Anxiety and Depression Support

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Work + not in a good headspace

So I recently posted yesterday that I have not been coping with working as a nurse in an intense acute setting. I have poor short term memory, poor concentration and can’t retain information given to me, I constantly feel anxious when I am working.

My boss just put me on special leave and I require a medical clearance to be fit to work. Then a meeting will occur to decide what the next step is.

I am feeling very disheartened, low motivation and want to give up. I am not whether the stress of nursing is making me unwell. I just don’t know what to do because I have worked so hard to get to this point but my head says maybe I should take an easier path and try a different career...if you have advice I would appreciate it!?

6 Replies

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Jenjen

First relax , take deep breath and settle down ,job is not the only thing life .

Now work reverse way , do you always had short term memory loss, if answer is no or only if under special conditions.

You know your memory loss is situational and temporary.

Next is to find out the triggers for it .. stress work conditions; lack of sleep , any specific food .. it can be anything .

Once you keep working on it .. you will be surprised that it will keep opening up like a unwinding a sweater .

Other thing is anxiety means chemical imbalance resulting into much severe response than required . You need to clam your self down .. do meditation/ deep breath.. you will do alright .

Use this special leave to your advantage .. introspect yourself

All the best 👍👍

My sister is a nurse, so is my aunt, and a few friends...and I think everyone has their thing in nursing like with any profession. I think there are the adrenaline junkies that thrive in critical care and the ER setting....others like my sister are mellow and she works for a private doctor who does plastic surgery....so it may simply be a matter of finding a job more suited to your temperament. There's nothing wrong with putting yourself in a position where you would be best suited. Some don't want a lot of patient interaction, like surgical nurses...some are best at patient interaction like in recovery....so...don't give up hope...stick to your guns...you worked hard...hang in there....think about what would work best for you and focus on that....

As human beings we all tend to put too much pressure on ourselves, and then beat ourselves up when we feel we can't do something, or it seems too difficult, and we start overthinking everything and then we make mistakes.

I've suffered with stress and anxiety and depression in the past because I didn't know what was actually causing these feelings.

I used to think ( as we are all led to believe) that it's the outside world and what happens 'to' us that creates our experience in life, that was before I found out that our true experience comes from the 'inside out '

As faux artist says, there are many different types of nursing jobs. Many of these are much less stressful than working as a hospital nurse where you are taking care of people who are quite sick. Consider, among others, school nurse, doctor's office nurse ,teaching at a nursing school, assisted living facility nurse, etc.

Listen to your body. I can relate to what you are describing. I get that way a lot. I had to drop out of grad school and stop working within the past 6 months because I couldn’t handle the exposure to trauma. I worked in a child abuse prevention program and was working toward being a therapist. Maybe a change for a period of time would be a good idea. It sounds like your body is sending you signals that you need to take time to heal.