Moving Forward: How Nurses Can Recover From Pandemic PTSD

It’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic, but nurses still feel the aftermath of compassion fatigue from the healthcare crisis years later. Many nurses were frontline workers during the height of the pandemic and faced most of the stress of caring for infected patients amid staff shortages and the risk of getting infected. In a 2022 study, around 50% of nonphysician healthcare workers reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

This condition is also known to have lingering effects on the body and mind long after the source of trauma ends, which is why nurses can have a hard time coping with workplaces that remind them of what they went through in 2020.

Although it can be frustrating to still struggle with pandemic-based trauma, developing self-compassion and acceptance about where you currently are is key to managing your mental health and well-being.

What is PTSD?

PTSD is a psychiatric condition that occurs in people who have witnessed a traumatic event or experience that is considered emotionally or physically life-threatening. Common examples are war or combat exposure, serious accidents, or natural disasters, but other types of triggers can include serious illness or past abuse.

Symptoms of PTSD can include depression, insomnia, memory issues, trouble relaxing or focusing, nightmares, muscle tension, and flashbacks of trauma. For someone to be diagnosed, symptoms must last more than a month and impair quality of life.

PTSD affects how trauma is stored in the body. The nervous system remembers the impact of significant trauma, so whenever someone experiences a situation that reminds them of a past threat, flight or fight mode gets activated. This leads to physical symptoms like heart palpitations, headaches, or increased stress in the body.

How nurses can recover from PTSD

Nurses experiencing PTSD have many resources and tools at their disposal. One typical form of treatment that can help is therapy. With a trusted therapist, nurses can form a plan for recovery and work with their therapist to form goals that can help them navigate life in a healthy way.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and feelings while changing harmful behaviors that impair functioning. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is another therapy tool that is also helpful for patients who want to process their trauma in a safe space.

Medication is often used with therapy to provide relief. Doctors will usually suggest antidepressants as a first form of defense, but you can talk to a psychiatrist about what types of medication are right for you.

Taking care of yourself when you do experience triggers, either at work or at home, can also aid in emotional regulation and allow you to treat patients from a place of stability rather than chaos.

Finding a support group of nurses is another way to seek comfort and connection. Other nurses who were previously frontline workers will likely understand the struggle of moving on from a traumatic event, and some can even give you advice on how to deal with life moving forward.

For guidance, you can ask a supervisor or coworkers for advice so that they can assist you with resources and accommodations to make your workday easier if you are experiencing PTSD triggers from your workload. These types of accommodations can include longer breaks or a flexible schedule.