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This episode was recorded in the middle of stress, exhaustion, and December chaos while I was preparing for my doctoral defense. It turned into a real conversation about nurse burnout, nervous system overload, and what it looks like when the nurse finally needs care too.

The moment the brain turns to static is the moment the body asks to be heard. I found myself there, slides blurring, coffee failing, and a doctoral defense looming...realizing I’d never send a patient into a high-stakes moment the way I was sending myself. So I pulled the brake and walked through a rapid, sub‑60‑second reset I call RISE: breathe once, orient to the room, drop into the body, and yield to the moment. That tiny sequence flipped my physiology from fight-or-flight into just-enough safety to choose the next right action.

From there, we get practical and personal. We talk about why December is a special kind of exhausting for nurses and healthcare workers, how chronic stress narrows reasoning and scrambles memory, and why you can’t think your way out of nervous system overload. I share how analog rituals: leather crafting, traveler’s notebooks, and pen-on-paper; gave me a tactile, rhythmic way to calm my system. I also reimagined The List (Yes, Next, Pass, Goodbye) into journal-friendly inserts that close mental tabs and reduce that 2 a.m. anxiety spiral. If you’re neurodivergent or just maxed out, you’ll get a tool that’s fast, portable, and rewarding enough to finish before stress hijacks your focus.

We lean into soothing tea rituals, talk about choosing decaf when your nerves are cooked, and pull crystal and tarot cards that land squarely on intuition, voice, and leading your own recovery. This isn’t performative self-care; it’s nervous system medicine you can feel in under a minute. If your holiday spirit is MIA, or if you’re working while everyone else celebrates, consider this your permission slip to pause, ask for help, and protect your peace. Take a breath, pick one regulating action, and start again with kindness.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a nurse who needs it, and leave a review to help more caregivers find a way back to themselves.

Love your faces. I’ll see you in the next episode.

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