Many people outwardly display happiness and exuberance. In reality, they may be concealing inner turmoil and depression. Depressive people fear that others may notice they’re flawed personalities. They fear people close to them may become judgmental if the depth and intensity of depression is revealed. People try to avoid being labeled as a depressive character or manic worrier as that becomes the quickest route to social and workplace isolation.

Hidden anxiety could provoke obsessive behavior or impulse control disorders

Hiding worries or repressing negative emotions may be a big mistake because the underlying anxiety could provoke OCD and body focused repetitive behavior such as Trichotillomania (TTM) which is a compulsive hair pulling disorder triggered by deep seated anxieties that people avoid confronting. For more information on Trichotillomania and treatment options visit TrichStop.com.

The worst assumption depressive people make is to believe that the dark mood is just a phase, a passing cloud, or momentary discomfort that will go away if they chose to ignore it. Avoidance only generates a wave of loneliness and unremitting sadness. This is the harsh reality of smiling sorrow.

Environmental factors that encourage anxiety repression

The behavioral quirk of concealing depression is more widespread than society thinks. It has a lot to do with the way we are conditioned to hide our innermost feelings. Society encourages people to become an agony aunt, a kind of sounding board (or battering ram) for others to unburden their sorrows. Somehow, we don’t enjoy the same freedom when it comes to sharing our personal feelings of loss and anguish and seeking help for the same.

This is a good time as any to reflect whether you or maybe someone you know is falling prey to smiling sorrow. If matters are not brought under control, it becomes difficult to control obsessive compulsive disorders that erupt collaterally.

Six sure signs that people are hiding anxiety

1. Viewing life through the harsh prism of intense pessimism

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), depressed people tend to view their lives more negatively than normal people. Such people are programmed to latch on to the negative aspects of their lives, and the problems that plague society around them. Depressive realism describes this attitude. Such people take on a realistic view of their situation and how it impacts their lives, but their analysis is heavily tinged with pessimism.

Normal people, on the other hand, tend to have realistic expectations and temper their world view with optimism. Depressive realism fundamentally changes one’s attitude from “Sara will definitely achieve her goals, given time and encouragement” to “I’m pessimistic about Sara’s chances of achieving what she desires.”

Action point: Keep the conversation positive and gently encourage people to view their situation in a brighter light.

2. The happy countenance hides behind a stream of excuses

The signs are unmistakable; the individual seems to be forcing a smile. As you spend more time with this person, the mask drops sooner than later. To hide their depression from prying eyes, such persons spend as little time as possible with others, preferring the anonymity of isolation. The excuses come fast and thick why they cannot meet you, come for dinner or attend a function. It’s only a genuine heartfelt conversation that unearths the depression and gets the person to spill the beans on what anguishes them.

Action point: Break the barriers of isolation and encourage the individual to engage socially with you and mutual friends.

3. There’s a conscious attempt to escape from the realities of life to philosophical thinking

Speaking to these troubled souls, you get the feeling that they wax philosophical about abstract topics such as their goals in life, and how they struggle to find meaning and purpose in their lives. A little probing might reveal hidden thoughts of violence, fear of death and the urge to inflict suffering on imagined foes. Theirs is a constant search for happiness without the willingness to tread the path leading to fulfilling lives.

Action point: An emotional plea and a spiritual renaissance would do wonders to dispel the darkness within these souls.

4. Binge eating, addictive behavior, and sleep disorders may indicate hidden turmoil

Any behavioral change that sharply deviates from the normal may indicate hidden depression. Sound sleep is essential to physical, mental, and emotional health. Changing sleep patterns are reliable signals of distress. Too little sleep or excessive sleeping both signal silent suffering. Clinical studies prove that sleep deprivation can aggravate depression.

Where the normal person eats frugally to live, a depressed person may find himself living to eat. The urge to binge frequently beyond normal cravings creates a feeling of fullness that calms the depressive mind. The problem is worsened by withdrawal symptoms following alcohol or drug intoxication. On occasion, the extreme opposite may happen – total disinterest in food because there is ‘no joy in eating anymore.”

Action point: Encourage such persons to follow a proper diet, juxtaposed with plenty of exercise and fresh air to drive away the cobwebs of despair.

5. The depressed soul is desperate for assistance, but will fight shy of asking for help

Chronic depressives will be mortally scared of revealing their darker anxieties and will fight tooth and nail rather than disclose their mental handicap. The fear of being exposed makes them retreat into their shell of exclusivity. On the rare occasion they open up, you will catch a glimpse of a troubled universe. In such moments they may respond to persuasion either to seek personal help or professional counseling.

Such individuals may end up knocking on the doctor’s door, only to retreat into their world thinking that they’ve gone too far, and others may judge them poorly. The very thought that another person would be probing their weak spots discourages many from seeking the help they desperately need.

Action point: Handhold the person through personal or professional counseling, assuring them constantly that it is for their benefit.

6. The depressed soul exists on an emotionally hypersensitive plane

It is the norm for the depressive mindset to express emotions strongly. Such individuals could suddenly break into a flood of tears on watching an emotive real life episode. They become unduly aggressive in the face of the slightest provocation, situations that normal people would calmly ignore. The close friend who is unusually calm may suddenly express his abiding love for you. It is as if the troubled soul has boxed up so many depressive thoughts inside that genuine emotion somehow escape through the gaps to see daylight.

Action point: When such individuals hyperventilate, respond calmly and allow them to seek emotional fulfillment. You can always try humor to bring the situation under control.

The Bottom-line: One cannot assume that each of these symptoms is a definitive sign of hidden depression. Some people are naturally introverted or introspective or irritable. What you need to watch out for is chronic worrying mentality that could aggravate more dangerous as obsessions and impulse control disorders. When you see this happening, you need to step in and take corrective action.

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about new grad nursing programs. I’m pleased to know there are more of them cropping up. It will hopefully help us to keep new nurses in the profession. We continue to lose far too many in the first 3 years because nursing isn’t what they expected it to be. Combined with increasing workloads, nurse bullying and physician bullying as a continuing issue, we are losing too many nurses period.

New nurse grad programs are an essential part of the future of nursing and curtailing the nursing shortage,
but they’re not necessarily there for the top graduates. These programs are also highly sought after and have far more applicants than the programs can take on at any given time. The competition is stiff and top nurse grads are primed to compete.

Top Grads May Not Be Accepted

However, if you graduated at the top of your class and/or have some nursing experience already, it becomes nearly impossible to get into a new nurse grad program. This can be emotionally devastating and frustrating. In reality these nurses should feel honored to be turned down even though they value the opportunity to learn even more.

Many new grad programs are designed to boost the confidence and skills level of new nurse grads who perhaps didn’t have the best opportunities, or didn’t avail themselves of them. If you’re shy and stand to the back of the crowd in nursing school you’re not going to get the clinical opportunities unless your instructors are vigilant in making sure each student demonstrates proficiency. That isn’t always possible given the populations of patients at any given time.

Even if you had all the best opportunities, but you struggled in certain areas and/or were in the middle to lower end of your class, a new grad program can offer extended education and supervision opportunities to make you a great nurse.

New Grad Programs Help Reduce Bullying

This creates another scenario for not accepting the top of the class grads; boredom and the possibility of encouraging nurse bullying of the grad who takes a little longer to catch on. These programs help these new nurses need a little extra time and preceptoring them with nurses dedicated to help them helps to reduce the nurse bullying by not throwing them into the water and expecting them to sink or swim in a pool of experienced nurses who don’t have time or desire to help them.

New grad programs are also designed to build the workforce in that particular hospital. This is why they are often called residency programs.  They are looking for nurses who will be dedicated to staying on for at least 3-5 years and possibly working in certain areas of high turnover. Nurses at the top of the class are quite often energized and looking towards higher education in the near future. These nurses frequently want to be nurse educators, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists. This may not be a need for the hospital offering a new nurse grad program. And investing their time and money on nurses who will quickly move along is just not economically feasible.

This is NOT to say you shouldn’t apply. Look for every possible opportunity to continue your education while working and soak up every ounce of knowledge to make you the best nurse ever! But if you get turned down, keep looking for other opportunities.  Even new nurses who really need a little extra help should do well in the right place. Be honest and willing to learn. DO some homework so you’re ready to learn a new skill. You Tube, for instance, has a multitude of instructional videos. Sites such as NucleusHealth.com offer many forms of media for learning about conditions and treatment modalities and they have a You Tube site as well. Be willing to help a co-worker with tasks in exchange for preceptoring.

Nursing is a lifelong journey of learning, but it’s not a one-size fits all situation. Nurses of all levels need to continue to be sponges and absorb all the information they can. Health care is constantly changing and nurses are expected to be the backbone. More and more responsibilities become part of the nurses everyday world. We all have to be prepared and willing to learn and to teach. Explore your opportunities and never feel stuck in something that isn’t right for you.

Patient or nurse, no one chooses to be in the hospital over the holidays—but sometimes it can’t be helped. If you’d like to help cheer up your patients but aren’t sure how, we’ve rounded up eight ideas to help you perk them up over the holidays. And don’t be surprised if these acts of kindness make you feel better as well. Helping others release neurotransmitters can contribute to positive feelings, so put on those holiday scrubs and get in the spirit of the season!

Try to keep a positive attitude.

Yes, it sucks to work on a holiday, especially when everyone else you know is at home with family and friends. But think of how much worse it is for patients. Not only are they at the hospital, they’re sick and they don’t get to go home at the end of their 12-hour shift. Some of them may have family who come to visit them, but not all do. Some will be spending Thanksgiving, Christmas and other special days alone in their room. It can be tough to be cheerful when you have to work on the holidays, but try to stay positive when you’re around your patients. Trust us, they probably don’t want to be there either.

While we often think of the holidays as a season of happiness, not everyone feels that way during November and December, especially if they’re sick and in the hospital. The holidays can trigger feelings of depression and even thoughts of suicide in patients, so be proactive and check in with them regularly, especially if they seem more down than usual. Sometimes the dip in mood is only temporary and having someone else (such as a nurse) take the time to ask them how they are doing can help patients feel better. If you have serious concerns, you can notify their family members and call in a psychologist or other expert to help them manage their negative thought patterns and feelings.

Decorate their rooms.

Many nurses festoon the lounge or nurse’s station, and if you have extra decorations, you can use them to ornament patients’ rooms (with their permission as well as the facility’s, of course). Hospital rooms have a dreary reputation for a reason, and a bit of bright tinsel and a couple of garlands can go a long way towards perking up the space. You can also encourage their family members to bring in other small decorations, such as cards to display in the window or a red-and-green bouquet of flowers for their bedside.

Help them accessorize.

There’s no need to let the decorating stop with the room itself. If patients are up for it, you can also help them dress up a bit to celebrate the season. Obviously, this will depend on each patient’s health and comfort level, but some easy ideas that don’t require much effort are Santa hats and reindeer antlers. As for newborns, it’s hard to go wrong with a holiday-themed onesie. Babies need clothing anyway, so you might as well get in the spirit of the season with fun patterns and a red-and-green color scheme. And of course, if you’re going to ask your patients to dress up, you should wear some holiday scrubs and compression socks yourself so everyone can participate in the fun.

Hand out holiday cards.

Holiday cards are an inexpensive way to spread some holiday spirit among your patients, and you can often pick up a whole set of stationery for only a couple of dollars. Choose a non-religious theme so the cards will be applicable to anyone (and you can hand out extras to your coworkers, too!). Consider a personal note for patients who have been at your facility for a while if you’ve built a relationship with them, but a general holiday greeting will also work for those you don’t know as well. If you’d like, you can make it a group effort and leave the cards in the lounge area so all the nurses in your unit can sign them.

Bring in volunteers.

Nurses’ shifts are packed full of activity on even the best of days, and this is doubly true over the holidays when staff coverage can be a little thinner than usual. Having visitors to talk to certainly cheers patients up, but you might not have time during your shift to stop for a long chat—and that’s where volunteers come in. Many charitable groups and organizations coordinate activities around the holidays, including visiting patients and bringing gifts to those in need of some cheer. If you don’t currently have a volunteer program at your facility, do some research and contact local organizations or religious groups. There’s usually an uptick in volunteers during November and December, so there will probably be plenty of people willing to spend an hour or two visiting with your patients.

Play some festive music.

There’s lots of different music for every holiday as well as different moods, from upbeat carols to somber hymns. As long as your patients agree to it, playing holiday music in either the common areas or their rooms can help contribute to the festive air. If you’d like to take things to the next level, some musically-inclined volunteers will actually come to play at clinics and hospitals all year round, and you can ask them to tailor their song selections to the season. Even if your unit doesn’t currently have musical volunteers, another part of the hospital might, so ask around to see if another department has some contacts you can reach out to.

Coordinate a family night holiday meal.

If you work at a long-term care facility, hosting a family dinner night around Thanksgiving and/or Christmas can be a special experience for residents and staff alike. Having everyone’s families come for dinner at the same time turns it into a memorable, festive event instead of an ordinary meal. Some residents may be on special diets so a true potluck might not be feasible. Try instead to encourage families to check in with staff ahead of time if they would like to bring a special treat for grandma or granddad.

Going the extra mile for your patients over the holidays can really make a difference in their lives. Try one or more of these eight ideas to help boost their mood and show them that you care.

Misinformation about the coronavirus COVID19 has been rampant for weeks, and now that factual and informative information along with strong directives from the CDC has emerged, we’re experiencing the exponential growth we’ve heard about in locations such as Asia, Europe, and Australia. Nurses are scrambling to meet the needs of patients in every possible setting. In this Year of the Nurse and Midwife, no one could have imagined we’d find ourselves in the midst of such a crisis. But nurses are the backbone of the health care system and will work to educate the lay public on how to prevent infection and protect themselves and their loved ones from exposure.

COVID19 wasn’t going to stay hidden forever, despite the efforts of the government to call it a hoax, ignore warnings from the World Health Organization in December, and try to reassure people it’s mild and going to disappear quickly. Now it’s a matter of trying to make sure laypeople have a realistic understanding of how serious this virus is, how to deal with this crisis and stay well without unnecessarily hoarding groceries and toilet paper!

Handwashing and social distancing

Proper and effective handwashing and social distancing have become integral parts of our everyday conversations. We’ve moved way past elbow bumps and forgoing handshakes. Some areas of the US are entering into mandatory self-isolation with restrictions to only visit doctors, pharmacies and grocery stores with limited hours. All of this is in the interest of quickly “flattening the curve” to reduce the speed of exponential replication of the virus.

The misinformation hasn’t stopped and there are scams cropping up everywhere keeping officials busy shutting down fake testing kits and cures. As we know, there is no treatment (antibiotics and even antivirals do not work)  and there is no vaccine, and vaccines will take about 18 months to develop. Initial testing of a vaccine without any live virus has begun, but the timeline cannot be shortened. The virus is indeed likely to disappear long before any vaccine is ready for use. And there is a critical shortage of test kits to determine if a patient has COVID19. It’s another reason for panic, but the public needs to understand that all a test can do is give a name to what they’re suffering from.  Unlike the flu virus and Tamiful which should begin within the first 48 hours of symptoms, COVID19 has no treatment other than to treat symptoms like fever and cough.

Hoarding sparked by misinformation and fear

Fear sparked by this misinformation cycle also sparked an immediate run on grocery and big box stores for hand sanitizer and toilet paper. This was followed quickly by a mad dash back to hoard food and other supplies, essentially emptying the shelves. Although this creates a re-stocking problem for the stores, there is no shortage of food and supplies. Anticipated weekly orders won’t meet what was grabbed off their shelves, but over the next couple of weeks, things should normalize provided the hoarding slows. The elderly and people with infants and small children are some of the most affected and are pleading for reasonable amounts of supplies.

 Focus on nursing

With the focus on nurses and the fact that nurses were once again voted as the most honest and ethical professionals by the Gallop Poll for the 18th consecutive year, nurses need to stand up to meet the challenge. There is a wealth of honest, factual information to ensure the public has and understands the COVID19 crisis. There is still a misunderstanding about what social distancing and self-isolating are as evidenced by parents trying to entertain housebound children with an outing to the movie theater! These instructions mean stay home!

Expect increased shortages

Additional issues nurses will face in this crisis include increased shortages due to younger nurses with children who are unexpectedly out of school for prolonged periods of time and a shortage of childcare options. Older nurses with or without chronic autoimmune diseases and decreased immunity are at high risk. Out of the approximate 4 million active RNs and LP/VNs in the US today, over 1 million are over the age of 50. In the US, the population over the age of 65 has increased from 41 million in 2011 to 71 million in 2019. The CDC and governors throughout the country are calling for all persons over the age of 60 to self-isolate. Some nurses are going to have to heed this advice because of their health status and others will continue on. The COVID19 virus is hitting the over 65 segment of the population hard.

There is a severe shortage of hospital beds and ventilators in the US today. Some cities have directed hotels to prepare for a possible influx of patients but states were told to find their own ventilators because the government cannot supply them. They were caught unprepared. Any attempts to prepare for such a crisis were thwarted when the present government fired the crisis teams from the CDC in 2018 and further refused to listen to the warnings from the WHO in December; instead calling it a HOAX.

In direct contrast, in China’s Wuhan province where the COVID19 virus started, they built a hospital in 10 days! It was started on Jan. 24 and completed on Feb 2. It’s 645,000 square feet with 1000 beds, fully equipped. The first patients were admitted on Feb. 3. And a second hospital was completed shortly thereafter which has a capacity of 1200 beds. The US is WAY behind the 8 ball in this as well as many other issues, and we’re going to struggle.

By May when the world celebrates Nurses Month during this Year of the Nurse and Midwife, nurses are going to expect more than token certificates and water bottles with the company label all over them! While self-isolating, let’s hope CEOs are making some real plans to honor their heroes.

I was offered a Beanie Sleeper to try out and as I’m sure you all understand, life has been hectic and stressful. I was somewhat reluctant to try it because I get HOT when I sleep and it wakes me up! Anything on my head holds in my body heat and makes me hot faster. But when I finally did try it out, this is NOT the case. In fact, I was quite comfortable. Yes, it smashed my hair down on my head and I thought that would annoy me to death too, but it didn’t and when I awoke I was able to adjust my hair just fine.

My experience with the Beanie Sleeper…

The Beanie Sleeper dimmed the noise sufficiently (my extended family live with me including 3 grandchildren). It works better than ear plugs that just don’t fit my ears or fall out. I like a dark room and this beanie helped dim the lights even more with its built in eye shade. I was able to fall asleep fairly quickly and stay asleep for about 2 hours. It was a restful nap and well-needed relaxation!I’m normally a restless sleeper, but the beanie provided a cocoon sensation to just relax and really sleep! On nights where I’ve had some insomnia, the beanie has helped me get back to sleep.

I had tried it out a few times before that first nap, but there always seemed to be other issues such as the wonderful Santa Ana winds and power was out and so our generator was running and very loud. The Beanie Sleeper did help to deaden the noise, but I didn’t feel it was the best representation of how it would work. And actually, in better controlled circumstances, it does work quite well.

Give the Beanie Sleeper a try

Many nurses work late hours and need to sleep during the day. Although the Beanie Sleeper isn’t going to block out all of the noise that comes with the day time, it certainly helps to dim and dull it. It won’t by itself work as well as blackout curtains, but I would go out on a limb and say it certainly add another layer of protection. Sleep is so important to managing stress , and we all know 2020 was the WORST and 2021 is not getting better fast enough!  Stress by itself is harmful to our bodies, but add in a chronic condition, and things can get really wild. Self-care is essential and a Beanie Sleeper is a good recommendation to pamper yourself a bit.