Working on the frontline of medical care allows for little respite and time for oneself. You can’t easily just disappear into a room to do a mindfulness session or read an article on how to look after yourself. Or at least that must be how it feels…. that there is no time to step aside and self-care; the pressure must be relentless.

This is when you most need your colleagues to look out for you, to look out for each other, to encourage self-care, to rally your positive emotions, and see the immense value of what you are doing as a group. 

This is a psychologically demanding time for all medical staff, and being able to manage the demands of a nervous system that is being stretched, is imperative for future mental health. Compassion and self-care are literally essential antidotes to the ‘fall-out’ from this crisis, acting as they do on calming down a complex nervous system.

To continue doing this caring role that you were trained for must be high on your priorities, but there are limits for everyone and in order to keep going you will need to find some recharge points in your day, and this is where helping each other is key. This sidesteps the personal self-talk that gets in the way of doing self-care. Thoughts that others are working so hard, so why should you need a break, that they can all cope better than you, that you can’t stop because no one else does. 

These thoughts make us feel guilty about pausing and doing the things that, ironically, will help you stay more focused on the job in the long run. Colleagues can help break through this barrier to self-care. 

What can you do?

To make sure the fuel in your tank isn’t used up so fast, you need to stop from time to time to top it up with things that slow your nervous system down.

You can…

• Do 5 minutes of deep and slow breathing.

• Smell a favourite smell and imagine the pleasant images that come with that for a few minutes.

Or if you’re in a group…

• Keep some short and relevant self-help resources in a quieter part of the staff area.

• Put earphones in and listen to a podcast or relaxation audio.

• Build a collection of items that focus your senses, like pleasant smells (perfumes, plants, aroma diffusers).

• Get a supply of favourite sweets to be mindfully sucked or chewed.

• Mindful colouring sheets can distract and ground or just a pen and paper to doodle on and then colour in the doodle.

Encouraging colleagues to enter that zone is a necessary element of it working for all. 

A friendly voice or touch (through the PPE) or even pleasant eye contact, can mean a lot and provide a boost to morale and self-confidence.  A thoughtful suggestion of a drink break or time out for even 5-10 minutes will mean a lot to a colleague who is struggling and who can return the same compassion on another day.  

Compassion literally means to ‘suffer with’ someone, to understand their suffering and to connect with them and offer support. It is part of our nurturing, empathic, care-giving and connection system and is a big part of why you chose to do the job that you do. It will be under strain currently, but it is important to recognise how helpful it can be so that you can be kinder to yourself and others and keep using it. It has qualities of strength, wisdom, kindness and moral courage that will increase your resilience individually and as a team.