Corona Conversations Vol. 3: Living with the Trauma from COVID19 for Nurses with Lauren Funiestas

Being a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic is not just hard, it’s traumatic.

Did you ever think of that?

I was lucky enough to sit down with my dear friend and favorite human, Lauren Funiestas, an experienced mental health provider who is passionate about providing multicultural, trauma informed care, for an insightful conversation about the stress and trauma that working during COVID19 has caused for the mental health fo frontline healthcare workers. We talked about how best to manage that stress and what you can do to be mentally and emotionally well during this challenging time.

And like any good conversation, we recorded it on Zoom! Enjoy the latest edition of Corona Conversations over on the New Thing Nurse YouTube channel. Cheers!

Bio: Lauren Funiestas is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who has worked exclusively in the forensic/community mental health field since 2007. She is currently preparing to take the California BBS license exam. She’s provided multicultural, trauma informed and mindfulness based individual/group therapy, case management and psycho education services within residential treatment facilities, school-based children’s mental health programs, public health clinics and detention facilities. Lauren received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from San Francisco State University and her Master of Arts from John F Kennedy University’s Holistic Counseling / Transpersonal Psychology program. Lauren self identifies as a Transnational feminist, Filipina/Island girl and a champion for the advancement of communities of color within the mental health field. She believes strongly in decolonization, honoring the spirit and using all of your paid time off for self care. Lauren is a former body builder, white belt jiu jitsu champion (that counts) and her favorite TV character is Olivia Benson from Law & Order SVU.

Resources for Mental Health Support:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255

• Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the USA

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) - https://www.nami.org

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Corona Conversations Vol 1: Nursing, Stress, Mental Health, PPE, & more with Sarah of New Thing Nurse & Anna of The Burnout Book

Is this pandemic over yet?

We’ve officially been sheltered in place for over a month here in Oakland, California, and I am feeling it. The stress of everything related to the novel corona virus/COVID-19 is making life in and out of the hospital hard. I have had up’s and down’s with my mental health. I feel that I am now on an upswing, but that definitely can change day-to-day. Some shifts at work are awful - I had a total meltdown this week in the ED. Other shifts are just fine.

On Monday, 4/13, I had the chance to sit down and chat with Anna Rodriguez of The Burnout Book via the almighty Zoom and discuss everything that is going on with nursing in the time of COVID-19. We decided to record the conversation and share it with you all. I hope you enjoy!

Without further ado, I present to you Corona Conversations Vol 1 on the brand new New Thing Nurse YouTube channel:

Description: Sarah from New Thing Nurse and Anna Rodriguez from The Burnout Book have a Corona Conversation about the status of their nurse mental health and wellness as of 4/13/2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sarah and Anna also have a robust discussion on COVID-19 stress and the PPE shortage, how that affects our ability to provide compassionate patient care, and tools on how to reconnect with our patients and nursing community. Plus get Anna and Sarah's Top 3 Tips of the Week on how to make it work as a nurse during the novel corona virus crisis. Enjoy!

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