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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.

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

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This Thanksgiving episode is simple. It's my love letter to my nurses. MY 'patient population'. MY why.

Not the kind people write on holiday cards. The kind nurses never get but always deserve.

In this conversation, we step away from the noise and endless dumpster fires. We talk about what nurses actually carry. The invisible work. The emotional labor. The moments that never make the chart but stay with you long after the shift ends.

We breathe together.
We pause for moments that belong only to you.
We name something to be proud of, no matter what it is, we're here for it.

We talk about rest in ways that do not require money, PTO, or a miracle. We talk about how micro rests can calm a nervous system that has been working too hard for too long. We talk honestly about why none of this is weakness. It is survival.

In Coffee, Crystals, and Divination we explore peppermint bark tea, Aqua Aura Quartz, Ocean Jasper, the Death card, and the Wheel of Fortune. Each one points to release, renewal, and the possibility of something gentler.

This episode is my love letter to nurses. All nurses. The ones at the bedside. The ones in clinics. The ones in leadership. The ones who left to save themselves. The ones still trying to find their way back to themselves.

If no one tells you thank you this week, I will.
I see you.
I honor you.
I am grateful for you.

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

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In this hauntingly beautiful finale to the Ritual Nurse spooky season specials, Riva explores the sacred and often unseen role nurses play as modern-day psychopomps, guides who walk with souls through the threshold between life and death.

Drawing inspiration from Anubis, the jackal-headed guardian of the ancient Egyptian afterlife, this episode traces how the healers of the Houses of Life understood illness, dying, and care as sacred acts of transformation. Riva brings these ancient rituals forward into the present, showing how nurses today continue that lineage by holding presence at the bedside, bearing witness to suffering, and protecting the liminal space where science and spirit meet.

Listeners will learn how the concept of liminality connects anthropology, nursing science, and spirituality; how research supports the power of consoling presence and modern rituals such as The Sacred Pause; and how reclaiming this identity as a guardian of the threshold can help nurses rediscover meaning and resilience in their work.

The episode closes with Coffee, Crystals, and Divination, featuring Egyptian spiced coffee, the grounding protection of aragonite, and uplifting divination cards that reminds every nurse to trust their intuition and honor the mystery of their work.

This one is personal, reverent, and deeply reflective. To be a nurse is to walk between worlds.

Listen If You Have Ever

• Sat at a patient’s bedside during their final moments
• Felt the weight and holiness of your work
• Needed to reconnect with the reason you chose this profession
• Wanted to blend spiritual reflection with clinical insight

Mentioned in This Episode

• BMJ Open and BMC Palliative Care research on nursing presence and liminality
• The ancient Houses of Life (Per-Ankh) of Egypt
• The modern ritual of The Sacred Pause
• Anubis, Sekhmet, and symbolism that spans millennia

Coffee, Crystals, and Divination

Coffee: Egyptian Spiced Coffee (qahwa)
Crystal: Black Obsidian for grounding, protection, and truth
Tarot: The High Priestess for intuition, wisdom, and honoring the unknown

The Ritual Nurse Podcast — where science, spirit, and story meet to help nurses heal themselves first.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you stream.
Visit ritualnurse.com
or bit.ly/RitualNurse
for show notes, downloads, and free resources.

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

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Things got weird. And not just "spooky story time" weird. It was full-on haunted podcast chaos this week as Riva and her daughter hit record, thirty episodes in, and tonight was the first time the tech itself decided to get possessed. Microphones glitching, machines coming alive, random interference everywhere. Is that just October vibes or was something actually in the room with us? You won't believe what we caught in post edit!!!

In this special Halloween-season episode, Riva and her daughter share spine-tingling ghost stories of nursing from around the world, plus a few of their own. From Mexico’s La Planchada and Indonesia’s Crawling Nurse to the restless spirits haunting military hospitals and modern ICUs, this episode travels the haunted halls of global healthcare.

Whether you believe in spirits or think it’s just the night shift getting to you, these stories are part of nursing’s folklore, told and retold across generations of healers who have worked where life and death meet.

And yes, you’ll want to stick around for the “Coffee, Crystals, and Divination” segment, where Riva and her daughter reveal which herbs to brew when you want protection… and which ones to use if you dare to open the door to the other side.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• The eerie legends of haunted hospitals across Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, and beyond.
• Firsthand ghost stories from nurses around the world.
• End-of-life visions, premonitions, and what science says about them.
• The infamous “Rule of Three” and unexplained happenings nurses still whisper about.
• Riva and her daughter’s own real-life paranormal experiences, recorded live before the Coffee, Crystals, and Divination segment.
• A potential EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) caught during recording.

Featured Segment: Coffee, Crystals & Divination

• Crystal of the Week: Black Tourmaline – for grounding and protection during spooky shifts.
• Coffee/Tea of the Week: Choose your path, The Protector’s Brew (rosemary, sage, bay leaf) or The Medium’s Brew (mugwort). One shields you from spirits, the other invites them in. Choose wisely.
• Divination Moment: A live card pull as usual

Behind the Mic

This episode marks the first time Riva’s daughter has joined her on the podcast. Together they dive into shared family ghost stories, laughter, and a few moments that will have you checking your call lights twice.

And about that EVP, follow The Ritual Nurse Podcast on TikTok and Instagram (@ritualnurse) to see and hear it for yourself.

Do you have your own ghost story from nursin

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!

This week, we’re taking a journey through time and trust me, it’s wilder than any Halloween story you’ve heard.
Tarot didn’t begin in the dark corners of an occult bookstore or a dusty Romani caravan (yep, we’re busting that myth). It started in Renaissance Italy as a card game for nobles who probably had more coin than conscience. So how did those gilded game cards become the magical, psychological, and spiritual tool we use today?
We’ll trace the transformation from the Visconti-Sforza decks and the Tarot de Marseille to Court de Gébelin’s “Book of Thoth” fantasy, through Eliphas Levi, the Golden Dawn, Pamela Colman Smith’s revolutionary artwork, and into modern tarot as a tool for reflection, ritual, and healing.
I’m breaking down the history, the myths, and the moments where humanity turned art and archetype into alchemy. Whether you’re witchy, clinical, skeptical, or just tarot-curious, this episode reminds you that the magic isn’t in the cards — it’s in you.

Listen if you want to learn:
•The real, documented origins of tarot in Renaissance Italy
•How myths of Egypt and “fortune-telling gypsies” shaped the story
•Why the Golden Dawn and Pamela Colman Smith matter more than you think
•How tarot evolved into a spiritual mirror for modern witches, pagans, and even therapists

If you love Halloween, history, and a little magical realism with your caffeine, this one’s for you.
Share this episode with your favorite tarot friend, your skeptical coworker, or anyone who loves a good story grounded in truth and mystery.
And if you have thoughts, feedback, or a favorite tarot myth I missed, use the feedback link at the top of the show notes or email me directly. I love hearing from you, and your messages help keep this podcast as authentic as a midnight coffee on night shift.
Stay ritual, stay curious, and remember, the cards don’t have power. You do.

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!

Happy October, fam!!! Spooky season is here (read my favoritest season besides summer), and so are some big firsts for The Ritual Nurse. This month we’ve got special off-schedule episodes dropping, TikTok Lives (Go follow @theritualnurse!!!) in the works (yes, with crystal pulls and live divination), and some major announcements that are going to shift how we do this together.

But today? We’re talking survival. Nursing doesn’t hand out privacy breaks. You don’t get a quiet room to cry it out or a meditation cushion mid-shift. What you get is the med room, a hallway, or maybe two seconds at the scanner and meanwhile your body is betraying you with a racing heart, shaky hands, and a foggy brain.

That’s why this episode is all about regulation in real time. Not the “self-care day” version, but the neurological reset that works in 30 seconds flat.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why nursing leaves you no space to process and what that does to your body
• A step-by-step guide to Code Blue to Code You
• Two add-on micro skills: B.O.D.Y. (your doorway reset) and HEART-REST (your deeper breakroom pause)
• The science of why regulation is not optional. It’s ethical survival
• Coffee, Crystals & Divination: fall coffee rituals with cardamom, Black Tourmaline, and a divination pull that nailed the theme of regulation and resilience

October is going to be huge here at The Ritual Nurse. Don’t just listen! Join in. Hit that fan mail link in the show notes, tell me your spooky season rituals, and come hang out when we go live on TikTok. This month, it’s not just about surviving the floor. It’s about grounding, rising, and building rituals strong enough to carry us through the chaos.

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!

Walking into HR can feel like stepping into the unknown. For many nurses, it is a place of fear, frustration, and unanswered questions. What does HR really do? How much power do they actually have? And how can nurses really get what they need in those conversations?

In this episode of The Ritual Nurse Podcast, Riva sits down with her friend Brynnen, an HR professional who shares what it looks like from the other side of the door. Together, they break down myths, explore when to bring issues forward, and talk about how to navigate the power dynamics that can leave nurses feeling powerless. This episode is the real life highlights of how the skills in our last episode are so vital to protecting your peace and protecting your space.

Brynnen is not only an experienced HR professional but also a BookTok and Bookstagram favorite, known for her thoughtful reviews and online presence at @librarybrynn. She is just beginning to bring her voice to TikTok, and this conversation shows exactly why her perspective resonates. She's real, honest, funny, and doesn't BS.

This conversation goes deeper than policy. Brynnen brings honesty, humanity, and insight into how HR works, what nurses should know before filing a complaint, and how to walk into meetings with confidence and clarity. To close, she leads our Coffee, Crystals, and Divination segment with a live card pull, blending professional truth with ritual wisdom.

If you have HR questions... go smash that fan mail link at the top of the show notes and send em in!!! It's totally anonymous, and you can include (or not bestie) whatever details you feel like. Brynnen will be back for a part two later in the season and would love to answer questions on our socials and in her next episode!

In this episode you will learn:

• What HR can and cannot do in response to complaints
• When it is appropriate to involve HR and what documentation to bring
• How to protect yourself in HR conversations with clarity and boundaries
• Why understanding HR’s pressures makes the process less intimidating

Resources and Links

• Blog post with full references: The Culture Cure
• Shop Ritual Nurse tools and downloads: TCTH.org
• Connect with Riva and The Code Team: hello@ritualnurse.com
• Connect with Brynnen: @librarybrynn (all the BookTok/Bookstagram goodness)
  
  

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!

TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!

Nursing culture has a dark side: bullying, incivility, and lateral violence. In this episode of The Ritual Nurse, Riva dives straight into the heart of toxic workplace culture and its devastating impact on nurses’ mental health, resilience, and retention. This conversation isn’t about “having thicker skin” It’s about calling out the mean girl culture that’s been allowed to fester for too long. WE'RE DONE.

Riva introduces three powerful tools from the RISE curriculum that form the Culture Cure Toolkit:

• PEACE – a step-by-step communication skill for resolving conflict without escalating.
• CALM – a de-escalation skill to center yourself and move with intention.
• ROLE CLARITY – a grounding skill that anchors you back into your professional boundaries and keeps toxic systems from draining you dry.

Together, these skills create armor, grounding, and a clear voice for nurses navigating hostile environments. Paired with evidence-based research, this episode dismantles toxic stereotypes and empowers nurses with practical strategies for survival and growth.

In the Coffee, Crystals, & Divination segment, we explore fall rituals, savor black coffee simplicity, discover Garnet as the crystal of the week, and receive guidance from the Ace of Swords and the Lovers.

This is your toolkit for saying goodbye to incivility and hello to thriving in your practice. The mean girl culture is out. Advocacy and resilience are in. #nursefirst

Support the show

Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.

Follow for resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info:

• Instagram & TikTok: @ritualnurse
• Shop: https://bit.ly/RitualNurse
• Website: tcth.org

Love your FAYCES!