Tips For Maintaining Good Self-Esteem For Yourself And Your Patients
Pegasus Home Care makes diversity, equity, and inclusivity an integral part of its structure. Our professionals and clients come from a wide range of backgrounds and lifestyles. They are a crucial part of our status as an industry leader.
Pegasus skilled in-home caregivers in Antelope Valley and elsewhere are proud of the service they provide. They know their assistance improves their patients’ quality of life. Career home health care nurses understand the importance of maintaining good self-esteem for themselves and their patients.
Self-Esteem Depends On An Individual’s Evaluation Of Their Self-Worth
Although self-esteem can be objectively defined, it’s also a highly subjective state of mind. It varies from individual to individual. And it frequently changes for each individual, based on a multitude of factors.
A working definition encompasses “an individual’s subjective evaluation of their self-worth.” It’s a significant component of happiness and life satisfaction. Self-esteem rises and declines based on a person’s perception of their success or failure in a particular moment.
Generally, individuals with high esteem have good relationships. They have a positive outlook that often uplifts others. They feel confident and capable more often than not.
Individuals who chronically experience low self-esteem may fall prey to depression. Their physical health is often affected. Even when they do something well, they tend to dismiss it with self-criticism.
Stress Is A Source Of Low Self-Esteem
Studies have shown that low self-esteem in nurses is often due to stress. When they are new, their stress generally results from being given responsibilities that they believe exceed their abilities. More experienced nurses are also subject to pressures that can lead to lowered self-esteem.
Pegasus offers all our professionals the encouragement, support, and training they require. As a nurse-owned and operated organization, we understand your concerns about providing the best healthcare. Our staff and your colleagues are always “there” for you.
Occasionally lacking positive feelings about your abilities isn’t a problem for most professionals. Constantly feeling deficient can affect your ability to care for others. With time and effort, you can improve your outlook.
Tips For Improving Personal Self-Esteem
Start with a realistic evaluation of your abilities and faults. Be as honest as possible and try to eliminate distortions in your perceptions. Evaluate both positive and negative attributes.
Then try the following steps to help improve how you regard both your mind and body by:
- Accepting the unique and talented person that you are and how you look.
- Ascertaining if there are errors in what others have said about what you’ve done, said, or how you appeared. Have you erroneously believed they were correct and taken their comments to heart? Closely related to this are ways in which you were labeled in childhood. Do you still harbor uncomplimentary descriptions about yourself you heard while young?
- Being realistic about your strengths and weaknesses and working to develop your abilities to their full potential.
- Considering if your expectations about how you should feel and look are reasonable. Are your goals challenging but achievable?
- Listing positive things about how you think and how your body looks or functions.
- Remembering that no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and does or says dumb things now and then. That makes you human, not a failure.
- Talking to people you respect about their perceptions of how you act, react, and look. (Avoid hurt feelings if their descriptions are less glowing than you expected!)
- Treating yourself as your best friend. Encourage and praise yourself as a good friend would, but recognize that you have faults that you can put effort into improving.
Increasing your self-esteem is a lifelong process.
Tips For Improve Your Patient’s Self-Esteem
You may have patients who have led satisfying lives and feel good about themselves. Their physical limitations don’t often get them down. Others may have low self-esteem and feel unworthy.
As a nurse, you know that poor health doesn’t devalue a person. Tips for improving how your patient feels about themselves include:
- Educating them about their medical conditions and involving them in care plans. Ask them about their care and treatment preferences.
- Helping them focus on what they have accomplished and can still do rather than a litany of everything they can’t do.
- Listening to them. Everyone needs to feel heard. Pay attention to what they say and respond appropriately.
- Talking to them about subjects other than their health. Your patients aren’t one-dimensional. Ask about their interests in natural conversation.
- Using their name to show that you value them. Look for ways in which you can sincerely compliment them.
Increasing their positive feelings improves your patients’ well-being.
Advance Your Career With Pegasus
Pegasus professional in-home caregivers in Antelope Valley and our other locations are attuned to their patient’s needs. They show each person dignity and respect for their feelings. Career home health care nurses know that helping patients feel good about themselves improves their health.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. We are an equal opportunity employer. We’re hiring professionals with all levels of experience and expertise.
