The Self Care Unit

This week, MMA fighter and self-defense instructor Chelsea LaGrasse joined us to talk about all things self-defense! As the expert, she breaks down the basics, explaining the importance of situational awareness to fostering smart habits. She also tackles (no pun intended) common misconceptions that you may believe about self-defense. A massive thank you to Chelsea for all of her advice, with it yo...

This week, for Mental Health Matters, we are joined by Lia Mancao. Lia is a psychotherapist, writer, and emotional resilience educator, and she is a Mental Health Advisor for PopSugar and a Wellness contributor to TheKnot. Lia joins us to talk about her work, her strategies to prioritize mental health, and how we can encourage health care workers to seek out help when they need it. Thank you Lia f...

CW: Discussions of trauma, abuse This week, for Mental Health Matters, Carley and Sarah are joined by Kelly Chase. Kelly is an entrepreneur, social influencer, Business and Mindset Coach, and speaker. We talk about her journey and awakenings with regards to mental health, the hard work she's done to heal, and how she found her calling as an advocate and coach. Thank you to Kelly for this deep and...

TW: Suicide This week, the Self-Care Unit welcomed Harlie Monroe, co-founder of the Jared Monroe foundation, to the pod. Her amazing organization is dedicated to fostering awareness, understanding and support for Bipolar Disorder and suicide. We discuss all aspects of her work as a nurse and co-founder and her hopes and goals for a special "Art of Healing" fundraiser with Don't Clock Out for World...

This week’s episode is all about Grounding! You may have heard the term before, but Jayshree Asnani joins us to explain the practice, which is all about harnessing our senses and awareness to tackle the stress in our lives. She shares techniques and tools from her work as a life coach and reveals how grounding ourselves can result in more balanced and less anxious lives. For more of Jayshree and h...

For this week's Ask a Nurse episode, Carley and Sarah talk about holistic medicine in the hospital. What holistic methods or practices do they wish were used in the hospital? We talk about a lot of holistic practices on this show, but we usually discuss them as supplementary, in settings outside of the hospital. Why is that? What benefits might a combination approach bring to patient care? Is the...

This week, for Ask A Nurse, we talk about how to cope with making mistakes. Mistakes are a part of life!  We like to pretend they’re rare and never happen, but that is not the case. Sometimes, the aftermath of a mistake can cause stress, anxiety, and self-doubt. So, let's dive into the subject! How comfortable nurses are admitting mistakes? What systems exist to help cope? How can we deal with neg...

TW: Eating Disorder/Disordered Eating Christine D'Ercole was with us this week for a very special Mental Health Matters episode. Christine is a cycling instructor, decorated competitive track cyclist, writer, and speaker. Her iconic Wordshops are focused on editing our Self-Talk to more productive in the direction we want for our lives. She is an incredibly persuasive force for being kinder to our...

This week, for Mental Health Matters, Carley and Sarah were joined by Noah Galloway! Noah is an Army Combat veteran, author of Living with No Excuses, athlete, motivational speaker, and an all around incredible guy. He shares his experience enlisting and how he mentally handled a life-changing injury, and we talk through how we can all support each other in our shared struggles. Noah also talked a...

This week, we do a deep dive into CBD by talking with Montel Williams! Montel is a veteran and media personality who has used CBD and cannabis to help deal with pain and other symptoms brought on by MS for over two decades. You may have seen CBD pop up more and more on shelves over the years, but what exactly is it? Montel walks us through the history and science of CBD, the many forms or applicat...

This week, Carley and Sarah learn all about Somatics. To do that, we welcome Christine Coen to the pod! Christine is a Holistic Burnout Recovery Coach, Dietitian & Fitness specialist, who uses Somatics as part of her practice. Christine talks about her beginnings with Somatics, how a body-based approach can help nurses, specifically those dealing with burnout, and the science behind the practi...

For this week's Ask a Nurse, we have a really fascinating topic: nurses working in other fields. We are talking side gigs, second careers, and even touch on hobbies! To help us explore and discuss those, Jake Grez joins us! Jake is a Neuro Surgical PCU and a Licensed Realtor who creates content about both worlds. His passion for both of his careers comes through in our conversation. How can nurses...

For this week's Ask a Nurse, the Self Care Unit team tackles the night shift! Carley and Sarah pool together what they've picked up in their careers and share their institutional knowledge with the world. There's no doubt that having a routine in place will help make the night shift manageable for you. So, what practices help make the night shift work for nurses? What tips or tricks do night shift...

TW/CW: Suicidal Ideation Happy Pride! The Self Care Unit is back with a very special Mental Health Matters episode, as we have Alexis Hinkley with us on the pod! Lex is a travel nurse and photographer who splits her time between the hospital and the outdoors. They are an advocate in all areas of life, but especially for mental health and the LGBTQIA+ community. We talk mental health journey, how t...

This week for Mental Health Matters, we have Nick Thompson on the pod! Nick shares his mental health journey with Carley and Sarah, discussing therapy, depression, and building positive structures in life. We also talk about his goals as an advocate for big changes in the entertainment industry, including the work of the UCAN Foundation to bring mental health support and resources to reality TV ca...

Can pole dancing be an effective stress relief activity for nurses? Carley and Sarah took pole dancing classes this week, and now they can report the fantastic results! They start by talking through their stress and emotional states before the class. They definitely had some nerves going into this! Then, they both share the incredible sense of freedom and fun they felt during and afterward. They w...

This week on the Self Care Unit, Carley and Sarah learn all about Ergonomics from our guest, Dr. Spencer Lalk! Dr. Lalk is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, outdoor enthusiast, and world explorer, who helps his patients to manage pain and find the best practices to treat it. We talk with him about chronic pain, how it first manifests in the body, common mistakes people make in the effort to improve th...

On this week's Ask a Nurse, Carley and Josh are back and reacting to depictions of nurses, hospitals, and healthcare workers in TV and movies. How do they feel when they see their profession on the screen? What do they get right? What do they get wrong? Which clips are funny because they're so true? Do these depictions impact the daily lives and work of nurses in a positive or negative way? All th...

It's Nurses Week! This edition of Ask a Nurse is all about what we should do, give, and provide for nurses during this week all about them. We start by acknowledging all the work that has to be done, but Sarah and Josh also try to keep it light and bright because you all deserve the zen, the celebration, and the pride for the work you do. So what does a dream Nurses Week entail? What are those key...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome Garrett Schwartz for our Mental Health Matters episode! You may know Garrett from his reality TV appearances, and he's with us on the podcast to chat about mental health, his outlook on life, and the important conversations men need to have with family, friends, and their community at large. Garrett also helps us preview some of the exciting Nurse’s Week event...

On this week's Mental Health Matters, we are joined by Elliott Connie, MA, LPC to talk about his work with Solution Focused Brief Therapy, how to live the life we want, what gratitude means, and more. Elliott is a passionate and persuasive mental health advocate, and simply a fun conversationalist. His energy and enthusiasm for his vocation is absolutely infectious, as he relates his own journey t...

This week, on the Self Care Unit, Carley and Sarah learn more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a form of psychotherapy that has become a go-to method for many therapists to help treat a variety of issues. To that end, we are joined by Jennifer Teplin, the founder and clinical director of Manhattan Wellness. Jennifer specializes in supporting women who experience self-doubt, relationship d...

This week on the Self Care Unit, we learned about OCD with Dr. Francine Baffa. Dr. Baffa is one of Operation Happy Nurse's Licensed Clinical Social Workers, she focuses her work on evidence-based treatments to tackle anxiety and worry. She helps us dispel some of the common misconceptions about OCD and talks us through how compulsions work. She also explains what evidence-based treatments exist an...

We have a brand new Ask a Nurse episode of The Self Care Unit for you! This week, we're helping out nursing job-seekers with a discussion on interviewing the interviewer. We tackle a number of important questions: What can you do as the interviewee to find the right job or hospital for you? What questions can you ask to get the information you need? We are joined by Professor Diane Hountz from Pur...

This week on The Self Care Unit, for our Ask A Nurse episode, Carley and Sarah tackle all things to do with Debriefing. What exactly is it? Where does the idea come from? What forms can it take? Why is it necessary when things go right or go wrong? When have you seen it done well? What aspects of it do you think are most important? They answer all these questions and more in this deep dive into a...