Keep Calm and Carry On: Managing Residents’ Anxiety While Managing Our Own

Anxiety in post-acute and long-term care is experienced by residents and staff alike. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, research has reported evidence of a nationwide surge in anxiety (“Stress in America 2023: A Nation Grappling With Psychological Impacts of Collective Trauma,” American Psychological Association, Nov. 1, 2023, https://bit.ly/40HTQs8) as well as an uptick among residents and staff in PALTC (J Am Med Dir Assoc 2023;24:862–867.e1; Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2021;37:10.1002/gps.5648). But when a resident’s anxiety brushes up against our own anxiety and stress, what are we to do?