Sunday, October 10th is Mental Health Awareness Day. Although this annual observation began 29 years ago, its significance in today’s climate could not be more apparent. This past year has pushed us beyond our manageable emotional strain, tested our ability to focus, and caused many of us to re-evaluate our tried-and-true coping mechanisms. More than ever, we understand the impact of stress and the weight of elements we cannot control.  

If these feelings sound familiar, it’s important to acknowledge that you are not alone. Stress can often feel too overwhelming to manage, but there are helpful resources to guide you through processing emotions of fatigue and mental duress.  

1. Progress is not linear

Sometimes managing stress can feel as if you are riding a rollercoaster. There are ups and downs, good days and bad. It’s important to remember that progress is not linear. It is a constant journey that will be filled with both successes and set-backs. Even if you are taking two steps forward and one step backward, you are still making progress. Take time to acknowledge and celebrate how far you have come. 

2. What you’re feeling does not define you

Feeling low? Remember that feelings, good and bad, are part of the human experience, and not a reflection of who you are. It’s important to allow yourself to feel what you are feeling, but understand that you are so much more than your struggles and obstacles. While the goal is to address them, how you feel should never take away from how you see yourself. You are a whole person.  

3. You are appreciated and valued

It can be difficult on your worst days to remember how much you matter to so many people. You are not alone in your fears, but your role in this pandemic narrative is critical. If you take a moment to think about all the people who have been benefitted from your care, you’ll be reminded of how you have, and continue to make a difference. 

With the help of a recognition software like Wambi, you can experience the gratitude shared by peers, leaders, and patients every day. Need a boost of appreciation? Check out your past Wambis received and be reminded of how much people value your hard work. You can also send a note of gratitude to someone who made a difference in your day. Expressing gratitude leads people to be happier, healthier, and more optimistic. 

The more effective we are at nourishing ourselves, the more we can serve others without exhaustion or resentment. Feeling mental fatigue? Try the following: 

• Take breaks from your screens: Implement the 20-20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes you spend using a screen, look at something that is 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. This rule designed to prevent eye strain can help minimize tension headaches.
   
• Try and get quality sleep: Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can be challenging with your work shifts, but it is important to prioritize sleep. Give yourself time to wind down before bed by turning off technology, managing light, and creating a comfortable space. 
   

• Reduce your news intake: Be mindful of how much time you spend watching the news, reading articles, and scrolling through social media. Witnessing devastating and challenging stories can increase your stress levels. 
   
• Move your body: Exercising is a great way to release tension, calm your mind, and increase blood circulation. Go for a walk or try the yoga poses on our Embrace Joy Everyday resource hub.
   
• Eat well, monitor caffeine and stay hydrated: What you put into your body can directly impact your mental health. Keep your brain nourished and functioning at its best by eating foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It’s also important to monitor your caffeine intake and stay hydrated. 
   
• Do mindfulness exercises: Practicing mindfulness can help reduce worry and increase compassion, while also improving one’s ability to cope with stress. Techniques include meditation, yoga, gratitude, and breathing exercises. 
   
• Tidy your space: A cluttered space creates disorganization and leads to increased stress levels. Take a page out of Marie Kondo’s book and spark joy while tidying up! 
   

• Get some sunshine: Exposure to sunshine can impact various body systems, especially mental health. A lack of sunshine can disrupt hormone levels, sleep cycles, and brain chemicals. Commonly referred to as “Winter Blues,” Seasonal Affective Disorder intensifies these concerns during winter months.

“I’ve read somewhere, ‘If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember trees lose their leaves every year, and they stand tall and wait for better days to come.” Sometimes we just need to stand still for a while and that’s okay. I find stillness is often misconstrued as unproductive but in fact, can be where the real work is done and growth begins. It’s a time of deep introspection, emotional processing, and listening to ourselves and our body, so we can do the work to be at our most abundant state of mind.  

As the seasons change, the trees shed their leaves, returning to their annual barren state, only to emerge full bloom in spring once more. I find inspiration and healing within nature and often look to these gentle giants as symbolic reminders of strength and reassurance. It’s all part of our seasons and living a balanced life.  

We often want to soak in all our feelings of happiness, but it’s just as important to revel in and accept our sadness rather than trying to expedite or rush through the process. Just like the trees, we must be patient with ourselves, trust the process, and a renewed sense of self will bloom. 

At Wambi, one of our core company values is gratitude.  We encourage team members to make gratitude a part of their meeting structures, pausing to take a few minutes of reflection to share messages received on Carepostcard.com.  Gratitude doesn’t always have to be steeped in positivity but can also mean grateful for the lows and the ability to discuss and feel supported in a safe environment.  While there are certainly still boundaries within a professional setting, I’m grateful for Wambi’s leadership who recognize the dimensionality of humans and natural need to experience peaks and valleys. You can be well composed, have a loving family and friends, really enjoy your job and still not be okay. And that’s okay. You can simultaneously be both grateful and sad; these emotions can, and do, co-exist.

In my field of Human Resources, I understand the importance of companies incorporating mental health awareness through implementing and championing resources like EAP programs, “walking” meetings and infuse culture programming with potential coping mechanisms such as yoga, breathing exercises, and meditation.” 

Thank you to Nursing World for providing free tools and apps to support nurse mental health.  

• Start with a Stress Self-Assessment: Answer 10 quick questions to check in and measure your stress level.  
• Writing about your experiences can help you process your thoughts. Learn more about the Narrative Expressive Writing Program and Journal  
• Guide to Sleeping Better and Restoring Energy: Learn more about the importance of sleep and fatigue management 

• After Work Checklist: Help decompress by following specific steps at the end of your workday.  

If you are suffering mentally and physically, don’t be afraid to reach out for support. Talking with individuals who might understand what you are going through can help you process your feelings, reduce your stress, and alleviate burnout. Learn how you can join a support group or call a warmline with Nursing World’s Nurses’ Guide to Mental Health Support Services.  

Be kind to yourself as you navigate this journey to being your best, healthiest self. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment and recovery will look different for every person. The important thing is to develop coping mechanisms, listen to what your mind and body need, and trust that you can recover from these turbulent times.  It’s okay to not be okay. 

MARSHFIELD, WI — Oct. 6, 2021. Wisconsin’s Marshfield Clinic Health System and Wambi, a leader in healthcare culture transformation, announce a strategic enterprise partnership to transform Marshfield Health’s organizational culture through Wambi’s real-time patient and staff recognition platform. This cultural transformation aims to improve staff retention, increase health system engagement and recognition appreciation scores, increase staff performance awareness, and increase a sense of belonging and connectedness between patients and staff.

Marshfield Health is Wambi’s first system-wide deployment in Wisconsin. Wambi’s recognition platform supports Marshfield Health’s initiatives by elevating moments of meaningful connection to foster a positive workplace culture where care providers are appreciated and valued, and patients and their families are empowered to shape their experience. “What we’re focusing on is engagement and what we can do within our work environments in order to give individuals that break to let them know that we do care, and that we are behind them. Wambi shines a light on the small but important moments every person in our healthcare ecosystem contributes to the overall patient experience,” says Paula Pritzl, Chief Human Resources Officer. “This focus made it clear to us that Wambi was the right partner to help us amplify the voices of patients, coworkers, and leaders.”

“The Marshfield Health team shows a true dedication to achieving a culture of engagement and gratitude, which ultimately creates meaningful and sustained change,” says Rebecca Metter, CEO of Wambi. “We are proud that Wambi will play a role in bringing this vision to life.”

Health systems across the country are facing unprecedented retention challenges, with staff turnover nearly doubling in the past three years. Wambi helps improve these statistics through gratitude and recognition of the extended caregiver team—both intra-departmentally and cross-functionally. Says Metter, “Wambi is built on the power of gratitude from patients, peers, and leaders alike. We are delighted to help Marshfield Health’s workforce realize their positive and lasting impact.”

Marshfield Clinic Health System is an integrated health system whose mission is to enrich lives through accessible, affordable compassionate health care. The Health System serves Wisconsin with more than 1,400 providers comprising 170 specialties, health plan, and research and education programs. Primary operations include Marshfield Clinic, nine Marshfield Medical Center hospitals, Marshfield Children’s Hospital, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Security Health Plan and Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation. Learn more at marshfieldclinic.org.

Wambi’s holistic real-time recognition and culture transformation solution improves the healthcare experience for patients and staff through the power of gratitude. Gamified engagement technology delivers real-time feedback from patients and team members that recognizes and motivates optimal care. With the proven ability to increase workforce engagement, reduce clinician burnout, and drive higher patient satisfaction, Wambi improves human connection for all. Learn more at wambi.org.

View the full release at PRWeb.com.

Reports touting the benefits of mindfulness are everywhere these days. Mindfulness is said to be a cure for pretty much everything that ails us: stress, anxiety, depression, pain, sleeplessness, poor memory, difficulty focusing, compassion fatigue, impaired immune function…the list goes on. And there is a corresponding proliferation of apps designed to support us through a healing mindfulness journey. This cacophony of offerings and purported benefits can be overwhelming, and induce a fair bit of skepticism as well.

Digging into the science of mindfulness, it turns out that some of these claims are very well supported. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program has over 40 years of accumulated evidence. Well-documented results include reduced emotional reactivity, improved ability to cope with stress, and increased ability to manage pain levels. Similarly, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy has been tied to reduced rumination and worry. Most encouraging to me is the evidence that certain mindfulness practices, like lovingkindness meditation, can increase compassion – both for self and others.

Over this past, very stressful 18 months, I’ve tried several different mindfulness techniques, and have found some to be incredibly challenging, and others to be very beneficial. I’ll share a few ideas below, with the caveat that everyone is different. Some of these might work very well for you, and others might not. Also, as with anything, you should speak with your doctor before beginning a mindfulness practice, as there is evidence of negative impacts for those suffering from certain mental health conditions.  

Here are four types of mindfulness techniques to try: 

• Meditation: This is what most people think of when they hear the word “mindfulness.” What many don’t realize is that there are a variety of different types of meditation. These include practices that focus on an anchor like the breath, body scans, noting sensations and thoughts when they appear, focusing on various sounds, guided visualizations, walking meditation, lovingkindness meditation, and many more. I found some of these practices incredibly challenging at first. (One in particular was focusing on just my breath for 10 straight minutes!) But like anything, they got easier with practice until I found a sense of peace in all of them. An open mind and compassionate, nonjudgmental attitude will help.
   
• Yoga: This 5,000-year-old practice is a form of embodied mindfulness. Yoga practitioners move through a series of postures while cultivating an awareness of mind, body, and breath. This practice is tied to many benefits from increased strength, balance, and flexibility to enhanced energy and mood. Visit the Embrace Joy resource hub for a few helpful poses to release tension recommended by my colleague Tori Block. 
   
• Gratitude and Savoring the Good: Our evolutionary heritage includes a built-in negativity bias. This means we are predisposed to focus on and remember negative events, while the good in our lives often goes unnoticed. Fortunately, we also have the power to redirect our attention. Simply taking time to savor moments of positivity in our day can have a huge impact. Be present to genuinely enjoy a hug or spend a few minutes reveling in the joy of laughter. We can induce more of these positive moments through the practice of gratitude. Taking time each day to express gratitude for the good in our lives is a powerful reminder of our blessings. We can amplify this impact by writing notes of gratitude to the people who support us. We see the power of this every day at Wambi. Our clients send beautiful notes of appreciation and support through our platform, fostering connection and a sense of belonging. We see the transformative impact of gratitude on individuals and healthcare organizations every day.
   
• Mindful Awareness of Thoughts: This final mindfulness technique has been a game-changer for me. We all get hooked by negative emotions from time to time. Anything from a disagreement, unrealistic deadline, or even just an anxiety-producing newsfeed can set us on a path of anger, worry, or obsessive thinking. When you feel yourself headed down this path, try to STOP.

S = Stop. When you feel yourself getting upset, agitated, anxious, etc., pause what you’re doing for a moment.

T = Take a few deep breaths. When we’re upset, our breathing gets shallow, and our blood pressure increases. Deep breathing can slow things down, creating a sense of calm.

O= Observe your experience, thoughts, and feelings. How are your emotions showing up in your body? What story are you telling yourself? As Mark Twain once said, “I’ve been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” Our minds make up all sorts of stories, and not all of them serve us.

P = Proceed with something that will support you in the moment. You might need a break or something to eat. Or maybe a hug or conversation with a friend would be most helpful. Once we understand our experience and get the support we need, we can move forward with grace.

Exploring these and other mindfulness techniques may help you find a quick solution, or it may be a longer journey that allows you to get to know yourself better. I’ll admit that at the beginning of the pandemic I was skeptical about mindfulness because of the press and hype. Fortunately, through both research and personal trial and error, I’m now convinced that there is a mindfulness practice for everyone, and the benefits truly are transforming. 

As our Product Evangelist, Mel brings over 13 years of experience to support the growth and development of Wambi’s sales team as they seek to help healthcare organizations create cultures of appreciation and kindness. She is committed to helping both her team and Wambi’s clients achieve their business objectives while living Wambi’s values of compassion, imagination, gratitude, fearlessness, and joy. Mel’s sales experience spans healthcare, technology, legal, and academic content solutions. She has been a consistent top performer and is most proud of her work fostering innovation, evolution, and team cohesiveness in each role. Mel grew up in West Michigan, where she still lives and enjoys running through the beautiful, wooded dunes. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. When she’s not exercising or spending time with her family, you can find her indulging in her love of learning about anything and everything. 

• Connect with Mel on LinkedIn  
• Learn more about the Wambi platform