Simple Tips to Overcome Burnout: The Power of Plant Therapy

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Hospice nursing can leave you feeling depleted and burnt out. Plant therapy can help. Discover the proven benefits of plant therapy. The post Simple Tips to Overcome Burnout: The Power of Plant Therapy appeared first on Hospice Nurse Hero.

Hospice nursing is the most rewarding job I’ve ever had, but can I be real? It’s also the HARDEST! From being buried in documentation to missing family events, I was burnt out and “crispy.” That is, until I discovered the power of plant therapy.

I’ve known about the many benefits of plant therapy for patients for years. It wasn’t until I had a “Journey” walk at the local botanical garden, led by a horticulture therapist, that I fully understood how it could benefit me.

Now, I’m on a mission to bring practical plant therapy to as many hospice nurses and teams as I can.

To start, you might be thinking, “It’s going to take more than a plant to help me overcome my current situation.” I hear you!

However, when you’re zipping between visits, documenting, and balancing your family needs, you might find yourself feeling stressed out and completely depleted.

I know because I’ve been there too.

More importantly, plant therapy is a tool that you can use to reconnect with both nature and yourself.

If you can relate, then you must read on.

Let’s explore top hospice stressors and how plant therapy can help.

Common Challenges Hospice Nurses Face

First, working in hospice is not like working in a hospital. Oftentimes, even though you have a team, you are mostly on your own, driving to different towns, and seeing different patients on different days than your co-workers.

Recommended Article: Self-Care: 10 Ways to Cope When Your Patient Dies

Some Common Challenges

Working Alone: It’s not unusual to only see some of your co-workers on IDG days. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Documentation Overload: Charting, Charting, Charting. It never seems to end. It’s not lost on me that charting can take over every aspect of your life. From charting in the car to charting at home. It’s daunting to say the least!

Emotional Fatigue: Spending hours each day with patients at the end-of-life and talking about death and dying can drain you.

Racing Against the Clock: There’s always something that needs your time and attention. Charting in real-time feels impossible, and the tasks seem to never end.

Although these challenges are very real, they’re not unfixable.

Enter Plant Therapy

Let’s be honest: A plant isn’t going to solve all of your problems.

However, a plant can remind you that growth and renewal are possible.

What is Plant Therapy?

Plant therapy, also known as horticultural therapy, uses plants, nature, and gardening activities to promote mental health, stress relief, and connection. It’s been used in hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, and now it’s time to bring it to hospice nurses.

According to Psychology Today, a study on the effects of spending time in green spaces demonstrated a 16% decrease in cortisol levels of those who spent time in the forest versus those in an urban environment.

Here’s why it works:
Tactile engagement: Touching soil, holding a plant, or creating something together shifts the brain out of stress mode.
Sensory reset: The colors, textures, and smells of plants provide a gentle, calming stimulus.
Symbolism: Flowers and plants have long been connected to symbols of growth, seasons, and resilience.
Connection: Doing something with your hands, especially together, creates space for real conversations and team bonding.

How to Incorporate Plant Therapy into Your Routine

First, you don’t need a big budget or a greenhouse to add plant therapy to your world. Below are some practical ideas you can use.

1. Sensory Breaks with Plants

This is my personal favorite! I do this every day, and it’s a gentle reminder to take a breath!

Fill a small sachet bag with lavender and keep it in your bag or purse. Smelling the lavender is a simple way to get in a few deep breaths and reset.
When you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, slow down and touch a leaf or plant. What does the texture remind you of? Pay attention to the vein pattern and subtle color differences.
Take three deep breaths while envisioning your favorite flower or plant.

This quick sensory reset can lower stress, calm the nervous system, and help you refocus before moving on to the next item on your list.

2. Start a Nature Journal

For starters, you probably pass many beautiful plants, trees, and flowers during your travels between patients. The next time you’re out and about, write about what you see. I live in the Midwest and love doing this in the fall!

TIP: Keep it simple, just a few words or a sentence can be enough to help you remember your “WHY.”

Notice the shapes and colors around you.
What animals and critters are out and about?
Sit in silence and listen to the sounds around you. What do you hear?
Jot it down, and you’ll give your brain the boost it needs to recover.

Personal Plant Therapy Story: I was speaking with a plant therapist about my desire to become a horticultural therapist, and she said something that stopped me in my tracks. She said that we have become “nature blind.”

Basically, we see so many things each day, and we simply overlook them. We don’t even see the beauty in the surrounding nature.

How many times do we overlook each other?

Furthermore, how many times do we rush around and miss the opportunity to acknowledge what we are feeling?

Have you ever experienced a day when you felt numb and emotionally tapped out?

Plant therapy can help. I’m living proof!

3. Become a Plant Parent

Instead of trying to be the next plant whisperer or taking on a full-blown garden, take on a plant that requires very little attention.

For instance, I started my plant parent journey with a succulent and graduated to a snake plant.

Addressing Stress & Burnout: the HNH Way

As a nurse and plant therapy guide, I’ve seen firsthand how nature can literally change the atmosphere of a room—and the state of mind of an individual or team.

You are under a lot of pressure!! The toll of this work is REAL!

Burnout doesn’t happen because we’re not strong enough. It happens because we’re HUMAN.

Here’s what I want you to know:
You are NOT alone in feeling overwhelmed.
You don’t have to carry the weight of this work in isolation.
Small practices—like caring for a plant, pausing to breathe, or observing a moment in nature can help you stay grounded, present, and resilient.

Your charts tell the story of your patients.
Plants remind you to tell your own story, too.

Conclusion

More than anything, I want you to take care of yourself! You can’t pour from an empty cup!

Nature is all around you, so the only thing you need to do is stop and take a few deep breaths.

This simple activity can help you reset.

Plant therapy is a practical, accessible tool that you can add to your toolbox any time. I can’t promise that the charting will decrease, or the emotional toll will go away.

What I do know is that you are in control, and plant therapy can help you find your way back to balance.