7 Tips to Leave Your Pre-Shift Anxiety at the Door

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Nursing is a highly respectable and productive career that is growing every day. However, it’s a fairly stressful job that often cannot keep up with the demands of the healthcare industry. The majority of staff and travel nurses regularly experience emotional burnout, anxiety, stress, and even physical burnout. Nurses experience stress in the lead-up to their shifts, either right before or, sometimes, days before. This is called anticipatory anxiety or, more specifically, for nurses, pre-shift anxiety.

What Is Pre-Shift Anxiety? 

Anticipatory anxiety or pre-shift anxiety is anxiety or dread leading up to an event. It can vary from normal worrying to severe anxiety and panic attacks. It often stems from fear, such as fear of having a panic attack, making mistakes, or something stressful happening in front of others. 

For nurses, this can include things like:

• Witnessing a traumatic patient experience
• Working short-staffed
• Handling a difficult patient
• Dealing with colleagues

These feelings of dread and anxiety can start as early as days before a shift. They can interfere with life, including time off with friends and family, sleep, and general health. 

RELATED: New Survey Ranks Healthcare as Most Stressful Career

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7 Tips for Managing Pre-Shift Anxiety

So, what can you do to prevent this anxiety from occurring? Here are a few tips: 

1. Prepare the Day Before 

Ensuring you have everything ready when you get up in the morning can help alleviate anticipatory anxiety and decision fatigue. Things like meal prep and laying out clothing can lessen the likelihood of anxiety-inducing events in the morning. Studies show that preparing meals in advance helps prevent decision fatigue and helps people make better choices regarding healthy food. Having a healthy lunch premade the morning before a shift can prevent further worry and anxiety. 

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2. Get Enough Sleep 

Being well rested and getting the right amount of sleep can improve mental health as a whole. Anxiety can be much worse in the morning and before a shift after a bad night’s sleep. Dealing with fatigue on top of your anxiety can make a shift unbearable. Sleeping at least seven hours has been shown to decrease rates of panic disorders and depression throughout your lifespan. Making sure to get those seven+ hours before a shift can help alleviate your pre-shift anxiety. 

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3. Repeat Positive Affirmations 

Repeating positive affirmations daily has improved mental health, especially around anxiety, depression, and feelings of self-worth. The repetition is the important part of this action. Saying something positive once won’t improve any aspect of mental health. Repeating them daily helps to rewire the brain. For added impact, repeat tour affirmation in your mirror. Looking at your reflection adds increased personal effect and motivation. For pre-shift anxiety, repeat things like: 

• I am a good nurse 
• Everything will be okay 
• I am enough 
• I am smart 
• I can handle whatever is thrown at me 
• I am brave 
• Today will be a good day

RELATED: 10 Tips for Resetting the Mind and Body

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4. Journal About Your “Why” 

Journaling provides benefits to mental health in a variety of ways. Journaling helps people:

• Achieve more goals
• Gain confidence
• Track progress and growth
• Reduce anxiety or stress
• Improve communication skills
• Find inspiration

Journaling about why you became a nurse can be done in the morning before a shift to rewire the brain, to focus on the positive aspects of the job. 

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5. Practice Relaxation and Mindfulness Techniques 

Practices such as meditation, guided imagery, stretching, yoga and deep breathing exercises can be used in the morning before a shift as well. These mindfulness practices help keep the mind focused on the present, slow the heart rate, and truly relax the body and mind. 

6. Talk to Someone

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many nurses to suffer from PTSD and other mental health conditions. A licensed therapist or counselor can help you cope with anxiety and the stressors of your job. Check with your insurance company to see what mental health services are covered.  Additionally, reach out to your facility to see what mental health resources are available for staff. 

RELATED: 3 Tips for How to Handle Nursing Burnout

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7. Leave It at the Door

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t take your work home with you.” Following this essential reminder can be difficult when you work in a role where compassion is key. However, you must begin thinking of your shift handoff as the way to pass along the continuity of care to the next nurse and leave work-related stress behind. Once you clock out, you’ve completed your day’s duties, and now it’s time to focus on yourself. When you start letting work stress creep into your home life, you put your own wellness and personal relationships at risk.

Less Stress Leads to Better Shifts

A combination of these practices the day before a shift and the morning of can truly help lessen pre-shift or any other type of anticipatory anxiety. Regularly practicing these tips is essential to help lessen anxiety daily and decrease the incidence of panic attacks and other stress-related issues. The more often you do them, the more benefits you’ll see.

Working in healthcare is difficult enough without the added concerns of anxiety or depression. Try these tips to leave your pre-shift anxiety at the door and be the best nurse you can be for your patients.

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