The Hygge Nurse

Hi friend, I want to speak from the heart this week. Like many of you, I’ve been feeling a deep heaviness lately. The news cycle feels unrelenting—grief layered upon injustice, one crisis following another. I’ll be honest: I’ve had to step back and remind myself that feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean I’m weak. It means I’m human. And you are too. As a nurse, researcher, and someone who believes in collective care, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we stay grounded in the face of so much. How do we care for ourselves and each other when the pain is so widespread it feels impossible to name it all? Here’s what I’ve been learning (and re-learning):

It’s Okay to Log Off—and Still Care

Taking breaks from the news doesn’t mean we’re tuning out. It means we’re preserving the energy needed for long-term justice and healing. Schedule your check-ins with the news, and then step away. Boundaries are part of the work.

Your Body Knows...

Collective trauma settles in the body. Are you more tired than usual? Finding it harder to concentrate? These are not personal failures. They’re signals. Gentle movement, deep breathing, and nourishing food aren’t indulgent—they’re medicine.

Recently I have been having trouble concentrating. Every day, and it feels like every hour is laden with change, which is unsettling and distracting. So one way that I have been trying to combat this is...

By Practicing Tiny Acts of Hope...

Hope isn’t passive. It’s something we choose. For me, that looks like tending the garden, supporting community members, calling a friend, or sharing a laugh or story with a neighbor. These small acts stitch us back into a fabric of care that the news often unravels.

And I have to remember constantly that...

Rest is a Form of Resistance

Burnout serves no one. Rest doesn’t mean giving up—it means rooting yourself so you can keep showing up. Even five minutes of quiet or a cup of tea away from the noise can be a radical act. I was teaching a patient how to do focused, pursed lip breathing yesterday, and was reminded that this is a great way for me to reset my parasympathetic system as well.

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Learn Pursed Lip Breathing Here These breathing exercises, which include pursed lip breathing can be used any time you feel anxious. Read About the 3 Breathing Exercises Here

We Can’t Carry It All Alone​
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned—especially in my research and in my work—is that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. We need each other. We need spaces to process, to cry, to rage, to rest, and to rebuild. If you’re feeling depleted right now, know that you’re not alone. I’m right there with you.

Let’s make space this week for care—not as a luxury, but as a necessity. After all, there is a science to hope. If you need a place to begin, below are some practices and resources I’ve found grounding.

Humming for Calm Take a quick moment and consider listening to the Science of Happiness podcast. Here is a quick little clip on how to incorporate some humming into your life. Listen to the Science of Happiness

If this resonated with you, forward it to a friend or take a moment to share how you're caring for yourself right now. Let’s remind one another: even when the world feels heavy, we’re allowed to rest.

We’re allowed to feel. We’re allowed to keep going—with gentleness.

In care and community,
​Dr. Rachel Zimmer​
The Hygge Nurse

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