What makes nurses cry

But is this healthy? You grieve for your patients and console their families. But that comes at a price. Nurses are humans, too, and although we may not put ourselves first, we need to be somewhere on the list.

As nurses, we educate and counsel our patients about the resources available to them. But how often do we take our own advice? Many hospitals and employers offer employee assistance programs that can assist you in times of need. These programs may include free counseling or resources for grief, anxiety, and stress management.

Learn to recognize the signs that your emotions are progressing beyond normal grief. Are you unable to work or complete your daily activities? Are you losing interest in your personal life or hobbies? If so, you may want to consider speaking to a professional. You may never know which death is going to hit you the hardest, and sometimes your feelings may surprise you.

The challenges of nursing make us passionate about what we do, which is why nursing is the most trusted profession year after year. We help and heal people, but we also must remember to take time to heal ourselves.

Stress and coping of critical care nurses after unsuccessful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. I want them to know that I feel their pain, I see them and it is my intention to help them genuinely.

While crying may not be appropriate for every situation, you can show empathy by sympathizing with the patient or family and sincerely expressing how sorry you are that they're dealing with such difficult things. Nursing is stressful. There are odd hours, long shifts on your feet, high patient loads and the inevitable times when you lose a patient even when you've done everything you can.

While nurses learn early on to deal with these things by compartmentalizing or not getting too attached to patients, not properly addressing the stress and emotions you're experiencing can lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. While crying in front of a patient because of your own issues may not be professional, crying with a patient is a different story.

Djordjevic explains that "crying with a patient can benefit both medical personnel and patient. Firstly, because it's a cathartic experience for medical staff given they're relieving stress, and secondly, because they're able to create a more meaningful bond with their patient. Crying also causes physical changes in the body that can help you release stress and feel more positive once the emotion has passed, which can help you be in a better mental place to take care of the next patient or to go home to your family.

Crying with patients can be way to break down the barrier between care provider and patient and help you deal with the stress and loss that happens on the job in a healthy way. I was working a long, hour shift in a busy London hospital just before Christmas.

I had been looking after a man with heart failure and we were running out of options. The man and his son were well aware of the gravity of the situation. I asked my registrar to re-review when the man started to lose consciousness. When I asked desperately what our next treatment strategy would be, he looked at me carefully, then looked down and said nothing. I lost control of my emotions momentarily; [my colleague] put a hand on my shoulder, then asked me to get a cup of tea and sit down, and come back when I was ready.

The man passed away that evening. Their grief is what matters most. You also need to keep your emotions under control to make the best decisions for the patient. Ben White, registrar in gastroenterology and general internal medicine. Crying in front of patients is part and parcel of nursing. Some see it as unprofessional; most see it as being human.

Donna Thomas, spinal surgery ward. I know public perception will favour the image of a weeping paramedic being comforted by her crewmate after failing to resuscitate a young child, and this narrative probably dovetails with the belief that paramedics regularly attend genuine emergencies — but both versions of our story are far from reality.

Although a crying paramedic would be unreservedly comforted by their colleagues, once out of sight and earshot, eyebrows would be raised, shoulders would be shrugged and their mental resilience would be questioned. Crying would probably be considered a sign of weakness.

During my nine years of frontline experience, sometimes I did feel like crying, but I would usually stamp on whatever the trigger was.