well-Being.

If you want a consultation contact:

Kent Blake

Principal, Snowbird Consulting

Training and Management Consulting

kent@snowbirdconsulting.com

901-569-6527

Note: Snowbird Consulting works with people to achieve prevention and wellness. See a mental health provider for treatment or remediation.

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