New here

[Lziggy]

Hi I'm new here I struggle with anxiety all the time I hide it best I can lately it's been tougher to hide I'm a nurse it makes working difficult

[Inhisbelly]

Hi Lziggy,

I have worked as CNA in a hospital setting for 4 years with generalized anxiety disorder so I understand where you are. Healthcare is an incredibly stressful setting for those with no pre-existing anxiety, and can be nightmarish at times for those of us who do.

A long time ago when I was having one of many panic attacks on an insanely hectic day on my unit, one of the older nurses whom I admire pulled me aside into the linen room because it was cool and quiet in there. She told me to close my eyes, take a few deep breaths, and imagine I was a tree. She expanded: you are a towering, badass, wise old tree. These stressors you encounter throughout your day--both situational and purely chemical--are the wind. The wind may shake your smaller branches, but your roots are planted firmly in the ground. When you look at it like that, you can almost allow yourself to sway with the breeze, unaffected by fear because your core remains totally immovable. This is a great, simple visualization technique you can use if you have a moment to step away from your unit and are in SOS mode.

It helps to do some self-care in the morning before your shift too. If you do 12 hour shifts like I do, fitting in a work out may be hard, but it also helps just to eat a good breakfast, take your vitamins (& meds if any) and do some positive self-talk.

You should also have an employee assistance program (EAP) through your benefits, which allow you a limited number of free therapy sessions, with usually a small copay after these are used (ex: I get 6 free sessions, and all those following have a $15 copay). I would definitely utilize this! My therapist gives me tools that I would never have been able to think of myself, and nurtures my progress in such a way that I feel more confident every time I leave her office. I hope this helps. I still get anxiety at work, but it's a lot more manageable than it used to be and I don't find myself nearly hyperventilating in patients' rooms anymore.

<3 Bev

[Lziggy in reply to Inhisbelly]

That is good advise I work 12 hr shifts my biggest problem is the anxiety makes me physically ill before I go I struggle like crazy to make me go to work isn't that I don't know what I'm doing have been lpn for 18 yrs last while every night before work I feel horrible sick I've done therapy it didn't really help me I don't know what's wrong with me 😔