As a healthcare provider, it is important to remember your health is just as important as the patient’s, and mental health is just as important as physical. Ignoring feelings of fear, anxiety, and intense stress can lead to burnout and strong negative emotions. To address and ease the strain of the pandemic, the CDC recommends healthcare professionals engage in mindfulness.
Research has shown that mindfulness when practiced in day-to-day living, reduces stress, anxiety, chronic pain, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, and other health concerns. Mindfulness teaches how to return to, and remain in, the present moment – to anchor oneself in the here and now on purpose, without judgment. Practicing mindfulness can be done at work, at home, or even in the car. All it takes is five minutes to take time for yourself to recharge.
Here are three simple ways to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine:
1. When you wash your hands, focus on the sensations of soap and water, and allow your mind to let go of the rest of your day.
2. Before going into an operatory, pause to take a slow, deep breath and let go of the previous patient with good wishes so you can be fully present for the one you are about to meet.
3. Take time to work between patients to clear your mind.
That’s it. Incorporating mindful practices into work life is easy and only takes a few moments, but the effects are long-lasting. Mindfulness practice is correlated directly with cognitive flexibility and decreasing anxiety. Take a few moments every day to check in on yourself and reflect.
Visit Mindful, a site recommended by the CDC for more resources and information on the practice of mindfulness.