Favorite Essential Oils for Nursing
As most of you know, I am a full time nurse. I LOVE it, but sometimes it gets to be a lot. I rely on my oils to keep my sanity (and health) in check. Over the last year I have found these 6 oils are my staples for before, during, and after my shifts.
1. Peace & Calming- who doesn't need a bit more peace in their life? Through the chaos of my shift, I need to keep my patience in check.. and sometimes that's hard! I want to lose my marbles right along side my patients haha. Smelling this oil straight from the bottle, or applying a little on my wrists/chest helps me not throw things at people & keep the peace!
2. Joy- I've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart! (brownie points to those who know this song haha). Who want's a grumpy nurse? No one. Now, I try my best to be bright & positive but some days everything just bugs you. I roll Joy over my heart before each shift to get those happy feelings started! Sometimes you people who need you to be the light in their day, and to get them focusing away from the crappy things going on with them. I looooove wearing Joy daily & it really helps me have a joyful spirit when going about my work!
3. Thieves- It's not surprise that I don't want to catch everything my patients have.. because ew. I rely on Thieves to keep those bugs away & keep my immunity as strong as it can be! Who has time to miss work because you're sick? I DON'T. With outbreak & flu season coming up I need all the help I can get. I roll Thieves onto the bottoms of my feet when I wake up & when I go to bed. Roll it on, put your socks overtop and you are set! It's a simple thing that makes a huge difference. PLUS it smells like fall.. :) PSS Pro tip here- rub a dot of this oil on the inside of your mask.. smells WAY better then whatever is in the room plus you are breathing in those amazing immune boosting oils!
4. Peppermint- There is a saying, "I am a nurse, I am invincible, I am tired". Haha all too true! You cannot risk making a mistake because you are tired in this job. You need to be at the top of your game at all times! Being alert and focused is key to getting everything done, and done right. When I start to feel blah, I take out my peppermint and give it a whiff. I also love putting it on my diffuser bracelet so I can sniff it when I need a little jolt. LOL I'd rather be the crazy lady smelling her bracelet then the lady making med errors or mistakes. Peppermint is so fresh & revitalizing! Also great in the diffuser to wake up in the morning.
5. Deep Relief- Everyone knows that nurses take a toll on their backs & feet. Deep relief, is a sweet relief when your body is saying help me! Obviously you need proper shoes, but even then sore feet do happen. I love doing a foot soak with epsom salts mixed with deep relief after a long shift (single or double!) I love that Deep Relief already has coconut oil in it, so you can pop a roller top on & go to town. For me, it's the lower back that gets me. I apply this on breaks to get me through a shift, or after (& make Nico give me a back rub haha).
6. Valor- Nursing is a passion of mine, and I love to help others. Most days there are at least 3 funny new stories, someone has told you they love you & are thankful for your care, and you leave your shift knowing you made a difference in someones life. But, there is a lot of hard stuff I deal with too. In the area I work in, an older age spectrum, there is a lot of death and hard crap you see. I get to know my patients fairly well while they are in my care, and even though you don't mean to, inevitably you love & care for them like they were your own family. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have a personal connection with your patients, but they always teach you not to "get attached". That is very hard to carry out when you are caring for them for sometimes many years. It's the weirdest thing to explain, but when someone passes away you learn to disconnect yourself from it. I don't mean being a cold, heartless person, but your brain & heart learns to let go very quickly. That being said I am still sad, but you can't let it get to you. This is where Valor, the "all things courage" oil as I like to call it, comes into play. Valor helps you to have courage in times of heartbreak, to carry on and continue to be an amazing nurse to the rest of your patients. I rub a little on the back of my neck, and over my heart. Valor allows you to feel all those emotions, but still be in control & choose what to do with them. Valor is the liquid courage you CAN use at work (unlike it's friend, wine, the other liquid courage lol).
Know a nurse? Pass this information on! OR, better yet, get them one of these oils as a gift to say thanks! Order here.
Xoxo
Kat