Healthcare, Grief, and Personal Wellness

In healthcare settings, repeated exposure to loss and distress can contribute to cumulative stress that affects well-being over time. Longer-term wellness practices can support recovery, restore emotional balance, and help sustain the capacity to provide care. Intentional, protective habits can help preserve connection to personal values, emotional presence, and overall functioning in the context of ongoing caregiving demands.

​​Strategies for Regulation

Evidence-informed regulation strategies can support a return to the window of tolerance when stress or grief pushes regulation outside of it. Several emotional and behavioral strategies are outlined in this section. To explore additional strategies, access the GSHP resource on Physiological and Emotional Regulation in Healthcare.

Grounding Rituals

Grounding rituals are brief, sensory-based actions that provide predictability and can support nervous system regulation during or after emotionally intense moments. Consistent with trauma-informed and sensorimotor approaches, establishing a grounding ritual can support emotional stabilization and a sense of safety through predictable sensory input.

• Why it can help: Predictable sensory actions can serve as internal cues of safety and presence. These small, deliberate gestures can support re-orientation, reduce physiological arousal, and help reinforce a sense of steadiness and clarity in high-stress clinical environments.

Emotional Expression

Utilizing outlets for emotional expression involves creating intentional opportunities to acknowledge and release emotional responses related to grief and trauma exposure. While emotional suppression can support short-term functioning in clinical settings, ongoing inhibition of emotional experience can be associated with increased stress, burnout, and emotional disconnection over time.

• In practice:
  • Engage in physical activity (for example, walking, stretching, or exercise) to support emotional release through movement.
  • Use creative outlets such as writing, drawing, music, or other forms of expression to process emotional experiences.
  • Journal about difficult encounters, losses, or emotional reactions to support reflection and meaning-making.
  • Allow quiet time to sit with emotions in a contained, private setting when possible.
• Why it can help: Research suggests that opportunities for emotional expression are associated with lower stress, improved psychological well-being, and reduced risk of emotional exhaustion and disconnection over time.

When accessing emotions feels difficult, external cues can sometimes support emotional activation in manageable ways:

• Listen to emotionally resonant music.
• Read a passage from a novel or poem that evokes emotion.
• Watch a video that supports emotional release in a safe, indirect way.

Cognitive Offloading

Cognitive offloading involves using external tools to reduce the mental load of holding information, tasks, or emotionally charged experiences internally. Tools such as journals, notes, checklists, or digital reminders can support working memory and reduce cognitive strain, particularly in high-stakes, emotionally intense environments.

• In practice:
  • Use a small notebook or secure digital note to briefly capture distressing moments for later reflection or processing.
  • Keep simple checklists or task lists to reduce the need to mentally track multiple demands.
  • Write down emotionally charged thoughts or concerns to revisit with a peer, supervisor, or therapist.

Why it can help: Externalizing information can reduce working memory demands and cognitive load, which can support clearer thinking and decision-making under stress. Research suggests that cognitive offloading strategies improve task performance and reduce mental strain, particularly in high-pressure or emotionally demanding contexts. 

Engage in Professional Development

Engaging in professional development can support emotional well-being and serve as a protective factor against burnout in grief- and trauma-exposed care. Opportunities for learning, skill development, and connection to professional values can support a sense of meaning, autonomy, and professional efficacy, which are associated with greater resilience.

• In practice:
  • Seek continuing education that aligns with personal values or areas of interest.
  • Engage in reflective practice groups, case-based learning, or professional communities of practice.
• Why it can help: Professional development can support a renewed sense of purpose, competence, and agency. These factors are associated with lower burnout risk and greater professional fulfillment, particularly in high-stress clinical environments where emotional labor and exposure to loss are ongoing.

Identify and Communicate Boundaries

Setting and communicating limits is an important component of personal wellness. In healthcare settings where self-sacrifice is often reinforced, boundary-setting can feel countercultural. When patient loss, emotional labor, and systemic pressure converge, clear boundaries can help protect emotional capacity and support sustained caregiving.

• In practice: Begin by noticing what consistently drains or restores energy. Identifying patterns can make it easier to anticipate moments of overload and communicate needs before they escalate. Practicing clear, respectful language ahead of time can support boundary-setting even in high-pressure situations.
• Examples of boundary language:
  • “I want to support this, but I’m at capacity right now. Can we check in tomorrow?”
  • “Let’s circle back on this after lunch. I need a brief reset.”
  • “Can we revisit this after rounds? I want to give it the focus it deserves.”
  • “I can’t carry this alone right now. I need to hand this off for the moment.”
  • “I’m protecting my downtime so I can sustain this work long-term.”
  • “I can check in for five minutes now. Would it help to talk more after shift?”
• Why it can help: Boundary-setting can support emotional regulation, reduce overload, and protect capacity for empathy and presence. Over time, clear boundaries can help healthcare professionals remain engaged in care while reducing risk for emotional exhaustion and moral distress.

Additional Personal Wellness Strategies

Check In With Yourself

Awareness of personal well-being is a core component of sustainable caregiving. Brief, regular self-check-ins can support early identification of stress, dysregulation, or grief-related strain before these patterns accumulate into burnout or secondary traumatic stress.

Check-ins do not need to be time-consuming or formal to be effective. Even brief moments, such as a few slow breaths, short reflective writing, or simple prompts like “What am I noticing in my body or emotions right now?” or “What do I need before the next encounter?” can support emotional awareness and regulation within the flow of care.

For those who prefer structured tools, the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) is a free, evidence-based measure of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. It can be used to support reflection and identify patterns in well-being over time.

Body Scans

A body scan is a guided practice that involves systematically bringing attention to different areas of the body to notice physical sensations, tension, and areas of ease, which can support awareness of stress responses and promote nervous system regulation during self-check-ins.

Listen to the UCLA Mindful 14-minute Body Scan meditation for healthcare and patient wellness

For additional guided mediations, access the UCLA Mindfulness Education Center site. 

Check in With Colleagues

Peer connection is an important component of personal and team-based wellness. Research suggests that peer support and informal debriefing can play a meaningful role in clinician well-being by reducing isolation and supporting emotional processing in high-stress care environments. Feeling seen and understood by colleagues can support resilience and psychological safety.

Supportive check-ins can occur in many forms, including brief conversations after difficult cases, participation in reflective practice groups, or informal peer debriefs. They can also be simple, timely moments of acknowledgment, such as:

• “That case seemed really heavy. How are you holding up?”
• “I’ve been thinking about what happened earlier. Do you want to talk about it?”
• “I know everyone processes differently. Just wanted to check in… how are you doing?”

Even brief peer connections can function as a form of mutual care. Over time, consistent peer support can contribute to collective resilience and help foster a workplace culture where emotional impact is acknowledged and support is more normalized.

ModelingGrief-Sensitive Behaviors

When healthcare professionals appropriately acknowledge emotional impact or model seeking support, it can help normalize emotional awareness for others. This can be especially influential for those in leadership or senior roles, as newer team members often look to experienced colleagues for cues about what is acceptable to express.

Grief-sensitive language you can try:

• “That was a tough case. I’m still feeling the weight of it.”
• “I’ve learned I need a quick walk or check-in after situations like that, anyone else?”
• “Just naming that I’m feeling stretched today. If you are too, you’re not alone.”

When shared with discernment, even small acknowledgments, such as naming that a case was difficult, can contribute to psychological safety and a more supportive workplace culture.

Sustaining Wellness Over Time

In grief- and trauma-exposed care, sustained wellness practices can serve as protective factors that support emotional regulation, preserve capacity, and reduce the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to loss. Over time, consistent use of these strategies can help sustain presence, compassion, and connection to purpose, even in demanding care environments.